OF THE FERNS AND FLOWERING PLANTS. 
161 
wise mould and mildew will speedily develop tliemselves, 
or at any rate the corollas will lose their bright tints, and 
the leaves become spotted and black. 
As most of our readers must be aware, all these plants are 
prepared for the herbarium, by being laid between sheets 
of paper and placed under pressure. The choice of paper 
for this purpose is by no means a matter of indifference, as 
the beauty of the specimens and their ultimate preserva- 
tion depend in a great measure on the speedy and thorough 
extraction of the fluids contained in their tissues.* Blotting 
paper is an excellent material ; but the quantity required 
when the gatherings are on a large scale prevents it from 
being ordinarily employed. On the whole, common print- 
ing paper may be recommended with safety ; and the cheap- 
ness and abundance of newspapers in the present day makes 
it easily attainable in large quantities. 
Proof, however, should be made of its powers of absorp- 
tion before being used; for some of the newspapers are 
prepared in such a manner as to prevent them from im- 
bibing water freely. 
One special point to be kept in view is, not to be sparing 
of the drying material, but to have so much at hand that 
frequent changes may be made. This is of the last im- 
portance, as a false economy is ruinous here. 
In order to dry the sheets when they are removed from 
the press, they must be spread out in such a manner as to 
expose the largest possible surface to the air. But as this 
occupies more space than most botanists can spare, the 
following plan will be found of service : it is quite as 
effectual, and the eye is not offended with the sight of 
numberless papers lying in disorder about the floor of a 
* An excellent paper in appearance (I have not yet had the oppor- 
tunity of trying it), is manufactured expressly for botanical pur- 
poses by E. Newman, Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate, N.E. ; and 
is also sold by Mr. J. Smith, 42, Rathbone Place, Oxford Street. 
— Ed. 
M 
