DRYING  OF  PLANTS  FOR  THE  HERBARIUM. 
149 
quires  of  thin,  firm  paper.  I  have  tried  both  methods,  and 
without  wishing  to  arrogate  to  myself  superior  knowledge  or 
skill,  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  one  who  collects  with  port- 
folios can  do  more  and  better  work  by  one-third  than  he  who 
collects  with  a  tin  box.  Any  person  who  collects  a  large-flowered 
Convolvulus  in  a  tin  box,  and  who  succeeds  in  making  even  a 
tolerable  specimen  of  the  flower,  has  a  greater  stock  of  patience 
than  I  can  boast  of.  In  another  particular  I  think  your  direc- 
tions capable  of  improvement.  Instead  of  pressing  my  specimens 
on  the  outside  of  the  sheets  of  paper,  I  put  my  specimens  within 
a  sheet  of  paper,  one  or  two,  if  large,  and  many,  if  small,  and 
never  move  them  from  within  that  sheet  till  they  are  dry.  Thus 
then  there  is  no  risk  of  breakage,  which  will  inevitably  happen 
in  some  cases  during  the  process  of  drying,  if  they  are  removed 
from  one  paper  to  another,  especially  such  as  are  resinous  or 
milky.  I  have  also  used  during  the  past  winter  a  very  thin  paper 
of  small  size  for  the  collection  of  Mosses,  Hepatic^,  and  other 
very  small  or  delicate  plants,  and  have  found  it  very  convenient. 
I  could  thus  keep  perfectly  distinct  twenty  or  thirty  species  of 
these  little  plants,  besides  gathering  four  or  five  quires-full  of 
larger  plants  in  a  day's  excursion  ;  I  cannot  imagine  how  I 
could  have  done  it  with  a  vasculum.  I  carry,  in  my  portfolio,  a 
piece  of  thin  India-rubber  cloth  for  its  protection  in  case  of  rain. 
"I  also  employ  a  peculiar  method  for  making  handsome  spe- 
cimens of  such  succulent  plants  as  Portulacacece,  Piperacece, 
Orchids,  &c,  though  it  may  be  no  new  thing  to  others.  As  soon 
as  possible  after  such  plants  are  collected,  I  pass  over  them  a 
hot  flat-iron,  thus  partially  scalding  them ;  they  then  dry  rap- 
idly ;  the  parts  adhere  together  as  well  as  any  plants,  and  they 
preserve  almost  entirely  their  color  ;  some  do  so  perfectly.  I 
would  advise  a  collector,  especially  one  going  to  tropical  coun- 
tries, to  provide  himself  for  this  object  with  a  plate  of  copper 
half  an  inch  thick,  of  convenient  size,  round,  or  square,  or  oblong, 
I  would  prefer  copper,  because  it  retains  its  heat  much  longer 
than  iron,  and  does  not  rust.  I  imagine  this  method  might  be 
successfully  employed  in  drying  Agarics." — Hooker  s  Journal 
of  Botany,  and  Pharm.  Jour.,  Dec,  1857. 
