XXll 



RULES von PRESERVING, ETC. 



as possible, 3"our fresh-gathered plants, just as you brought them in from the shore. 

 For you must neither squeeze them nor rinse them in fresh-water, nor do anything, 

 in short, to get rid of the sea-water which hangs round them, and which, if you 

 will allow it to dry naturally upon them, will both preserve them sound and keep 

 them pliable, so that they will easily remoisten. If they are very dirty indeed, you 

 may send for some clean sm-water and shake them in it, so as to get them into 

 a state of average cleanliness before scattering them on the newspaper. But, even 

 then, no squeezing or dabbing is allowed. Shake them once or twice if you please, 

 if they are streaming as you lift them from the basin, but that is all. 



Now, in warm weather, and in a dry place, and with plenty of air, your plants 

 will soon begin to dry a little. And if you like to turn them over after an hour 

 or two, there can be no objection, for there is no reason why the hay-making 

 principle should not be useful here, and both sides of a sea-weed have the same 

 chance. Even with turning, however, and that more than once, it is uncertain how 

 long your plants will be before they are sufficiently dry for packing. Sometimes — 

 but not often in England — a few hours will suffice; at others, a few days will be 

 necessary. The artificial heat of a room may be used now and then to assist the 

 operation, but it must be done in moderation. When tolerably dry — sufficiently so 

 for there to be no danger of their clinging together and moulding, you may drop 

 them into paper bags, ready to be packed up when next you start. And the word 

 drop is used, to make it thoroughly understood that they must be allowed plenty 

 of air-room, and on no account be pressed down to get them into a small compass. 

 And the same loose packing must be practised with the bags themselves. The plants 

 will not bear squeezing. 



This rough-drying process is perfect for all the coarser plants, and answers very 

 fairly with so many of the others, that you cannot do better than practise it wherever 

 you go. For, even when able to lay out some plants at the time you collect them, 

 it is always pleasant to have a few more after you come home, whether for yourself 

 or for giving away, and such paper bags of sea-weeds travel nicely in a hamper, 

 and are very light. 



And the plan is invaluable for another reason. It is so easily carried out, that 

 you may even venture to ask non-naturalist friends to practise it in your behalf, 

 if either living or travelling in other countries. And in this way your collection 

 may be enriched by some of the curious and beautiful growths which exist in distant 

 seas. For algfB preserved in this manner remain in good condition for a length ot 

 time, and all but the veiy delicate ones will bear wetting and being laid out at 

 leisure, quite well. 



There remains now to be considered the process of laijing out, which, be it remem- 

 bered, when well done at first, is the one sure way of preserving algse in perfection. 



It is a rather complicated operation, but soon learnt, and easily practised, when 

 once understood. Some little contrivance is necessary, however, to avoid annoying 

 other people and injuring furniture; and a luxurious algologist would like to have 

 a room to himself, with a carpet that would not stain, and a deal table which no 

 amount of splashing would spoil. Bat it is wonderful what may be done without 

 luxuries! I have known it possible, even when visiting, to lay out plants in a 

 bed-room, washing them in a basin, spreading them in any shallow bath that 



