4-0 The West American Scientist. 



BOTANY AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. 



About Herbariums — As the present number is likely to be 

 read by a great number of young students of botany, a few direc- 

 tions about forming an herbarium may be useful. 



Each specimen of a plant should be made as complete in itseli 

 as possible, showing the root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit. When 

 too large the root has to be dispensed with, but never when pos- 

 sible to preserve. Grasses should always have the root, and be 

 preserved entire by so folding as to fit your paper. Where both 

 flower and fruit cannot be had in one specimen, they should be 

 obtained separately, first a flowering specimen and later a fruit- 

 ing specimen, from the same tree or bush, if practicable, at least 

 from the same locality. Where the fruit is too large for the herb- 

 arium, like nuts and acorns, they may be kept in a separate cab- 

 inet, like shells and minerals. Such a collection I consider as 

 necessary to an herbarium as the dried plants themselves, and 

 should also contain specimens showing the wood and bark of 

 trees, shrubs or woody plants, together with large, tuberous roots, 

 bulbs and numerous other things, which are rarely properly rep- 

 resented in herbariums. Usually a quarter section five inches in 

 length is the most convenient and useful size for wood specimens, 

 but I generally aim to secure a full section several feet long, so as 

 to have material to exchange with others. 



Do not be afraid of too many specimens. It is always best to 

 get at least five — not less than three — herbarium specimens ol each 

 plant, so that in case you cannot identify the plant yourself you can 

 send one to a botanist for naming. This is always a good plan 

 when in doubt, and few botanists will object to naming a plant for 

 a nice specimen — the smallest return you can make lor his cour- 

 tesy. 



It is very important to label your plants properly. As soon as 

 you get a plant put it to press (do not place in a tin case, nor wait 

 until you get home). Write on the sheet of paper in which you 

 place it the date collected, the locality, as exactly as practicable, 

 the character of the ground where it is found — whether in a cul- 

 tivated field, on a rocky hillside, in clefts, in a swamp, or else- 

 where. It is well to note the color of the flower, the size of the 

 largest plant of the kind seen, and the average size ; note whether 

 useful or a nuisance, give its common name, if you know or can 

 learn of any belonging to it, and any other facts you may be able 

 to observe in the fields. 



Do not leave any point to memory. The color will fade or 

 change its hue ; when you return home you may not be able to 

 recall every fact relating to each of your plants — the exact spot 

 where found, or the character of the ground — unless you have 

 noted it down. 



It is well for each collector to get a blank book and make a cat- 

 alogue of his herbarium, preserving therein every note he has 

 made on the plants, and numbering each specimen or set of spec- 



