680 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



place them in the box, and wash those which 

 liave been gathered in muddy places. If you 

 have been very successful, and your box begins 

 to show symptoms of repletion, sit down and 

 revise its contents; throw away the inferior 

 things, and retain nothing but what is really 

 worth preserving. You will thus bring home 

 your collection in a good state, although you 

 may have, perchance, (no uncommon thing in 

 the Scottish Highlands,) to walk a dozen miles 

 to your quarters. If the sun is ver}'- powerful, 

 cover your specimens with a few large leaves, or 

 even a little grass, and sprinkle a few drops of 

 water over them. Having returned with your 

 treasures, j'ou will be anxious to commit them 

 to paper. Provide yourself with a number of 

 slips of paper, two inches long by one inch 

 broad, with a slit half an inch in length cut in 

 the centre, and have your knife and forceps at 

 hand. Place now half a dozen sheets of paper 

 upon one of the double boards, and proceed to 

 lay out your specimens ; one or more on the 

 same sheet, according to their size. It is not 

 desirable that the branches, leaves, &c., should 

 be artificially displayed : separate them slightly, 

 if they require it, and take care that the parts 

 .ire not unnaturally bent or folded. Long slen- 

 der plants, however, that require to be folded, 

 must have the folded extremity passed through 

 the slit of one of the paper slips, which will 

 keep the parts in their proper position. Lay 

 down your specimens (as a general rule) with 

 their roots towards you, and as you place five 

 or six sheets of paper upon them, arrange the 

 leaves, &c., with your hand or the forceps, and 

 then proceed with other specimens, until you 

 have a dozen or more sheets of them aiTanged. 

 Cover them,, then, with one of the thin boards, 

 and begin another series, and so on until all your 

 plants are secured. Place the other double board 

 upon the top, and submit the whole to pressure. 

 The above directions are sufficient for the pre- 

 servation of most plants : there are some, how- 

 ever, which demand particular treatment. If 

 the specimens are woody, or very thick in the 

 stem, a slice can often be taken from the back 

 without affecting the character of the plant : a 

 portion of the plant may be removed if it is 

 densely tufted ; and some of the branches of the 

 back in such plants as Mppophile rhamnoides, 

 primus spinosa, &c. Robust plants that yield 

 but slightly to pressure, statice armeria for exam- 

 ple, and others which do not yield at first to 

 pressure, require a thin board to be placed be- 

 tween every sheet of specimens. The stone-crop 

 ti'ibe must be plunged for some minutes into 

 boiling-hot water, and then pressed between 

 coarse napkins until the external moisture 

 be removed, before they are committed to 

 paper : unless this be done, the plants will live 

 for a month under pressure, and the leaves die 



and fall off by degrees. Aquatic plants should 

 also be freed fi-om external moistui'e by means 

 of napkins, and the same plan may be advanta- 

 geously resorted to when specimens are collected 

 in wet weather, which is sometimes inevitable. 

 Orchideous plants must be subjected to great 

 pressure, and ought to be dried very rapidly : 

 scarify the back of the stem, and the midrib on 

 the back of each leaf with a knife, in order that 

 the juice of the plant may have an outlet by 

 which to escape : separate the flowers also, by 

 inserting small pieces of paper between them. 

 When plants have large and delicate corollas, 

 place a piece of thin paper, somewhat larger than 

 the corolla, above and below it, to remain until 

 the specimens are dry. The quantity of paper 

 to be placed between each sheet of specimens 

 will vary according to circumstances. For plants 

 of a thin texture, and containing little moisture, 

 five or six sheets are sufficient ; but more is 

 necessary for succulent kinds, for aquatic plants, 

 and for plants in general, when gathered in wet 

 weather; likewise for woody and robust speci- 

 mens. 



In regard to the frequency with which the 

 paper ought to be changed, this, for ordinary 

 plants, is a dailj^ operation, and ought on no 

 account to be omitted, until they are very nearly 

 dry. Aquatic and very succulent plants should 

 be transferred to dry paper twice a-day ; and the 

 species oi sedum, &c., which have been plunged 

 into hot water, several times during the first and 

 second days, as the moisture is given out very 

 rapidly. Change the paper in which orchideous 

 plants are drying twice a-day, and let it also be 

 well heated. If you are stationary, and have 

 plenty of paper, slender plants, like many of the 

 grasses, &c., and others containing very little 

 moisture, like myosotis collina and versicolor, &e. 

 may be allowed to remain in the paper aftei 

 having received a single change, until they are 

 dry, two or three extra sheets being placed be- 

 tween the specimens. In giving your specimens 

 their first change of paper, you will not omit to 

 rectify any mistake in their disposition, and 

 place those leaves right that have been acci- 

 dentally folded, &c. 



On the second day of your excursion, you will 

 liave a quantity of damp paper on your hands. 

 In some places it is easy enough to get it dried, 

 but in the little inns of mountainous districts, 

 the difficulty of getting several reams of damp 

 paper dried daily, at first sight appears insur- 

 mountable. Nothing, however, is more readily 

 eff^ected, provided you wait upon yourself. Hav- 

 ing brought a roll of thick cord (and a score of 

 strong nails in case they should be wanted,) fix 

 one end of the cord to the roof of the kitchen, 

 and carry it backwards and forwards along the 

 roof as many turns as you require. Hang yo\ir 

 paper on these ropes in parcels of a few sheets 



