134 Hints to the Young Botanist. 



camel's hair pencil, immediately after wliich, tlie plant is to b& 

 lifted and turned by the fingers or forceps and transferred to the- 

 slieet of paper upon which the root, stem, leaves and flowers are 

 to be slightly pressed. Two or even three specimens of the same 

 species may be placed on the sheet, provided there be sufficient 

 room. Tne name of the plant is then to be neatly written at the 

 bottom of the sheet, generally on the right hand side, with its lo- 

 cality or habita% date of collecting, and other particulars if worthy 

 of notice. As soon as this is done, the specimen is to be put 

 tinder a slight and uniform pressure for an hour or two and af- 

 terwards removed to its proper place in the cabinet. The other 

 specimens are to be prepared in the same way, and should the 

 stems be strong and thick, they may be more firmly secured by 

 narrow strips of gummed paper,, laid transversely across. In or- 

 der to preserve the specimens from the attacks of insects, they 

 may be lightly touched with a solution of corrosive sublimate in- 

 camporated spirit, say half a drachm to the ounce. 



In placing the plants in the herbarium, all the species of a genus 

 should be put together, and each genus should be marked and 

 separated by a single sheet of firm coloured paper of fine texture^ 

 If they be arranged according to the Natural System, which is 

 the best mode of classification, the plants included in each order' 

 should be inserted within a sheet of larger and stiffer paper, as- 

 cartridge paper, to which the name of the order is attached so as 

 to be readily seen when reference requires to be made to it.. The 

 Ifatural Orders should likewise be arranged according, to an ap- 

 proved system. The only other points of importance regarding 

 the herbarium are, that it should be well secured under lock and 

 key and put in a safe and dry place, and. the trays subjected to 

 an occasional airing to prevent the adhering of moisture to the 

 paper, and thus preserving the specimens from becoming mouldy. 



We now offer a few remarks in refeience to the naming of 

 plants. This may be either a task of some difficulty or one of 

 great ease to the young botanist, according to his knowledge of 

 the structure and anatomy of the various parts of plants, and the 

 means he may adopt to discover their names. If previously un- 

 acquainted with botanical science, he should gradually maka- 

 himself familiar with the plant, more especially the flower and 

 the different forms of roots and leaves — the various terms applied 

 being studied through means of a glossary. The flower requires 

 special attention, because it may be said to form the basis of clas?- 



