254 Instruction for the Formation of a Wiltshire Herbarium. 



localities, with their habitats carefully recorded on accompanying 

 labels, in order that the Curator may select for permanent preser- 

 vation such of these specimens and labels as shall seem best calcu- 

 lated to show the actual distribution of plants in the county, and 

 to throw light upon the circumstances which operate in determining 

 their distribution. The selection of the specimens will, of course, 

 be chiefly dependent upon the accuracy with which their habitats 

 may be described on the accompanying labels ; reference, however, 

 being always made to those already in the Herbarium, so as to 

 prevent the unnecessary accumulation of specimens which can throw 

 no additional light on the subjects, for the elucidation of which 

 they are to be preserved. It would also be desirable to endeavour 

 to make a specimen serve two or more purposes. For instance, 

 say that you require specimens in three stages of growth, it may 

 occasionally be managed to make these three specimens also illus- 

 trate three localities or sections of the county. 



Fifthly, useful directions for the collecting and drying of plants 

 having been printed in " Balfour's Class Book of Botany," it is 

 only necessary here to refer botanists to that work for ample in- 

 structions on those processes, unless it be added that nothing 

 perhaps conduces so much to the beauty and good preservation of 

 specimens as the employment of an ample stock of paper. The 

 paper used for the process of drying plants should be moderately 

 absorbent, so as to take up the moisture of the plants, and at the 

 same time to dry rapidly after being used. That which is gener- 

 ally employed is Newman's, and is the best paper now made in 

 England. 1 The size recommended is sixteen inches long, by ten 

 broad. If the paper be sufficiently porous for rapidly absorbing 

 the moisture of the plants, and sufficient in quantity for preventing 

 the dampness of one layer of them from extending to others, it 

 will commonly be found the best practice not to change the papers 

 until the specimens have become so dry as no longer to require 

 the pressure of weights on the boards. 



Frequent changing of paper and the application of artificial heat 



1 Newman's "Botanical Drying Paper" can be obtained from Mr. Edward 

 Newman, 9, Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate, London. 



