186 OF THE HERBARIUM. 



Herbarium (with his own name added). 

 Fam., &c. 



Loe. 



Form. 



Leg. Date. 



Com. (or ex. Herb.) 



The labels had better be laid under the specimen, when 

 the latter is not fastened down, as then they are not so 

 easily lost at the opening of the wrapper ; at the same time 

 the name should be left exposed, so as to avoid disturbing 

 the plant, each time the name is required. Where the 

 specimen is fixed doAvn or kept in a paper bag, the label 

 may be attached by means of gum arabic. 



To the young student it may appear the simplest plan to 

 write the name, &c, at once on the paper on which the 

 specimen lies, without the intervention of a label. But 

 experience has proved that the latter plan is the most 

 advantageous. In the first place, there is frequently no 

 room on the half-sheet, a good- sized plant with its leaves 

 and twigs occupying nearly the whole of its surface. Again, 

 the plant may be wrongly named, for the beginner must natu- 

 rally expect to make numerous mistakes in nomenclature. 

 Now (supposing the name to be written on the paper 

 itself), as soon as he discovers his error, either corrections 

 must be made, giving the specimen an unsightly appearance, 

 or else a new half-sheet must be introduced, an unnecessary 

 waste ; whereas, in the case of the label, he has only to 

 remove the old one and substitute a new one in its place. 



It is customary, when a specimen is received from another 



