44 
HISTORY OP BRITISH FERNS. 
paper, to which they should be fastened by a few thread 
ties, or gummed straps; or, if they have to be much 
turned over, they may, for greater safety, be fastened 
down with glue. The specimens, no doubt, admit of a 
much more convenient and searching examination when 
kept loose in a folded sheet of paper ; but if there should 
be frequent occasion to handle such loose specimens, they 
will be found much more liable to become injured and 
broken than such as are fastened to the paper; and the 
risk is lessened in proportion to the degree in which they 
are made fast. 
The specimens should be fully labelled, the labels giving 
at least their names, the locality where gathered, and the 
date. These labels should, as far as possible, be fixed 
with some degree of uniformity as to the position, so as to 
be readily referred to by turning up one of the corners of 
the sheets of paper. 
The papers to which the specimens are affixed should 
be enclosed in paper covers, formed of whole sheets, i.e. 
two leaves, each genus being put in a separate cover, with 
the name written or printed on the lower left-hand outer 
corner. The printed labels prepared for the herbarium 
are very useful for this purpose. These covers should be 
