CHAP. VI. OF HERBARIA. 46? 
be written at the foot of each specimen, and the name at the 
lowest right-hand corner. If any of the flowers, or fruits, or 
seeds, are loose, they should be put into small paper cases, 
which may be glued, in some convenient place, to the paper. 
These cases are extremely useful; and fragments so pre- 
served, being well adapted for subsequent analysis, will often 
prevent the specimen itself from being pulled in pieces. 
The best size for the paper appears, by experience, to be 
lOf inches by 16 J. Linnaeus used a size resembling our 
foolscap ; but it is much too small ; and a few employ 
paper 11 J inches by 18 J; but that is larger than is neces- 
sary, and much too expensive. 
In analysing dried specimens, the flowers or fruits should 
always be softened in boiling water: this renders all the parts 
pliable, and often restores them to their original position. 
In arranging specimens, when thus prepared, every species 
of the same genus should be put into a wrapper formed of a 
whole sheet of paper, and marked at the lower left corner 
with the name of the genus. The genera should then be put 
together according to their natural orders. 
In large collections it is often found difficult to preserve 
that exact order which is indispensable to the utility of an 
herbarium ; and accordingly, we constantly find botanists 
embarrassed by multitudes of unarranged specimens. As this 
is a great evil, I trust that a few hints upon the subject may 
not be without their use ; especially as, by attending to them 
myself, I have probably not 500 unarranged specimens in a 
collection of between 20,000 and 30,000 species. — Never suffer 
collections, however small, to accumulate ; but the very day? 
if possible, that a parcel of dried plants arrives, put each in 
its place. For this purpose they should not be glued down ; 
but each species, with a ticket explaining its origin, name, 
&c., should be laid loose upon a half-sheet of waste paper, 
and then put into the cover of the genus to which it be- 
longs : if the genus is not recognised, and there is no time for 
determining it, then take a cover, marked with the name of 
the order at its lower left-hand corner, and put them in it ; 
or, if the order is not known, then put the specimens into 
covers marked with the names of countries instead of orders, 
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