B.— FOSSIL PLANTS. 



I. Implements for Collecting: 

 Hammers, pick and shovel, iron bar, chisels, explosives, collecting bag, wrapping 

 paper, field labels, notebook. • 



II. Wrapping and Packing Specimens for Shipment. 



III. Collecting Fossil Plants. 



IV. Care of Specimens in tub Laboratory. 



Implements fok Collecting. 



HAMMER. 



The implements that are indispensable in the formation of a collection 

 of fossil plants are really very few ; in fact, it may be said that if the 

 occasion absolutely demands it they may be reduced to a single imple- 

 ment, viz, a hammer. A hammer of some kind can not be dispensed 

 with, and preferably it should be of the form indicated in the figure (Fig. 

 10). It should be made of well-tempered steel, and should have the 

 striking face square. The peen should be long and moderately thin, and 



should be flattened at 

 right angles to the han- 

 dle, or in the opi^osite 

 direction to the bit of 

 an axe. The weight of 

 the hammer should not 

 exceed one x>ound. The 

 handle should be very 

 strong but light, and 

 should not be over 12 

 inches in length. 



This form of hammer will be found very serviceable in digging and 

 prying up partly loosened material. It may be carried loose in the 

 hand, but if the expedition is to be long in the field some other method 

 of carrying it had best be adopted. Thus, it may be carried in a belt 

 worn around the body, or it may be placed in the collecting bag to be 

 described later on. 



A heavy hammer or sledge may in some case be found of great ser- 

 vice, such as breaking up hard nodules, or in reducing blocks of stone 

 that do not split readily in definite lines. It will hardly be foundprofit- 

 able to carry a large hammer of this kind on a long expedition when, 

 as is so frequently the case, transportation is an important item. Very 

 good work can usually be done, even on refractory material, with the 

 small collecting hammer. 



[41] 



Fig. 10— Haminer. 



