560. _The Portfolio_ is best made of two pieces of solid binder's-board, covered with enamel cloth, which also forms the back, and fastened by straps and buckles. It may be from a foot to twenty inches long, from nine to eleven or twelve inches wide. It should contain a needful quantity of smooth but strong and pliable paper (thin so-called Manilla paper is best), either fastened at the back as in a book, or loose in folded sheets when not very many specimens are required. As soon as gathered, the specimens should be separately laid between the leaves or in the folded sheets, and kept under moderate pressure in the closed portfolio. 561. Of small herbs, especially annuals, the whole plant, root and all, should be taken for a specimen. Of larger ones branches will suffice, with some leaves from near the root. Enough of the root or subterranean part of the plant should be collected to show whether it is an annual, a biennial, or a perennial. Thick roots, bulbs, tubers, or branches of specimens intended to be pressed should be thinned with a knife, or cut into slices. Keep the specimens within the length of fifteen or sixteen inches, by folding, or when that cannot be done, by cutting into lengths. 562. =For Drying Specimens= a good supply of soft and unsized paper is wanted; and some convenient means of applying considerable pressure. To make good dried botanical specimens, dry them as rapidly as possible between many thicknesses of sun-dried paper to absorb their moisture, under as much pressure as can be given without crushing the more delicate parts. This pressure may be had by a botanical press, of which various forms have been contrived; or by weights placed upon a board,--from forty to eighty or a hundred pounds, according to the quantity of specimens drying at the time. For use while travelling, a good portable press may be made of thick binders' boards for the sides, and the pressure may be applied by strong straps with buckles. Still better, on some accounts, are portable presses made of wire network, which allow the dampness to escape by evaporation between the meshes. For herborization in a small way, a light wire-press may be taken into the field and made to serve also as a portfolio.