4 
The difficulty of preventing collections of fungi from becoming mouldy 
before they can be worked over has been overcome by the use of large drying 
tins of galvanised iron. These tins, a convenient size for which has been found 
to be 2 x 1 ft. x 15 ins. high, have been so constructed that the whole upperside 
can be lifted off in one piece by means of a handle towards each end. The 
down-turned edge of the upperside fits into a narrow gutter which passes all 
round the top of the tin on the inside of the side-walls: the lid thus fits inside 
the top. The gutter is partly fill*ed with semi-solid grease and when the lid 
is lowered into it an air-tight joint is made all round. The collections are 
packed into the tin along with a jar of anhydrous calcium chloride and some 
paradichlorbenzene, and they can be kept bone-dry indefinitely without deterio¬ 
rating: it is advisable, however, to dry off or to replace the calcium chloride 
after the first month. Paradichlorbenzene has been found a most effective and 
cheap means of killing insects in the Herbarium, and collections of fungi, which 
are likely to contain beetles, are invariably treated with it before storing. The 
tins thus obviate the poisoning of the material with corrosive sublimate, which 
is the usual method adopted to prevent the growth of moulds and which has the 
serious drawback that it renders microscopic examination difficult, if not im¬ 
possible, by destroying the delicate tissues. The collections can be put into thin 
capsules of oil-paper and stowed away compactly. 
A cheap and effective means has also been found for storing the bulky fruit- 
bodies of species of Fomes, Trametes, etc., since it is impracticable to attach 
them to herbarium sheets in the ordinary way. Tins of galvanised iron have 
been made of such a size as to frt exactly into the compartments of the her¬ 
barium cupboards. All but the very largest specimens can be stored in this 
way and can easily be referred to by pasting a label on the end of the tin. In 
this case, the collections must be poisoned before storage and two or three 
poisonings are sometimes required before the mould is inhibited in the wet 
weather. 
Distribution of specimens. Specimens were lent for study to the following 
persons and institutions:— 
Prof. W. G. Craib, Aberdeen (Siamese plants) . . 400 
Mr. C. E. Carr (orchids) .. .. .. 131 
Forest Research Officer, F. M. S. (Dipterocarpaceae) . . 210 
Mr. I. H. Burkill .. .. . . .. 115 
Mr. W. E. Nicholson (Hepaticae) . . .. 55 
Bureau of Science, Manila (Fungi) . . . . 7 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew .. . . . . 5 
Prof. Hitchcock, U. S. A. (grasses) . . .. 1 
Botanic Gardens, Buitenzorg .. . . . . 128 
Total .. 1,052 
Duplicate specimens were distributed to:— 
Dr. E. D. Merrill, New York 
Botanic Gardens, Buitenzorg, Java 
Forest Research Officer, K. Lumpur 
Bureau of Science, Manila 
Imperial Forestry Institute, Oxford 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 
Ministry of Commerce and Communications, Bangkok . . 
Govt. Systematic Botanist, Coimbatore, India (cult, plants) 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Calcutta 
Dr. E, B. Copeland, U. S. A. (ferns) 
British Museum (Natural History) 
Arnold Arboretum, U. S. A. 
Sun Yatsen University, Canton 
637 
544 
417 
335 
321 
366 
258 
227 
143 
123 
105 
78 
76 
Carried forward .. 3,630 
