KULES 



FOR PEESERVING AND LAYING OUT 

 SEA-WEEDS. . 



Wtieneyer it is possible sea- weeds should be laid out on paper, and put under 

 pressure the same day they are gathered; but as this is not always practicable, 

 especially to lady-collectors, who have friends' convenience to consult, and other 

 matters to attend to, it is well to point out the two other methods by Avhich shore- 

 gatherings may be kept tolerably safe, until the laying out can be accomplished. 

 I shall call one the damping process; the other is called rough-drying. 



The damping process is chiefly for cases of emergency, although it can be made 

 available for the complete drying of plants if carefully repeated. Now one of an 

 amateur-collector's emergencies is, when in the course of travelling in an orthodox- 

 touring hurry with non-naturalist friends, she has collected a basketful of plants on 

 the shore, but has neither time nor opportunity for even rough-drying them — much 

 less for laying them out; and the question arises. What is to be done with them? 

 for they will soon decompose and become worthless if they are allowed to lie long 

 together in a mass. 



Well, let her travelling-bag always contain two or three old towels — soft thick 

 ones are best — and at the first ten minutes' opportunity let her deal with the sea- 

 weeds as follows: — 



Spread one of the towels on a table or the floor, and scatter a few plants in a 

 row across it, near one end, but leaving enough of towel beyond to fold over the 

 plants. When so folded, scatter a second row on the fold itself, remembering in 

 all cases to spread and separate the plants nicely, so that they may not lie too 

 thick. Then double this fold over so as to cover the plants, and proceed to scatter 

 a third row as before; then fold it over, and so on again till plants and towel are 

 formed into a sort of roly-poly pudding; the towel answering to the paste, and the 

 sea-weeds to the sweetmeat. It will be a dampish bundle, but, wrapped in a dry 

 towel, it may be stowed away in a bag, or covered up in the sea-weed basket. 



It is to a well-known algologist, my friend Miss Cutler, that I am indebted for 

 these hints, and as the plan was practised by her in my behalf on the occasion of 

 a hurried visit to the shore at Exmouth, and many of the plants were laid out 

 successfully the following day, I have no hesitation in recommending it in cases of 

 inevitable hurry. 



Rough-drying has other advantages, and is performed as follows: — Spread three or 

 four newspapers on the floor of an airy room, or in any airy situation, so that it 

 is not exposed to the full blaze of the sun; for, as before explained, sunshine takes 

 the colour out of sea-weeds. On these newspapers scatter, as lightly and thinly 



