NATURAL HISTORY. 
99 
special care is needed, and no harm comes of two or three being put 
together. 
3. The Drying Press .—The great object, both to secure good specimens 
and to save labour and weight of paper, is to get the plants dried quickly ; 
and for this one of the first conditions is to lose as little time as possible 
When practicable, the specimens should always be put in the press on 
the same day on which they are gathered. The press should be made 
with two outer gratings of iron wire; the outer frame of strong wire, 
about a quarter of an inch in diameter—the size being that of the paper 
used. Between these the paper is laid. As to the choice of drying paper, 
the general rule is, that the coarser it is the better, provided it be quite 
or nearly quite free from size. 
To enable the plants to dry quickly, the traveller should be provided 
with light wooden gratings of the same size as the drying paper. I 
think the size 18 inches x 12 inches is quite large enough. The iron 
wire outer gratings may with advantage be a quarter of an inch longer 
and broader to save the edges of the wooden gratings. 
These should be made of light laths fastened with a few nails (all the 
h 2 
