xlvi INTRODUCTION. 



225. A botanical Specimen, to be perfect, should have root, stem, leaves, 

 jloivers (both open and in bud) and fruit (both young and mature). It is not, 

 however, always possible to gather such complete specimens, but the collector 

 should aim at completeness. Fragments, such as leaves without flowers, or 

 flowers without leaves, are of little or no use. 



226. If the plant is small (not exceeding 15 in.) or can be reduced to that 

 length by folding, the specimen should consist of the whole plant, including the 

 principal part of the root. If it be too large to preserve the whole, a good 

 flowering branch should be selected, with the foliage as low down as can be 

 gathered with it ; and one or two of the lower stem-leaves, or radical leaves, 

 if any, should be added, so as to preserve as much as possible of the peculiar 

 aspect of the plant. 



227. The specimens should be taken from healthy uninjured plants of a me- 

 dium size. Or if a specimen be gathered because it looks a little different from 

 the majority of those around it, apparently belonging to the same species, a 

 specimen of the more prevalent form should be taken from the same locality 

 for comparison. 



228. For bringing the specimens home, alight portfolio of pasteboard, covered 

 with calico or leather, furnished with straps and buckles for closing, and another 

 for slinging on the shoulder, and containing a few sheets of stout coarse paper, 

 is better than the old-fashioned tin box (except, perhaps, for stiff prickly plants 

 and a few others) . The specimens as gathered are placed between the leaves of 

 paper, and may be crowded together if not left long without sorting. 



229. If the specimen brought home be not immediately determined when 

 fresh, but dried for future examination, a note should be taken of the time, place, 

 and situation in which it was gathered ; of the stature, habit, and other parti- 

 culars relating to any tree, shrub, or herb of which the specimen is only a por- 

 tion ; of the kind of root it has ; of the colour of the flower ; or of any other 

 particulars which the specimen itself cannot supply, or which may be lost in 

 the process of drying. These memoranda, whether taken down in the field, or 

 from the living specimen when brought home, should be written on a label 

 attached to the specimen or preserved with it. 



230. To dry specimens, they are laid flat between several sheets of bibulous 

 paper, and subjected to pressure. The paper is subsequently changed at in- 

 tervals, until they are dry. 



231. In laying out the specimen, care should be taken to preserve the natural 

 position of the parts as far as consistent with the laying flat. In general, if the 

 specimen is fresh and not very slender, it may be simply laid on the lower 

 sheet, holding it by the stalk and drawing it slightly downwards ; then, as the 

 upper sheet is laid over, if it be slightly drawn downwards as it is pressed 

 down, it will be found, after a few trials, that the specimen will have retained a 

 natural form with very little trouble. If the specimen has been gathered long 

 enough to have become flaccid, it will require more care in laying the leaves flat 

 and giving the parts their proper direction. Specimens kept in tin boxes will 

 also often have taken unnatural bends, which will require to be corrected. 



232. If the specimen is very bushy, some branches must be thinned out, but 

 always so as to show where they have been. If any part, such as the head of a 

 thistle, the stem of an Orobanche, or the bulb of a Lily, be very thick, a portion 

 of what is to be the underside of the specimen may be sliced off. Some thick 

 specimens may be split from top to bottom before drying. 



233. If the specimen be succulent or tenacious of life, such as a Sedum or an 

 Orchis, it may be dipped in boiling water all but the flowers. This will kill the 

 plant at once, and enable it it to be dried rapidly, losing less of its colour or 

 foliage than would otherwise be the case. Dipping in boiling water is also 

 useful in the case of Heaths and other plants, which are apt to shed their leaves 

 during the process of drying. 



