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MONDAY AFTERNOON POPULAR LECTURES.— HOW TO 

 COLLECT AND PRESERVE BOTANICAL SPECIMENS. 



By James M. Macoun. 



(Delivered February 3rd, 1890.) 



Until a collector has become fairly well acquainted with a collect- 

 ing ground he should not attempt the collection of both phsenogams 

 and cryptogams at the same time. It is much better to make two 

 expeditions to one locality, collecting flowering plants the first day and 

 mosses, lichens, fungi, etc., on the occasion of a second visit. To do 

 good work with cryptogams it seems necessary to focus the eye especially 

 for them and even the most experienced collectors find it impossible to 

 collect them in a satisfactory manner unless they render themselves 

 practically incapable of seeing a flowering plant at all. As most of 

 you however confine your attention to flowering plants, let us imagine 

 that we are about to set out in search of them. It will be necessary to 

 take out with us nothing but a strong knife and a plant press or vascu- 

 lum. Except where plants are desired for study or ai-e very tender and 

 require peculiar care in drying, I know of no reason why the vasculuni 

 should ever be carried by one who is collecting specimens for preserva- 

 tion, although it will always be preferred by some, and much can be 

 said by them in its favour. Apart from the claims that either party may 

 offer, as regards the superior beauty and quality of specimens that have 

 been collected in the one way over those collected in the other, the one 

 argument that to me seems convincing is that if the press be used in 

 the field the specimen is secured beyond a doubt, while this is by ne 

 means certain if the vasculum be employed. Assuming that care has 

 been exercised in the arrangement of specimens in the vasculum, and 

 that the collector has reached home with the results of his day's work 

 in good order, there is still the mechanical and less interesting part of 

 the work to be done — the transfer of the specimens to whatever form 

 of press is used — -not infrequently one is too tired to do this at night, 

 and it is postponed until the following morning, when too often one is 

 so hurried that the work cannot be done properly, or perhaps not at all, 

 the bare possibility of this happening is sufficient in my opinion to 

 warrant the disuse of the vasculum altogether by collectors of specimens 



