Directions for collecting and preserving botanical specimens.

  • Greville, Robert Kaye, 1794-1866.
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Directions for collecting and preserving botanical specimens. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    0 ter understood by the annexed cut than by description. The whole instrument is 7 or 8 inches long-; the spud 2^ inches long-, 2\ inches wide at the top, narrowing- gradually to 2 inches at the bottom, the lower angles slightly rounded. It should be made suffi- ciently strong, to resist considerable force in digging out plants from the crevices of rocks, & c. 2- The Vasculum or Botanical Box. The diligent collector will find it convenient to have his boxes of two or three sizes. One of them should be small enough for the pocket, and is very useful for the reception of small and delicate plants, and such objects as demand peculiar care. The principal vasculum, for distinction’s sake, we call the Magnum. It should not be less than 20 inches long, 8 or 9 inches wide, and 5 inches deep, having a strong handle at one end. The form most strongly recommended is that exhibited in the annexed figure; in which it will be perceived, that the up- per surface, with the lid, is con- vex, the curve being similar to that of the under surface. The Magnum is, of course, only required on excursions when a con- siderable number of specimens are desired. On such occasions, it is indispensable, if the collector wishes to bring home his plants in a satisfactory state. In boxes intended for the pocket, and in them only, the common concave form of the lid may be retained with advantage. 3. The Field-Book. This may be carried or not, according to circumstances. It may be made of any size, from that of a large pocket-book to a folio, and is in fact nothing more than a portfolio, con- taining a quantity of absorbent pa- per, temporary pressure being given by a couple of straps. To the inner edge of one side is attached a piece of oiled silk, as well as to each end, which serves to keep the paper dry in case of rain. If the field-book is of a quarto or folio size, it may be slung oyer the