36 TREES OF THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES 



and B F G D shows the bark. The central pith is at I; 

 the heart-wood extends from C to J; the sap-wood from 

 J to D. The silver grain is well shown at the end, and 

 the blotches formed by it on the radial section. 



By having the piece made smooth, and the upper part 

 down to the center (H) varnished, the appearance of the 

 wood in furniture or inside finish will be illustrated. 



The specimens should be as nearly uniform in size as 

 possible. If a limb 8 inches in diameter be taken and a 

 length of 6 inches be cut off, the section A B D C should 

 pass through the line of pith ; the section E F G should 

 be parallel with this at a distance from it of two inches ; 

 and two inches from the line of pith, the section A E C 

 should be made. The whole specimen will then be 6 

 inches wide and long, and 2 inches thick. 



The twigs containing leaves, flowers and fruit need to 

 be pressed while drying in order that they may be kept 

 in good form and made tough enough to be retained as 

 specimens. The plants should be placed between a large 

 supply of newspapers, or, better still, untarred building- 

 felt, while drying. A weight of from 40 to 80 pounds is 

 needed to produce the requisite pressure. The weight is 

 placed upon a board covering the pile of plants and paper. 

 On account of the size of many leaves and flower-clusters, 

 these pressed specimens of trees should not be shorter than 

 from 12 to 15 inches, and even a length of 18 inches is an 

 advantage. The pads or newspapers should be about 12 

 by 18 inches. A transfer of the plants into dry pads each 

 day for a few days will hasten the drying and increase 

 the beauty of the specimens. The specimens of twigs can 

 be mounted on cardboard by being partly pasted and 

 partly secured by narrow strips of gummed cloth placed 

 across the heavier portions. The cardboard should be 

 uniform in size. One of the regular sizes of Bristol-board 

 is 22 by 28 inches ; this will cut into four pieces 11 by 14. 

 Specimens not -over 15 inches in length can readily be 

 mounted on these, and for most collectors this might be 



