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CHAPTER IV. COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF 



SPECIMENS. 







Collection 141. It is of the first importance 



of Speci- that specimens should be gathered which exhibit those parts 

 mens. an( j organs, the characters of which are included in the 



descriptions and keys of our Floras. So far as possible the 

 specimens selected should indicate the average condition and 

 the range of variability of the important organs found on one 

 and the same individual and on the different individuals of the 

 same species found growing together, and in any case should 

 not be confined to those parts, or individuals, which show 

 extreme variations, or abnormal development. The specimens 

 must not be allowed to wither before they are laid in the drying 

 papers and are usually placed, immediately after they are 

 gathered, in a tin case which should be kept as cool as possible. 

 The specimens having been laid in the drying papers are 

 usually placed between two boards with a weight on the top. 

 For camp perhaps the most portable and useful press is one 

 consisting of two pieces of strong wire lattice of convenient 

 size which can be firmly bound together with straps and 

 buckles, or with a piece of thin rope. 



The specimens are kept in this until dry, the drying papers 

 being of course changed and dried when necessary, and they can 

 then be packed in boxes in layers between sheets of paper, care 

 being taken to keep them from damp. A small notebook 

 should always be carried in which sunh details as the vernacular 

 name, dimensions, habitat, habit, and general appearance of 

 the living plant should be invariably noted, on the spot, and 

 not left to memory. To each specimen, before being placed in 

 the drying papers, should be fastened a small label with a 

 number, and great care should be taken to see that these labels 

 do not become subsequently detached. A journal should also 

 be kept up in which the specimens collected should be entered 

 daily, serially, under their respective numbers, with the date. 

 Here also should be recorded the details noted in the field, the 

 name of the plant and natural order (if determined), the results 

 of the inspection of the specimens with diagrams or sketches of 

 the parts examined, the locality where collected, and careful 

 details of all characters observed which are not exhibited by 

 che specimens themselves, such as the colour of the fresh 

 flowers. It is important that all specimens should, so far as 

 possibly preserve their natural appearance and colour, and for 



