Aug. 1, 1865.] 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



175 



sible before it is put into the vasculum ; it occupies 

 very little time, and saves unnecessary trouble at 

 home. 



As regards costume for ladies, in tbese days of 

 crinoline and long trains, I find it difficult to dictate ; 

 but I strongly advise those who do not mind being 

 thought "guys" to doff silks, muslins, and the like, 

 and to don linseys or woollens, or such materials as 

 will not be the worse for salt water. Thick worsted 

 stockings, and shoes fitting tight round the auldes, 

 will be found best for those who do not object to 

 dabble in the water. Otherwise, india-rubber boots 

 reaching nearly to the knees will satisfy aU ordinary 

 requirements. 



Collectors should be cautioned against the very 

 natural error of bringing home too many plants at 

 once; for if they wish to avoid making a real toil 

 of a pleasure, they must be moderate in their 

 gatherings, or be content to risk the loss of some 

 choice specimens which will decompose unless 

 they are attended to before night. The first thing 

 to be done upon arriving at home, is to empty the 

 vasculum into a large white basin of sea-water, and 

 to select the best and cleanest plants as soon as 

 possible, giving each a good swiU before placing it 

 in another vessel of sea-water, and getting rid of 

 rejected specimens at once, so that the basin first 

 used wiU be available for rewashuig the weeds 

 before they are placed in the mounting-dish. 



When a day is fixed upon for seaweeding, the 

 collector should order a large bucket of clean 

 sea-water, which, after being left to settle, should 

 be strained through a towel, so as to be as free as 

 possible from sand, dirt, and small marine animals. 

 Three or four large pie-dishes will be necessary, 

 varying from eight to twelve inches in length, the 

 deeper the better, and white, if such can be obtained. 

 Place these on a separate table with towels under 

 them, and reserve a table especially for the mount- 

 ing-dish and the parcels of papers, calicoes, and 

 blotting-papers. The large "white bath used in 

 Photography is very well adapted for mounting sea- 

 weeds ; the hp at one corner is convenient for pour- 

 ing oif soiled water, and its form, that of an oblong 

 about two inches deep, is best adapted for receiving 

 the papers upon which the plants are to be mounted. 

 Beside this vessel should be placed the following 

 implements : — a porcupine's quill, two camel's hair 

 pencils, one small, the other large and flat, a pair of 

 strong brass forceps, a pair of sharp-pointed scissors, 

 a penknife, and a small sponge, .an ivory paperknife, 

 and two thin plates of perforated zijic, somewhat 

 less than the inner space of the bath or mounting- 

 dish. 



Almost any kind of drawing-paper is suitable for 

 mounting, but I generally employ stout unglazed 

 paper for the large robust plants, and fine well- 

 pressed paper for the more delicate species. The 



collector should be provided with three different 

 sizes of paper, varying from six to eight or ten 

 inches square, and these should have each a piece of 

 calico and four pieces of blottmg-paper to corre- 

 spond. Some people make use of fine muslin, but 

 for all purposes I prefer very fine calico, and that 

 which has been frequently washed is the best. Care 

 should be taken that the water be drained off the 

 paper as completely as possible before the calico is 

 laid over the plant, and this is accomplished by 

 raising the paper on which the plant is displayed 

 out of the bath by means of the piece of perforated 

 zinc ; then transfer it to a thin board placed in an 

 inclined position against one of the basins, and with 

 the large camel's hair pencil paint off the water, so 

 to say, and absorb the rest around the plant with 

 the sponge. Specimens may be left thus to drain, 

 while the operator is arranging others. The calico 

 should be placed upon the plant and the blotting- 

 paper laid over it ; a piece of blotting-paper should 

 also be placed under the paper containing the plant. 

 Almost all the branching seaweeds will requhe more 

 or less prnniog, or they vdll be troublesome to 

 mount, and unsightly when pressed; therefore I 

 advise their previous immersion in a deep dish of 

 water, and their appearance when thus floating 

 should be imitated as closely as possible when they 

 are arranged in a flat position on paper. 



With the exception of some of the Puci, or coarse 

 rockweeds, I never place seaweeds in fresh water ; 

 but with the former a few hours' immersion in fresh 

 water is an advantage, as it soaks some of the salt out 

 of them, and renders them more pliable. As nearly 

 every species of Pucus turns black in drying, and 

 few of them adhere well to paper, I arrange my 

 specimens in single layers between the folds of a 

 clean dry towel, and keep them under moderate 

 pressure for a few days ; when they are dry, they 

 may be put away loosely, or gummed upon sheets of 

 paper. 



Care should be observed in subjecting plants to 

 pressure, which, in the first instance, should be 

 sufficient only to help the absorption of water ; the 

 first set of blotting-papers should be changed in 

 half an hour after the whole batch of specimens has 

 been placed in the press ; these should be thoroughly 

 dried before they are used again. After the second 

 or third change, the plants should remain under 

 strong pressure for- two on three days ; but the pieces 

 of calico must not be removed until the plants are 

 taken out of the press. 



The ordinary employment of a few Ijoards with a 

 heap of stones, or a set of iron weights, for pressure, 

 is a very cumbrous and unsatisfactory method of 

 pressing seaweeds. Of course, where a towel-press 

 can be obtained, the purchase of six or eight boards, 

 about fourteen inches square and one inch thick, 

 will be sufficient • but by far the best plan is that of 



