Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-04-10

The first thing to do is to collect the plants.
Ihey should be carefully dug up with trowel,
good specimen, 1t is necessary to have the root
leaves, flowers and fruit. 1t also adds to the
value OF specimen If the Seeding is shown,
The autumn tint o: the leaves; if a parasite. the
plant on which it grows etc. When going on a
collecting expedition, it Is good plan to carry
a rev sheets OF newspaper In a portfolio and TO
as they are dug up, II this is not convenient,
they will keep fresh for some time if placed in a
tin case or vasculum. To dry them the sureSt
way Is to lay them between good many sheets
top and bottom OF the pile, and heavy weight
placed on the top OF ALL Change the papers
4 the plants quite flat and with a good many
sheets Of paper between them, or the thick
stems Will crumple and bend the thinner ones
The sheets OF paper on which to mount the
plants must be rather stout and of a uni
form size 1863 inch by 10H inch is a useful
size; but OF course this must depend on the
taste of the collector. Botanists differ very
mt Oh as to the best method of attaching the
specimens to the paper. Some attach them by
meals Of strips Of paper secured with pins,
Others gum or glue the specimens, others fasten
them with gummed straps OF paper, or sew
them with needle and thread TO the paper
The best yH. however. is to combine the last
three meth00s, and to secure plants OF medium
size, such as the buttercup, with narrow gum
med strips of paper; thick, woody plants such
as the oak with glue; and such delicate plants
as ferns and grasses should be tackled to the
the color of the specimen as possible Weak
gum may be used for the large petals Of flowers,
and for large fiat leaves; but when it is used
the plants s must again De laid under heavy pres
lowed in foreign herbana is to lay the plants be-
tween double sheet Of paper, without faSten-
ing them to the paper at all When managed
In this way they are more easily examined; but
the great disadvantage OF this plan is that both
the plants and their labels are very apt to be-
come inserted In the wrong sheets among speci-
mems OF totally different species.
When fastening the plants to the paper they
should not all be arranged precisely In the CEN
ter Of the page, but should be fastened more at
The sides, otherwise, when the plants are laid
one above the other, the packet will not be
nearly flat, but will be higher In the middle
than at the sides. With regard to the names of
sheet itself or on printed labels sold for the
purpose. II the herbarium is to be an aid to
the study OF botany, aud not mere ornamental
collection OF gaily tinted plants and flowers, 1t
Will be found very convenient to inclOSe flower
T. uit, bud, ETC., OF the plant In little envelope
fastened at one corner of the paper, SO as to
avoid touching the rest OF the plant for the pur-
pose of examination. These little envelopes
may be made on the same plan as those used by
TRADE smt to ii close change, or may Simply con-
8 Sc OF piece OF paper folded SO as to form a
small fiat case, similar to those In which seeds
men 1ncl0se seeds, and druggists powders, etc.
The labels must contain a brief history of the
plant, thus its technical and common names
habitat, by whom collected, where and when,
and the order to which it belongs After the
plants have been fastened down and labeled,
the next thing is to poison them, or the Insects
will soon find them out, and it will be observed
that they show their good taste by feeding
solely on juicy. succulent plants scarcely ever
touching the dry, sticky plants. The best
poison for this purpose consists OF one pound
each OF corrosive sublimate and carboic acid
to four gallons OF methylated spirits. The
great drawback to the preparation is its
dlsagreeable smell. The plants are simply
painted with it after or before fastening
down; II Il is done before, they require to be
pressed while the poison is drying. The best
way of preserving the color of flowers is to dry
them quickly. either by placing them between
sheets Of paper, tying them together firmly.
and drying them near a hot fire. sby laying
them amongst dry sand, OF by pressing them
with warn. fiat iron. This is an excellent plan
but great care must be taken not to have the
iron too hot, or the plants will become brittle.
No vanishing is requisite in forming herba-
rum; If the plants are properly dried and stuck
down they look better without it. When the
plants have all been duly affixed to their re-
spective sheets and labelled, they are ready to
be placed IN covers, SO as to be handy for refer.
ence Each genus should have a separate
cover, which should be of stouter paper than
that on which the plants are mounted. The
name of the genus should be written distinctly
in the bottom right-hanA corner.