The Library of Work and Play: Outdoor WorkMiller, Mary Rogers
Philosophy
The Library of Work and Play: Outdoor Work
Miller, Mary Rogers
Agriculture -- Juvenile literature
Arrange a specimen just as it was taken from the ground, inside of
one of the half pages of newspaper. While it is not desirable to put
too much time on the arrangement of each specimen, it is as well to
place it in a natural position and in such a way that the leaves will
not lie all over each other and the flowers be crowded so that the
appearance will be awkward. But do not overdo this: if a flower droops
naturally, do not make it stick upright. With one of the boards as a
foundation build your pile of pressing plants up as follows: Lay on
two or more driers, then a folded newspaper holding a specimen, then a
drier or two. (If the specimen is a juicy thing, several blotters are
needed between it and the next one.) Now another specimen, a drier, a
specimen, etc., until you are through with the day's collecting, or
until the pile begins to topple. Finish with a drier, then put on the
other board, and weight it with your big stone.
The driers must be changed every day. Do not disturb the specimens, but
lift each folded newspaper from the old to the new pile, building up
with fresh driers as before. In a week or ten days most plants will be
thoroughly dry. If at all moist they are likely to mould after being
mounted and your work will be spoiled. A dried specimen is brittle and
needs careful handling.
Mounting paper, to be standard and uniform, should be white, plain
paper of a very heavy quality. It costs a cent a sheet, size eleven
and one half by sixteen and one fourth inches. No other size would be
acceptable if you wish at some later time to donate your collection to
the local museum or to sell it to some school.
There are several ways of fastening specimens to the sheet. Some
like to use little strips of gummed paper or court-plaster, but
old-fashioned glue is about the most satisfactory stuff. It is mussy to
work with till you get your hand in, but it holds the plants fast to
the sheet, and "that's the intintion." It is best to keep the specimens
in the newspaper wrappers until you have a lot ready to mount. Then
with a pot of glue, a dry cloth, a damp one, and a small brush you are
ready for business. Lift the specimen from the newspaper and lay it
first on the mounting sheet to get some idea beforehand of how you will
place it. You may have to prune it some to get it all on, but this is
not likely as your drying sheets are the same size as your mounting
paper. Having decided at what angle to place it, lay the specimen back
on the newspaper upside down. With your brush wet, but not dripping,
with glue, brush the stems, buds, leaves, and flowers lightly over the
back. Lift it again, turning it over as you transfer it to the white
sheet. With a light pressure make the parts fast and lay the sheet
aside for the glue to dry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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