COLLECTING AND PREPARING. 807 



{b) Packing. — All specimens should be wrapped in newspaper 

 or tissue paper, care being taken that if more than one specimen is 

 rolled into the same piece of paper, they do not touch each 

 other. It is imperative that this rule should be followed, otherwise 

 good specimens will be ruined. Avoid the common habit of putting 

 unwrapped specimens in the pockets. If paper becomes scarce, 

 grass or leaves or other substitutes may serve for temporary pack- 

 ing, but such specimens should be repacked before shipment. 

 Broken specimens should have each fragment wrapped separately. 

 As before noted, delicate specimens should be packed in small boxes 

 between layers of cotton batting, the box being filled with the latter. 

 All the specimens from one bed and locality may after wrapping 

 be made into a package, wrapped in manila paper, or put into one 

 of the paper bags. A single label with date, locality, bed, name of 

 collector, and any other desirable information should be put inside 

 of the package — being first folded once or twice, with the writing 

 inside. If the labels are of colored paper, they will be easily de- 

 tected on unpacking. Never write the locality, etc., on the margin 

 of the wrapping paper. It is generally obliterated in transit or lost 

 in unpacking. 



Always tie the bundle or bag with twine, and write the essentials 

 of the label on the outside, preferably with a blue pencil. This 

 aids in sorting large collections afterwards and finding the material 

 wanted first. Single specimens should of course have separate 

 labels, wrapped with the specimen. When the packages are ready 

 for shipping, pack them tightly into moderate sized, strong wooden 

 boxes (soap boxes are best), or into barrels, placing the packages 

 on their ends, not on the flat side. The box should be solidly 

 packed, and all empty spaces filled in with paper, excelsior or other 

 packing. Never pack so loosely that the packages can move in the 

 box during shipment. It is well to number the boxes and keep a 

 record of the contents of each. Never be content to write the 

 locahty only on the outside of the package or box, for this is subject 

 to erasure during shipping. 



