OF THE FERNS AND FLOWERING PLANTS. 171 



veniences and appliances brought to bear on them in the 

 botanist's own residence ; but", on the other hand, it must 

 be remembered that they would suffer greatly, perhaps as 

 much, from being transported for a week or ten days in a 

 vasculum, before they were pressed. 



Two sets of frames with a proper supply of paper will be 

 found sufficient; and, as soon as the plants are partially 

 dried, which, with most of them, takes place within twenty - 

 four hours, they may be transferred from the first to the 

 second set. When the preparation is complete, they may 

 be laid one upon the other for the convenience of carriage, 

 without fear of any permanent injury being done to them. 



To return to the more usual methods of preparation. 

 Specimens collected on different occasions ought not, if 

 possible, to be placed under pressure in the same pile ; 

 because the last and freshest are sure to impart some of their 

 moisture to the others, which are already more or less dried, 

 and are very likely to spoil them in consequence. If the 

 piling them together is unavoidable, then they must be 

 separated by thin boards, so as to prevent the damp from 

 the plants more recently obtained being communicated to 

 -those which have already perhaps been shifted two or three 

 times. For a like reason very succulent plants should not 

 be put up with those of a less sappy nature ; besides, the 

 former require to be more frequently shifted than their 

 drier neighbours ; and to place them together would cause 

 unnecessary disturbance to the latter. 



[Through the kindness of a friend, I have lately been 

 made acquainted with a process of drying, which, if we may 

 judge from the very beautiful results obtained, leaves no- 

 thing to be desired. It consists in placing the specimen, 

 soon after it is gathered, in a tall narrow vessel, and then 

 pouring over it very gently a sufficient quantity of clean 

 dry sand, to cover it entirely. In this state it is left undis- 

 turbed (unless, as sometimes happens, the drying material 

 has to be renewed) until the moisture emanating from the 



