THE HERBARIUM 173 



some days after the occurrences were noticed. 

 The entry should be made at once. If care 

 is taken to record nothing but facts personally 

 observed, to avoid hearsay, and to make 

 immediate records, it is possible to prepare 

 a calendar which will not only be of 

 much interest locally, but will also have real 

 scientific value. 



Turning now to collecting, it has to be 

 observed that a herbarium or collection of 

 dried plants, although it can never satisfy 

 the lover of wild flowers, is indispensable to 

 the botanist. A little attention to. detail 

 makes all the difference between forming a 

 useful and ornamental collection and a mere 

 congeries of withered shreds. The primary 

 point in collecting plants for preservation 

 is to choose as dry weather as possible. 

 Specimens should not be carried in the 

 hands, because the heat of the body soon 

 causes them to fade. Any sort of tin case 

 will serve to carry them, but a vasculum 

 designed for the purpose costs very little. 

 The collector will take with him a pocket 

 lens and a strong knife. It is desirable to 

 show in the herbarium all parts of the plant 



