THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Juke 5, 18G0. 
153 
latter of which we have found to be the most convenient. It 
consists of a lens, to which is attached a brass ledge; along 
which, by means of a screw, a moveable button traverses : 
through this button the forceps holding the object is inserted. It 
possesses the advantage of keeping the object stationary whilst 
under examination, and admits of the employment of a better 
lighf. The following description of these articles is taken from 
the excellent Manual by Professor Balfour:— 
The Vasculum is a japanned tin box, which should be of such 
a length as to receive a plant the full size of the herbarium paper : 
it ought to be convex on 
both sides; its capacity 
may vary according to the 
fancy of the collector, but 
one about 20 inches long, 
by 8 or 9 inches wide, and 
5 deep, will not be found 
too large: it should be 
furnished with a handle 
at one end, and a couple 
of rings, through which a leather strap can pass to attach it to 
the shoulders ; the lid should be large and fasten with a little 
catch. 
The Trowel, or Digger, should be about 
7 or 8 inches long ; the spud inches long, 
24 inches wide at the top, narrowing gradu¬ 
ally to 2 inches at the bottom. It should 
be provided with a leather sheath, fastened to 
the waist by a strap, and the trowel also 
attached by a long string. 
The Field-look is intended to press such 
specimens as will not carry home without 
undergoing injury. Its outer cover may be 
formed of two very thin boards, and secured 
by straps so as to give pressure. It should 
be enclosed in an oilskin case to protect from 
wet; and may bo carried in the pocket, or 
attached to the neck by a 
string. 
Drying Paper .—We have 
found Bentliall’s paper to be 
excellent for this purpose, and 
always employ it. A suffi¬ 
cient stock should be provided, 
so as to have one set of papers 
drying whilst the rest are in 
use. A convenient size for 
general purposes is about 18 
or 20 inches long, and 11 or 12 
broad. It is as well, however, to be provided with more than 
one size. 
The Wooden Boards should be the exact size of the paper; 
twelve should be three-eighths of an inch thick, and two, which 
are to be employed on the outside, three-fourths of an inch. Some 
prefer sheets of tin to the use of boards on the inside, and they 
are certainly lighter and more convenient for carrying when on 
an excursion. 
The Collection should always be performed during fine, dry 
weather, as plants never keep well when collected wet with either 
rain or dew. When practicable the entire plant should be col- 1 
lected, and the roots be carefully washed to remove any dirt that | 
may adhere to them, and then dried. In cases where the entire 
plant is too large for collection, such portions as best illustrate its 
generic and specific characters should be gathered. In most 
cases it is necessary to have specimens of both flowers and fruit, 
particularly in the orders Leguminosce, Umbelliferre, Compositor, 
and others. In cases where the flowers appear before the leaves, 
it will be necessary to preserve the young twigs bearing the fully 
developed leaves as well as the flowers; and when the sexes exist 
in separate flowers, both male and female flowers should be col¬ 
lected. When bulbs or tubers abound in mucilaginous matter, 
it will be found advantageous to enclose them in a little paper so 
as to keep the drying paper free from dirt. In the collection of 
Ferns two fronds should be selected—one to exhibit the under 
surface with the reproductive organs, and the other to show the 
upper surface ; a portion of the rhizome should also be preserved. 
Grasses and sedges are generally easy of preservation; the entire 
plant should be collected, and when it exceeds the length of the 
paper it may be bent and rebent without injury. If on returning 
from an excursion, circumstances do not admit of immediate 
pressing, avoid putting the plants in water, they will keep much 
letter in the vasculum; and should the weather be dry and 
sultry, they may bo sprinkled with a small quantity of water. 
When portions of shrubs, or plants of woody texture, are re¬ 
quired to be preserved, the bark should be slit up and the woody 
portion removed. 
The Pressing. —In reference to the best means of effecting 
this branch of the process, the greatest difference of opinion exists. 
Balfour says the pressure ought not to be less than 100 lbs., and 
recommends the use of heavy weights to effect it. He also suggests 
the use of a rope tightened by a rack-pin instead of leather 
straps, attached to the boards used as a press when on excursion, 
as in case of an accident the straps may be difficult of replace¬ 
ment. Withering considers the pressure should be gradual, and 
this accords with our own experience. Some make use of a press, 
and obtain the requisite degree of pressure by the employment of 
screws or wedges ; others adopt the more simple contrivance of a 
flat board and some books, which we have found to answer very 
well. We have even heard of a gentleman acting the part of a 
press himself, by reposing at night on the plants he had collected 
during the day. 
In our opinion, one of the simplest and best methods consists 
in the use of a box exactly the same size as the paper and board 
employed; the requisite degree of pressure being obtained by 
the gradual addition of pebbles or sand, and of these we have 
found the former to be the more convenient. 
Arranging and Drying. —First place a parcel of four sheets 
of the drying paper upon one of the two thicker boards; then 
take a sheet of the drying paper and lay it evenly upon it ; and 
having selected a plant for preservation, place it on the inside of 
the right-hand sheet, and arrange the different parts of the plant 
so as to illustrate its principal generic and specific characters, 
imitating as much as possible the natural appearance of the plant; 
as each part is arranged, retain it in its assigned position by 
means of small pieces of paper about four inches square, upon 
which a small weight may be placed. Having completed the 
arrangement of the plant, remove the weights one by one, and 
allow the fly sheet to cover it; upon this place another parcel of 
four sheets, and proceed as before to lay out another plant. 
When as many as a dozen plants have been arranged in this 
manner, place one of the thin pieces of wood or tin upon them, 
and proceed as before until a sufficient number have been pre¬ 
pared for pressure; now place upon this one of the thick outer 
boards and the box containing the pebbles, which should 
be added to from time to time that the pressure may bo gradual. 
After twelve hours’ pressure, remove each plant with the forceps 
to dry paper, and proceed in exactly the same manner as before 
described, taking care to open out all crumples and rectify 
previous mistakes, arranging the plant as much as practicable in 
imitation of Nature. After intervals of twelve hours the same 
process should be repeated, gradually increasing the pressure 
until the plants are dry, which will generally be the case in a 
week or ten days, but varies with different plants. Some will 
dry with only one or two changings, whilst others occupy a long 
time; and some, as Orchids, Sedums, and S:mpervivum, are 
exceedingly difficult to dry at all. To accomplish the drying of 
these heat i3 generally employed; and they are submitted to a 
process of ironing with much success. Some speak very highly 
of this mode of proceeding in general, being of opinion that it 
preserves the colours of the flowers better than the ordinary 
process. From our own experience it seems highly probable that 
different flowers require particular temperatures to succeed well 
in preserving their colours ; and the method of treatment peculiar 
to each case is only to be acquired by practical experience. Some 
succeed in preserving the colours very well by the use of heated 
sand. 
Preservation. —When the specimens have been sufficiently 
dried, they should be carefully transferred with the forceps to a 
sheet of good thick white paper, in which they may either be 
preserved loose, or fastened to the right-hand sheet of the paper 
by means of thread, glue, or gum. Of these we prefer the former, 
as the two latter are apt to attract insects, which will in a very 
short time completely destroy an herbarium; to guard against 
their attacks, it is as well to brush the plants over with a 
spirituous solution of bichloride of mercury, consisting of 3 >j- to 
the Oj. Some prefer keeping the plant loose in the paper; they 
are certainly easy of examination under these circumstances. The 
botanical name, natural order, habitat, and date of collection, 
together with any other note of interest, should be written on 
the right-hand corner of the inner side of the sheet. The natural 
