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IN USE AT THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN. 229 
the bottom covered with fine, clean, dry sand to the depth of 
about an inch. In this the flower to be preserved, from which 
previously all surface moisture has been removed, is adjusted by 
sticking the stalk in the sand and heaping the sand around, or in 
any way that best will facilitate the next operation. This 
consists of adding slowly more sand, building it up around the 
corolla, and pouring it into the centre of the flower and around 
the parts in such a way as not to alter the shape of the flower by 
the weight of the sand. This is continued until the flower is 
completely covered. The box is next placed over an ordinary 
sulphuric acid desiccator and the whole stood on a plate and 
under a glass bell-jar. The plate with the bell-jar is then placed 
on the hot-water pipes used for heating the building, or in an 
oven kept at a temperature of about 40° C. It is left undisturbed 
for a week or longer, when the box is taken out and the sand is 
carefully run off by folding down the sides. Considerable care 
must be exercised in handling flowers so dried, as they become 
extremely brittle. Any sand that adheres is removed by means 
of a soft brush or by letting sand fall in a gentle stream from 
some height upon the specimen. The falling grains, hitting those 
adhering to the specimen, dislodge them, but at the same time 
the height from which the sand falls should be adjusted so that 
the force of the falling sand is not sufficient to break the speci- 
men. Flowers so dried may be kept in any well sealed vessel, 
provided there is also placed within the jar a small quantity of 
lime or other desiccator to absorb any moisture! contained in the 
jar. 
I have found the cardboard box with folding sides easier to 
work with than the “cornet” of paper recommended as a 
receptacle for the specimen and sand during the drying 
process, 
The weak points of the process appear in the shrinking of 
the parts that takes place, in the difficulty of preserving the 
natural shape perfectly, and in the impossibility of removing the 
sand from the nectar surfaces present in most flowers. The 
adhering of the sand to the cut surfaces makes impossible the 
* Prof. Errara recommends a glass jar with a wide mouth, the hollow 
Stopper of which is about two-thirds filled with lime kept in position by a 
piece of skin. 
