Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/191
sible before it is put into the vasculum; it occupies very little time, and saves unnecessary trouble at home.
As regards costume for ladies, in these days of crinoline and long trains, I find it difficult to dictate; but I strongly advise those who do not mind being thought "guys" to doff silks, muslins, and the like, and to don linseys or woollens, or such materials as will not be the worse for salt water. Thick worsted stockings, and shoes fitting tight round the ankles, will be found best for those who do not object to dabble in the water. Otherwise, india-rubber boots reaching nearly to the knees will satisfy all ordinary requirements.
Collectors should be cautioned against the very natural error of bringing home too many plants at once; for if they wish to avoid making a real toil of a pleasure, they must be moderate in their gatherings, or be content to risk the loss of some choice specimens which will decompose unless they are attended to before night. The first thing to be done upon arriving at home, is to empty the vasculum into a large white basin of sea-water, and to select the best and cleanest plants as soon as possible, giving each a good swill before placing it in another vessel of sea-water, and getting rid of rejected specimens at once, so that the basin first used will be available for rewashing the weeds before they are placed in the mounting-dish.
When a day is fixed upon for seaweeding, the collector should order a large bucket of clean sea-water, which, after being left to setting, should be strained through a towel, so as to be as free as possible from sand, dirt, and small marine animals. Three or four large pie-dishes will be necessary, varying from eight to twelve inches in length, the deeper the better, and white, if such can be obtained. Place these on a separate table with towels under them, and reserve a table especially for the mounting-dish and the parcels of papers, calicoes, and blotting-papers. The large white bath used in Photography is very well adapted for mounting seaweeds; the lip at one corner is convenient for pouring off soiled water, and its form, that of an oblong about two inches deep, is best adapted for receiving the papers upon which the plants are to be mounted. Beside this vessel should be placed the following implements:—a porcupine's quill, two camel's hair pencils, one small, the other large and flat, a pair of strong brass forceps, a pair of sharp-pointed scissors, a penknife, and a small sponge, an ivory paperknife, and two thin plates of perforated zinc, somewhat less than the inner space of the bath or mounting-dish.
Almost any kind of drawing-paper is suitable for mounting, but I generally employ stout unglazed paper for the large robust plants, and fine well-pressed paper for the more delicate species. The collector should be provided with three different sizes of paper, varying from six to eight or ten inches square, and these should have each a piece of calico and four pieces of blotting-paper to correspond. Some people make use of fine muslin, but for all purposes I prefer very fine calico, and that which has been frequently washed is the best. Care should be taken that the water be drained off the paper as completely as possible before the calico is laid over the plant, and this is accomplished by raising the paper on which the plant is displayed out of the bath by means of the piece of perforated zinc; then transfer it to a thin board placed in an inclined position against one of the basins, and with the large camel's hair pencil paint off the water, so to say, and absorb the rest around the plant with the sponge. Specimens may be left thus to drain, while the operator is arranging others. The calico should be placed upon the plant and the blotting-paper laid over it; a piece of blotting-paper should also be placed under the paper containing the plant. Almost all the branching seaweeds will require more or less pruning, or they will be troublesome to mount, and unsightly when pressed; therefore I advise their previous immersion in a deep dish of water, and their appearance when thus floating should be imitated as closely as possible when they are arranged in a flat position on paper.
With the exception of some of the Fuci, or coarse rockweeds, I never place seaweeds in fresh water; but with the former a few hours' immersion in fresh water is an advantage, as it soaks some of the salt out of them, and renders them more pliable. As nearly every species of Fucus turns black in drying, and few of them adhere well to paper, I arrange my specimens in single layers between the folds of a clean dry towel, and keep them under moderate pressure for a few days; when they are dry, they may be put away loosely, or gummed upon sheets of paper.
Care should be observed in subjecting plants to pressure, which, in the first instance, should be sufficient only to help the absorption of water; the first set of blotting-papers should be changed in half an hour after the whole batch of specimens has been placed in the press; these should be thoroughly dried before they are used again. After the second or third change, the plants should remain under strong pressure for two or three days; but the pieces of calico must not be removed until the plants are taken out of the press.
The ordinary employment of a few boards with a heap of stones, or a set of iron weights, for pressure, is a very cumbrous and unsatisfactory method of pressing seaweeds. Of course, where a towel-press can be obtained, the purchase of six or eight boards, about fourteen inches square and one inch thick, will be sufficient; but by far the best plan is that of