MANUAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



671 



of its contents. The instruments and apparatus 

 required by the itinerant botanist are 

 by no means so bulky as those of the 

 zoologist, nor is the preparations of 

 his specimens so complex or so tedi- 

 ous. His equipment should com- 

 prise, 



1. A digger, which is a kind of 

 minature spade ; that usually em- 

 ployed, is from seven to eight inches 

 in length, the spud being two inches 

 and-a-half long, the same in width at the upper 

 part, but slightly narrowed across the bottom, and 

 with the lower angles rounded. 



Another form which we would more particularly 

 recommend, is the one here represented, which is 

 more trowel-shaped, the spud being five inches long, 

 and concave in front. These should be constructed 

 of sufficient strength for digging 

 out plants in hard or stony ground. 

 It will be found convenient when 

 using these instruments to have 

 them attached to the wrist by means 

 of a loop of cord passed through the 

 handles. 



2. A Botanical-box or Vasculum ; 

 this which is indispensable for long 

 excursions, and particularly in hot 

 climates, is made of tin and usually 

 japanned. Two or three different sizes are required, 

 the largest being twenty or twenty-one inches in 



