4 



is then closed over the pile and drawn together as tightly as 

 possible by means of the straps. It may now be placed some- 

 where in the shade, while other plants are being collected. Col- 

 lectors who make several hundred specimens a day, collecting 

 twenty or more specimens' of .each kind, frequently place all 

 of one kind together without papers between, leaving the ar- 

 rangement on sheets to be done when the plants are put into 

 the drying press 5 but this should never be done except when 

 plants are abundant and there is not time or facility for col- 



» lecting them otherwise. 



Plants, even when carefully collected and preserved, are 

 absolutely worthless without data. The collector of a limited 

 number of specimens should have time to write at least the 

 date and locality upon the collecting sheet as each specimen is 

 put into the press. In collecting many sheets of the same 

 species a certain number may be given to each ^ species, and 

 should be placed on every sheet collected. Each species should 

 be given a different number. It is the practice to begin with 

 I and number consecutively. If a plant which has been col- 

 lected is collected again later, it should be given a new num- 

 ber. This number, together with all the data of the plant, 

 is then set dow^n in a book kept for the purpose. The latter 

 method saves much writing in the field, the numbers on the 

 sheets enabling the collector to refer at once to the proper data 

 for any plant when desired. Too much stress cannot be laid 

 upon the value of abundant field notes. If every botanist 

 would carry a note-book in which to enter everything of in- 

 terest about the plants, the study of them later in the herbarium 

 would be much more attractive than it is at present. 



It frequently requires considerable ingenuity to properly 



' arrange plants in the press. Those that are less than sixteen 

 inches high are easily managed, and much taller specimens 

 may be bent once, twice or thrice to make them of the right 

 size. There are few herbaceous plants in the Northern 

 States that cannot be disposed of in this manner. Of others 

 it will suffice if flowers, fruit, all forms of leaves and a sec- 

 tion of the stem are preserved. The herbarium will look much 

 better if bulky roots, stems and fruits are pared down on one 

 side, or in some cases on both, before the plant is pressed. 



