HERBARIUM CASES. 
BY DR. C. C. PARRY. 
Norwitnstanpinc the lucidly expressed opinion of the present 
official authority in Washington, dignified with the high sounding 
title of the Honorable Commissioner of Agriculture, or the “ unim- 
portance of the routine duties of the herbarium botanist,” there 
has probably never been a time in the history of scientific botany, 
when greater attention has been given to this very important 
subject. 
More especially is this true of a rapidly increasing class of 
local or amateur “herbarium botanists,” who are intent on the 
collection and preservation for convenient reference and study, 
of limited floras, or particular natural orders of plants. 
Having had occasion from a somewhat prolonged experience 
as a botanical collector, to realize the want in my own case as 
well as-to observe the frequent loss of valuable material by-others, 
from the lack of suitable herbarium appliances, I have been led 
to adopt a simple contrivance with a view to meet the desid- 
eratum. i 
While for very extensive and permanently located herbaria, 
such as that of Prof. Gray at Harvard, stationary cases are per- 
haps more desirable on the score of economy ; still there is a 
manifest advantage in having a somewhat portable character to 
such depositories, in order that necessary additions can be incor- 
porated into the general collection with least disturbance of the 
original arrangement. More especially in the much larger class 
of collections subject to removal, is it advisable to provide for 
such contingencies, by separate portable cases. 
Still another advantage of such an arrangement is in limiting 
the depredation of destructive insects within narrow limits, where 
they can be checked without the great expense of going over an 
entire collection. In this view, (somewhat on the plan adopted 
in the British museum), I have adopted cases of the following 
description. 
These cases consist essentially of an evenly partitioned box, 
With double doors, black walnut (or hard wood) fronts, aa 
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