FIELD-WORK 3 
this, we have taken some pains in describing the leaves of the 
commoner species. It is necessary to examine and compare the 
leaves in a fresh state, and as most of our grasses are perennial, 
this part of agrostological study may be prosecuted at all seasons 
and when flowering specimens are not obtainable. 
A collection of dried specimens is desirable for several reasons, 
primarily for the purpose of reference and comparison at leisure, 
and for proof of the identity of rare or local species ; it also affords 
tangible evidence of one’s activity in the pursuit of a favourite 
science, and recalls to memory many a pleasant ramble. Good 
examples of average size, and truly representative of the species, 
are most likely to be obtained in places where the plant grows in 
abundance ; some grasses vary considerably when growing out of 
their accustomed habitat. No specimen can be regarded as com- 
plete without the root or rootstock, and this part of the plant is 
sometimes of importance in enabling us to identify the species ; 
the whole plant should therefore be taken up, and the creeping 
underground stems, when present, exhumed without being broken 
off; the roots should be washed quite clean on arrival home—an 
apparently large mass can thus be greatly reduced. The flower- 
clusters or spikelets of some grasses, particularly the Bromes and 
Barleys, if gathered in full flower, are liable to fall to pieces when 
dried ; it is better to gather such, and, indeed, nearly all grasses, 
a few days before the flowers are ready to open, because if the 
stamens are protruded, they fall off and get scattered throughout 
the herbarium. The locality and habitat from which each speci-, 
men is taken will of course be noted, as well as the date. 
The method of preserving plants by drying them between sheets 
of paper under pressure is so well known that very little need be 
said on the subject here. Grasses are more easily preserved than 
most other flowering plants, owing to the dry, chaffy nature of the 
bracts investing the flowers. Care is required with the leaves, as 
they are liable to shrink in width and roll up lengthwise; to 
obviate this, place the specimens in the drying-sheets immediately 
they are removed from the vasculum, and in arranging the drying- 
sheets put narrow slips of blotting paper upon the leaves, or at 
least upon two or three selected ones, until the thickness equals 
that of the stems. Some grasses are very brittle when dry ; hence 
moderately stiff paper is required for mounting. The neatest way 
to secure them to the mounting-sheet is with strips of tough paper 
looped over the stem and both ends passed through a perforation 
in the sheet, then gummed to the back. When the specimen is 
too large for the sheet, the stem has to be sharply bent upon itself. 
After being mounted and named, the species may be arranged 
according to the Manual that the student uses, or the London 
Catalogue ; failing these, the genera may be arranged and num- 
bered according to the synopsis in Chapter III. Keep the col- 
lection in a dry but cool place ; warmth induces brittleness. _ 
Specimens of the fruit, and of the fruiting spikes or panicles, 
may be gathered and kept in small envelopes, 
