Ad On Collecting and Preserving Alge. 
epitome of the essential characters of a species. Several “dupli- 
cates of every species should be collected. 
_& Preserving Specimens of Alge—Where it is a collector’s 
object to preserve alge in the least troublesome manner, for the 
purpose of transinitting them to Europe, it is merely necessary — 
to spread the specimens, immediately on being brought fresh 
from the sea, without any previous washing, and even without 
squeezing their natural moisture from them, in an airy situation, 
as hay is spread out to dry, only they must not be exposed to too 
werful a sun. In dry weather, if the layer be turned over a 
few times, they will very rapidly dry, and no other preparation is 
necessary. They will have shrunk considerably, and many will 
have darkened in color, and the bundle may have become very 
unsightly ; nevertheless, if thoroughly dried (to prevent mouldi- 
néss or heating), and packed loosely in paper bags or rough boxes, 
such specimens will, generally speaking, reach Europe after many 
months, in a perfectly sound state; and, on being re-moistened 
and properly pressed, will make excellent cabinet specimens. It 
is very much better, when drying alge in this rough manner, not 
to wash them in fresh water, because the salt they contain serves 
the double purpose of preserving them, and of keeping them in 
a pliable state, causing them to imbibe water on re-immersion 
more readily. Washed alge, roughly dried, become very hard 
and unmanageble. I would recommend that all the larger and 
coarser kinds of algee, sent from abroad, be preserved in this man- 
ner. With the more delicate and smaller kinds, a different course 
may be pursued. ~ 
“ Preserving delicate Alg@.—Small, filamentous, and gelatin- 
ous alge cannot be well preserved in the rough manner just de- 
scribed, and, when practicable, should be put up, after gathering, 
on the papers on which they are intended to remain. Witha 
little care, and after a few trials, the mode of preparing them will 
be easily learned. 
“lhe collector should have two or three flat dishes, one of 
which is to be filled with salt water and two with fresh; in the 
first of these the specimens are to be rinsed and pruned, to get 
rid of any dirt or parasites, or other extraneous matter; they are 
then to be floated in one of the dishes of fresh water for a few 
minutes, care being taken not to leave them too long in this me- 
dium, and then one by one removed to the third dish, and a piece 
of white paper, of the size suited to the size of each specimen, 
is to be introduced underneath it. ‘The paper is to be carefully 
brought to the surface of the water, the specimen remaining dis- 
played upon it, with the help of a pair of forceps or a poreupine’s 
quill, or any fine-pointed instrument, and it is then to be gently 
drawn out of the water, keeping the specimen displayed. ‘These 
‘wet papers, with their specimens, are then placed between 
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