_The Beating Cloth._--A very simple substitute for the umbrella, and one which can always be carried without inconvenience, may here be described. It consists of a piece of common unbleached cotton cloth (1 yard square), to each corner of which a loop of stout twine is sewed. Upon reaching the woods, two straight sticks, each about 5 feet in length and not too heavy, but also not so small as to be liable to break or to bend too easily, are cut from a convenient bush. The sticks are placed crosswise over the cloth and fastened to the loops at the four ends. This is easily and quickly done by making sliding loops of the simple loops. The cloth is thus kept spread out between the sticks, and forms a very good substitute for an umbrella. In beating, the sticks are held at their intersecting points. When not in use one of the loops is detached from the stick and the instrument can be rolled up and carried under one arm without seriously interfering with other operations of the collector. When laid on the ground, with the sticks on the underside, this simple instrument may be advantageously used as a cloth on which to sift or examine fungi, moss, pieces of bark, etc., and since the cloth is always tightly expanded, it offers a smooth and level surface, where examination of various objects can be made with ease and accuracy. [Illustration: FIG. 53.--The umbrella beating and sweeping net (original).] _The Umbrella Net._--A very convenient form of net for both sweeping and for use in place of an umbrella for beating has been devised by Dr. George Marx. (See Fig. 53.) It is constructed from an old umbrella, as follows: To the handle of the umbrella are attached two steel rods working on hinges at the apex of the umbrella, as do the ordinary umbrella ribs, and attached to the sliding piece of the umbrella in the same manner, as shown at _a_. These rods should be about 21/2 feet long. When the sliding piece is pushed up and caught behind the spring clip, as shown at _b_, a circular loop is formed giving the framework for the net. The latter, which should be comparatively shallow, is made of stout muslin and sewed to the frame, as in the ordinary sweeping net. The enlarged drawings _c_ and _d_ illustrate clearly the manner of constructing the frame. The advantage of this net is its convenience in carrying and its general usefulness, taking the place of both the umbrella and the sweeping net. When not in use the frame is allowed to assume the position shown at A, and the net may be wrapped about the frame and the whole inserted in an ordinary umbrella cover.