16 INTRODUCTION. 



ON COLLECTING AND DRYING PLANTS. 



Collecting. A good specimen should show every part of a 

 plant its root, its root leaves, and stem leaves its flowers, 

 past, open, and in bud its seed and seed vessel in their diffe- 

 rent states. Thus in gathering flowers for preservation let all 

 these things be regarded, and, if possible, collected together 

 upon the same specimen, which will then not only show the 

 plant in all its characters, but look much more beautiful; 

 besides which, the parts most likely to be neglected will often 

 be found of the greatest necessity in telling from each other the 

 different species of difficult or numerous families. When it 

 happens that flowers and leaves are produced at different sea- 

 sons of the year, as in most timber trees, in the Colt's-foot, 

 &c., the flowers should at the proper time be collected, ready 

 to be joined to the leaves afterwards ; thus it is also with fruit, 

 and often with seed, that ripens at a later period of the year 

 each must be procured at the right time, and placed side by side 

 of each other afterwards. 



Drying. First, be careful to gather the specimens in fine 

 weather ; they may be brought home in the hand as a nosegay, 

 or, what is much better, put into the crown of the hat, or in a 

 tin sandwich box. Then taking up each specimen singly, lay 

 it smoothly between the leaves of a large book, or of several 

 sheets of common paper then another specimen a few leaves 

 distant, and so on till the book is full this done, tie it up 

 tightly with a string, and put a weight upon it, (such as a flat 

 iron or two.) Thus the plants are to remain for a day, and 

 then to be changed into a fresh book, to dry them still more, 

 and so on for four or five days, when they will all be found of 

 good color, and fit to put away. 



Some few plants require a different treatment. In thick 

 stalked and woody plants the under- side of the stem is first to 

 be cut away. Berries must be dried by being hung up in the 



