1886. | BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 185 
not crumble, and will become firmer by drying. Shales containing iron pyrites 
are liable to crumble from oxidation. 
es work easier when first taken out, as they are wet, but are more 
liable to crumble in splitting. While drying out lines of cleavage are devel- 
oped, showing where to put the chisel to expose the best impressions. Prom- 
ising shale can be stored away in a dry place and worked over at leisure. Dit- 
ferent species occur in the shale at different levels, and experience soon teaches 
one how to work the shale for particular forms. 
For collecting fossils, one needs a crow-bar, shovel or spade, pickaxe, and 
blasting material, if he is searching at a locality not worked. If at a mine in 
operation the above tools, if needed, can generally be borrowed from the miners, 
Several steel chisels from } to 1 inch wide and 8 inches long, and as thin as 
possible, are necessary, also one heavy and one light hammer. In splitting 
small shales a strong Lutcher knife and a light hammer have been used to good 
r In opening large shales to expose surfaces it is best to insert several 
chisels along the supposed line of fracture and work continuously. The im- 
pressions should never be touched with the fingers as they are easily dimmed. 
Cigar boxes for small specimens and fragile pieces, and larger boxes for heavier 
shales are necessary. All specimens should be wrapped in paper and tightly 
packed on edge, and all the interstices filled with paper, sawdust, leaves or any 
available packing material. 
Essential requisites in forming a cabinet of fossil plants are patience and 
rseverance on the part of the collector. He must be content to split shale 
all day in the hot sun or bitter cold, and often go home with empty boxes. 
Specimens in the cabinet should be laid flat in drawers, such as are used for 
minerals, or in show cases, if designed for exhibition. They are necessarily 
fragmentary, and a number of specimens of each form is desirable. 8 
imens must be numbered, to correspond with those of a record book, in which 
all data are given. A card placed with each specimen states where it is figured 
and described, and the front of the drawer is labeled with the contained genus 
and species. The color of the label can be made to indicate the group, as blue 
for ferns, etc. The specimens should never be wet, oiled, or varnished.—F. 
L. Harvey. 
‘The directions which Prof. Harvey gives for collecting in carboniferous 
strata apply in the main to all formations. 
D g plants out of doors in wet weather.—For 30 years I have col- 
lected plants in both wet and dry climates and of necessity have tried many 
Plans. At present I have, I think, a perfect system and as it is all original I 
Will give it in full. I have tried all other plans and none meets every case but 
my own. When out collecting I gather flowering plants in dry weather, and 
My driers are either 
lichens, mosses and liverworts wet, especially lichens. 
on single sheets of paper of a slightly smaller size than the 
sheet, taking no account of species, and place on ita slip with the date. I place 
each sheet between driers and when all are assorted I place the pile 
boards and put on the pressure with leather straps. 
