COLLECTING ECONOMIC PLANT DATA b> 



4. Date of collection. Some collectors, to save time and space, write 7/4/44 to indicate 



July 4, 1944, but Europeans and Latin Americans would interpret this symbol 

 to mean the seventh day of the fourth month in the year 1944, or April 7, 1944. 

 To avoid confusion it is best to use Roman numerals for the month, VII/4/44, 

 or else to spell out the month as Jufy 4, 1944. 



5. Name of collector and collector's number. The collector's complete name should be 



clearly written. Each collector should make certain that his name always ac- 

 companies his specimens; otherwise there might be danger of confusing the 

 specimens of different people when the material is received elsewhere for study. 



Collector's numbers are essential and always should be used if any- 

 extensive series of specimens is to be accumulated. The number serves 

 as a convenient symbol in referring specifically to a certain set of speci- 

 mens of a given species, collected at the same time and place, and grow- 

 ing under the same conditions. It is used in correspondence, in lists of 

 identifications, and also for citations in scientific publications. The col- 

 lection numbers should start with 1 and continue consecutively in a 

 single series throughout the years, regardless of how many countries 

 or places may be visited. Some collectors are prone to begin a new series 

 of numbers each year, or they may sometimes assign the same number 

 to two different plants or to plants from widely separated localities, 

 but such a procedure leads to endless confusion. It is essential to have a 

 single series of numbers and to keep the system as simple as possible. 



Of course, no hard and fast rule can be laid down to cover all situa- 

 tions, and each person will work out a scheme to fit his own needs. For 

 instance, if one were collecting extensive series of material in unrelated 

 groups such as plants and insects, it doubtless would be desirable to 

 maintain separate lists for each group. In such a case the major group 

 might be assigned straight serial numbers, and the groups of secondary 

 importance or interest might be designated by combining letters with 

 the separate series of numbers: that is, 1-428 would indicate — Insect 

 collection No. 428, or F-326 would indicate — Fungus collection No. 326. 



If one were making primarily a large series of dried pressed specimens 

 of a specialized crop like quinine and adding, only occasionally, an 

 insect pest, diseased plant, or propagation material which related to 

 the main series, then he might best assign the same collection number 

 to all but still use the initial letter "A," "I," "F," or U P" to designate 

 the supplementary items (see sample entries and explanations pp. 11-12). 



How To Keep Field Notes 



The collector should have two types of notebooks in which to keep 

 field data; one should be small enough to carry in the pocket for record- 

 ing brief information at the time of collecting, the other, a larger, ledger 

 type of book, to be kept at headquarters and used for making perma- 

 nent records at the end of the day's work. It is most important that 

 pertinent data be written down at the time of observation. Do not trust 

 to memory weeks, days, or even hours later. 



Some collectors prefer to carry with them printed forms, such as 

 perforated leaflets bound into booklets (see fig. 1). By use of a carbon 

 interleaf it is possible to have a copy of the field notes which can be 

 detached and incorporated with the specimen. This method is apt to 

 have several disadvantages. Most people do not write legibly at all 

 times and this fact, coupled with field conditions unfavorable for writ- 

 ing, too often results unsatisfactorily. Then, too, the carbon copy may 



