272 BOTANICAL GAZETTE. [ October, 
Drying botanical specimens in sand.—This mode of drying specimens 
can not be called new, but, so far as I know, it is little practiced. Some- 
times a botanist needs a faithful drawing ofa plant asa whole, or in part. 
Perhaps he is too busy to make it at once, and may not have time to do 
it until the season of the plant is past. An herbarium specimen is not 
a satisfactory object for his purpose, and yet sometimes he must make it 
0. In the average case of this kind, the unfortunate victim of cireum- 
stances will find a sand-dried specimen to be as good for his purpose as the 
living plant. Suppose one wants to make a drawing of (nothera cexspitosa 
Nutt., and can not find time for the work until the plant has been out of 
bloom a month. By faithfully following the directions offered he will 
have just what he needs: Take a tin can, or other vessel large enough to 
hold the specimen without cramping in the least degree. Place the spe- 
pletely covered. When this is done properly, every leaf is buried in its 
natural shape; even the delicate stamens and the more delicate petals are 
in the exact position in which they were developed. In remov- 
ing the sand, after the specimen is dry, which takes from six hours toa 
week, according to its nature, great care must be exercised so as not to 
break the more fragile parts of the plant. To do the work nicely one 
should have a can made for the purpose. This need causes me to suggest 
the following device, which answers well. The size of this vessel will de- 
nd upon the individual requirements of the owner. It consists of 8 
can with a funnel-shaped bottom, having the aperture closed with a screw- 
cap. It may be conveniently supported in a wooden frame. This is & 
simple contrivance and not expensive. If one so desires, a rubber tube 
may be attached to the outlet at the bottom, through which the sand may 
be run into some convenient receptacle and saved for future use. 
Specimens dried by this method are not nearly so brittle as pressed 
ones; they retain their colors perfectly, as a usual thing, but they can not- 
be recommended for the herbarium, because they take up too much val- 
uable space.—F, W, ANDERSON, Great Falls, Mont. 
EDITORIAL. 
THE Discussion concerning botanical nomenclature is now fairly oD 
and can do no harm. Mr. Britten, in the Journal of Botany (Sept-), has 
written at some length con erning “recent tendencies in American 
botanical nomenclature,” taking for his text the recently published cata- 
logue of New York plants, and, in the main, protesting against the pro 
changes. Mr. EF. B. Sterns, in the Bulletin of the Torrey Club (Sept.) 
puts very clearly the views of those advocating reform in nomenclature 
