SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 105 



Directions for Collecting and Mounting Botanical Speci- 

 mens. — It is often desirable to examine or study specimens of the native 

 plants at times when it would be impossible to obtain the living or fresh ma- 

 terial ; exotic plants or those of other regions would also be desired. To 

 make such study possible, plants are collected in their proper season and in 

 the regions where they grow ; they are properly dried and then attached to 

 sheets of paper and finally arranged in systematic order. Such a collection 

 is called a Herbarium. Herbaria are indispensable to the botanist. Some 

 suggestions are here given to guide the beginner in work of this kind. 



It must be remembered that no subsequent manipulation, however skilful, 

 will make good specimens out of poor material ; therefore, the first requi- 

 site is to get perfect specimens of the plants to be preserved. Such 

 specimens include leaves, flowers, fruit, and a portion or the whole of the 

 stem and root. 



In the great majority of cases a single properly selected plant will fur- 

 nish all these parts, since ripe fruit is not always essential. But if the 

 flowers precede the leaves, specimens of each must be collected separately 

 and at different dates. Usually the second collecting in such cases will ex- 

 hibit the mature fruit on the same branches with the leaves. Fully devel- 

 oped fruits or seeds are essential in case of several families of plants, par- 

 ticularly the Parsley family, the Mustard family, the Sunflower family and 

 the Sedge family. The specimens selected for the herbarium should be 

 average representatives of the species, neither above nor below the usual 

 size, and should show the usual characteristics in every respect. Besides 

 these, any unusual or aberrant forms that occur should be collected. If a 

 monstrosity or an individual differing much from the typical species is found, 

 it should, of course, be preserved. Often such a specimen is of the greatest 

 interest and value. 



The Size of the herbarium sheets on which specimens are to be 

 mounted is eleven and one-half inches wide and sixteen and one-half inches 

 long. Therefore all plants that are not over fifteen or sixteen inches high 

 can be taken entire. Bulbs or tubers, if present, should be secured — sliced 

 when thick in order to dry more quickly and to be in more convenient 

 shape at mounting time. Only a small portion of the root, however, is 

 needed ; but it would not be allowable to cut off the plant however near 

 the root, since it would not be evident how much of the plant had been dis- 

 carded. 



Usually a specimen can be bent sharply (broken, but not severed) in case 

 the plant is more than sixteen and a half inches high. In this way the 

 entire plant may be shown. Slender stems, as in case of some grasses, can 

 be bent (broken, but not severed) at two or even more points if necessary. 

 The specimens may be held in position till dry by slipping over the bent 

 portions narrow strips of paper in which longitudinal slits have been out. 



