INTRODUCTION. 19 



MOUNTING AND PRESERVING. 



For "floating out " your "Sea Mosses," as it is called, 

 you should provide yourself a few simple tools and re- 

 quisites. You should have a pair of pliers ; a pair of 

 scissors ; a stick like a common cedar " pen stalk," with 

 a needle driven into the end of it, or, in lack of that, 

 any stick sharpened carefully; two or three large 

 white dishes, like " wash bowls ;" botanist's " drying 

 paper;" or common blotting paper; pieces of cotton 

 cloth, old cotton is the best; and the necessary 

 cards or paper for mounting the plants on. 



You will use the pliers in handling your plants 

 in the water. The scissors you will need for trimming 

 off the superfluous branches of plants which are too 

 bushy to look weU when spread upon the paper, 

 and to cut away parasites. The needle should be 

 driven point first, a considerable distance into the 

 stick, so as to make it firm, and allow you to use 

 the blunt end of it in arranging the finer details of 

 your plant on the paper. For drying paper, of course 

 you can use common newspaper, by putting many 

 thicknesses together; and a great many, no doubt, 

 will do that. But sheets of blotting paper wiU be 

 found much more satisfactory ; twenty-five of them 

 cut into quarters would probably be all you would 



