A PRACTICAL JOURNAL FOR AMATEURS. 
Copyright Secured, 1878. 
Vol. I. NEW YORK, AUGUST, 1878. No. «. 
How to Make An Herbarium. 
A Chaptee foe Young Collectoes. 
BY JOHN W. BUCK, B. SC. 
S the summer ad- 
vances doubtless 
many young lov- 
ers of nature will 
begin again 
gathering wild- 
flowers, and 
bringing them 
home in nose- 
gays, as they 
have often done 
before, to be 
looked at for an 
hour or two and then, when withered, 
thrown away. Some may have tried ere 
this to dry them, and so to keep a record 
of their industry and their love for flowers, 
but may not have succeeded to their own 
satisfaction for want of a little help or in- 
struction to begin with. It is for such that 
I intend this paper. To make a herbarium 
may sound a very imposing task, but such 
it need not be, for it can be done slowly 
and gradually — a plant at a time, if need 
be — and the flowers, when thoroughly dried 
and mounted, if taken care of, will keep an 
indefinite time and be a lasting source of 
enjoyment. Nothing is so conducive to a 
knowledge of our British wild-flowers as to 
make as complete a collection as possible of 
them; although those who take my advice 
and make the attempt will probably be sur- 
prised to find how few flowers they already 
know, and how many there are hidden 
away under the hedges or in the woods 
which they never saw before. An object 
such as this gives a new zest to our country 
walks, besides making us find out new 
ones; gives us pleasant associations with 
particular spots as being the places where 
we first found such and such a new flower, 
fern, or moss; and above all gives us new 
and brighteaied views of nature and of na- 
ture's God. 
To collect flowers for an herbarium, all 
that is necessary is a tin box and a trowel, 
though some collectors prefer to carry a 
portfolio containing porous paper and to put 
the plant under pressure on the spot. This 
has the advantage of securing it, so that the 
flower shall lose none of its freshness while 
being carried home; but it is a cumbrous 
and troublesome plan, and it will probably 
