Hints to the Young Botanist, 133 



Tiride-mouthed, glass-stoppered bottles, containing alcohol, or a 

 «trong solution of salt and water, or pjToligneous acid diluted 

 "witli little more than one-half of water. It is likewise advisable 

 to preserve seeds in separate parcels of paper, to prevent their 

 being scattered or lost. As soon as the specimens are thoroughly- 

 dried, they should be removed and either prepared at once for 

 the herbarium, or placed in sheets of smooth thin paper, with 

 name, &c., and temporarily stowed away, till a more convenient 

 time permit their proper arrangement. The Botanist should 

 -make choice of the best and most perfect specimens for his own 

 herbarium, and the remaining plants should always be carefully 

 preserved for the purposes of exchanges, donations, &c. He will 

 be frequently called upon by other collectors, and his botanical 

 generosity will always prove as much a source of gratification to 

 iiimself as to the recij)ient of his favors, Nor is it a lest gift, as 

 ere long he is doubly paid by the bounty of him whom he once 

 befriended. 



In forming a herbarium, it is necessary to place the plants either 

 in stiff portfolios or volumes, which may be :^'mbered, or in 

 wooden cases or boxes, say 4 inches deep, with a double lid, one 

 on the top and the ether on the front side. If the collection, 

 however, is likely to become large, it is preferable to get a cabi- 

 net made specially for the purpose, having folding doors and con- 

 taining sliding drawers or trays, whose measurement should be as 

 follows : length 19 inches, breadth 11^ inches, and depth 4 inches. 

 The trays may number twenty or twenty-four, disposed in two 

 TOWS, but the size of the cabinet depends on the collector himself 

 •who is better able to judge of his requirements. 



Having wherein to place his plants, he now prepares them fi- 

 nally for preservation. For this purj)ose, he must have a qujin- 

 tity of good thick white paper, cut in single sheets, and measur- 

 ing IV inches in length and 10.^ inches in width.* In all herba- 

 Tia, the plants should be fastened to the paper by white thread or, 

 what is better, by means of thin fine glue, or a solution of gum 

 Arabic and gum Tragacanth in a sufficiency of water. The mode 

 of procedure is as follows : The operator places a sheet of paper 

 in front of him and lays the plant to be fastened to it upon a 

 newspaper on his left side, with its upper surface undermost. The 

 glue is then applied carefully to its under surface by means of a 



* The best paper of the kind is that sold by Messrs. Weir & Dunn, of 

 -ibis city, under the name of B. Laid Medium 34 lbs, flat (Mill 60.) 



