88 
BRITISH FERNS. 
rium, by all means keep it as a whole ; this can only 
be done with the smaller ferns ; in most of the Nephro - 
diums, and in the other large species, we shall find it 
difficult to get a frond small enough to lie upon one 
sheet, and yet not a dwarfed frond, for that is not ad- 
missible as a specimen of the normal type. When the 
frond is too large for the sheet, it must be folded to the 
requisite size while yet fresh, and a sheet of the botanic 
paper placed between the folds, so that the different 
parts may not touch one another. Mr. Newman tells 
us that colour can only be retained by using BentalFs 
paper, and you should start with a good supply of it, 
so that several sheets may be placed between each sheet 
of specimens. Frequent changing is neither necessary 
nor desirable ; the fronds may lie under a light pressure 
for twenty-four hours in hot weather or in a warm dry 
position, or for double that length of time if the weather 
be damp ; the paper should then be changed, and the 
position of the frond can be altered at the same time, as 
it will not have begun to stiffen ; but after that change 
no further one is necessary. If the collector has time 
and space for abundant specimens, he should, after se- 
curing two average and perfect specimens of the normal 
type of the fern, select specimens of various sizes, the 
most gigantic and the most dwarfed within his reach, 
and also specimens of every variety into which the spe- 
cies is apt to run. Further, he should press specimens 
in every stage of fructification. 
When the specimens are sufficiently dry and firm the 
collector must proceed to fasten them on the sheets of 
the herbarium. Strong cartridge paper is the best, as 
it forms a safe backboard for the fronds, which soon 
become extremely brittle. If the sheet will admit two 
