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of sheets undei- pressure. The driers between which speecimens have 

 been placed should be changed at least twice a day, until the plants are 

 almost dry, and care should be taken that the papers used for driers should 

 be quite free from moisture ; this is best effected by spreading them out 

 where the sun's rays will fall directly upon them, or by placing them 

 in an oven or upon a stove. If specimens are to be dried quickly, two 

 sets of driers should be used and changed every half hour, the driers 

 not in use having in the meantime been thoroughly dried and heated j 

 or the specimens may be placed between thick sheets of blotting paper 

 and dried in a few minutes by means of a hot flat-iron ; or after the 

 specimens have been in the press lor one day they may be placed 

 between two driers and exposed to the sun. Some species lose their 

 original colour if dried in any of these ways, but their number is small 

 and experience soon teaches one what they are ; they are however apt to 

 become brittle, but this difficulty may be obviated with a little care. The 

 specimens should not be made quite dry, but only almost so, and then 

 placed under light pressure for a few hours. Many plants such as the 

 Sedums or Stonecrops, the Cacti, nearly all Orchids and some others 

 are difficult to dry if ordinary methods be employed ; they may, how- 

 ever, be made ready for the herbarium in a few hours by simply dipping 

 them in boiling water a sufficient number of times to quite kill them ; 

 thei*e is nothing then to be done but to press out the moisture they 

 contain. By this means all plants of a succulent nature are most easily 

 dried. 



Potamogetons and kindred water-plants should be placed between 

 masses of paper as soon as taken from the water, and while still wet 

 pressed a little and then transferred to the ordinary driers which need 

 not again be changed. 



Vascular Cryptogams such as ferns, equisetums, and club-mosses 

 are collected with flowering plants, as they are of about the same size 

 and dried in much the same manner. 



In collecting mosses, lichens, fungi and liver-worts, the vasculum, 

 a basket or even a canvas bag, or large handkerchief may be used ; 

 with the exception of fungi all are best when collected shortly after 

 rain has fallen, and are then, too, procured most easily. "With 

 the exception of fungi the method of drying all is the same, and is very 



