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HOW TO EOEM A HEEBAEIUM. 



The collection of ferns for transplanting, and the col- 

 lection of fronds for preservation as botanical specimens, 

 are to be pursued at very different periods of the year ; 

 and as the former has already been alluded to, it is to the 

 latter that we are desirous of devoting a few pages. It 

 may be premised that for botanical purposes fronds desti- 

 tute of fructification are worse than useless unless they 

 belong to species which produce distinct fertile and barren 

 fronds, and in which the characters and appearance of 

 these fronds materially differ. In such cases the Uyo kinds 

 of fronds should be collected and preserved together. 



The period for collecting ferns for the herbarium is 

 therefore manifestly that when the fructification has nearly 

 attained to maturity, and it is always better to collect them 

 on a dry day than on a very wet one. The collector should 

 go out prepared for collecting ferns, if he desires that his 

 herbarium should present a neat and respectable appear- 

 ance when completed. Some recommend a vasculum, some 

 a bag, and some a large book under the arm ; but commend 

 us to two half-inch deal boards, about 11 inches by 17, 

 with a strap and buckle for each end, and twenty sheets 

 of good bibulous paper, cut to the same size, and placed 

 between them. Having selected a good frond or two for 

 preservation, taking care not to break the stipe or stalk, 

 but to separate it from the rhizome or root-stock, bend 

 back the stipe just below the lowest leaflets of the frond, 

 breaking the woody portion, but not dividing it from the 

 rest of the frond, and lay it carefully between a sheet of 

 your bibulous paper, and secure it with the spare paper 

 between your boards ; then proceed in search of more. 

 Fronds, which with their stalks are not too long for the 

 paper, should be laid in without bending. 



In selecting fronds for preservation, it is not the largest 

 that are required, but it is rather advisable to collect 



