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[Page 2]
upon it, Some have them so minute as to make it difficult to discover them; An Accurate Inspector however will surely find both one and the other in its proper season; the flowers of ferns are dusty Spots or lines on the Backs of their Leaves, and those Mosses little Balls or Cup - Shaped things, Supported on Small threads.
Specimens of flowers must be gatherd at the time when they are widest open, those of fruit when they have arrived at their full Size but before they have made any Approaches to ripeness.
Each Specimen whether intended for flowers or fruit must be Chose with a Competent number of Leaves upon it, Except when flowers and leaves grow upon Separate Stalks, in that case leaves must be sent, with the flowers, and tickets fastned to each with Corresponding Numbers, lest by a Mistake the leaves of one might be Supoorted to belong to the flowers of another.
No Specimen must be taken less than 15 Inches in length - unless the plant should not be of that size; in which case it should be taken up root and Branch and the whole dried together.
In some plants the lower leaves differ in Shape from the upper ones; in such case care must be taken to send of both sorts, this however never happens in trees and very seldom, in shrubs.
Of Every plant a fair Specimen with the flowers and abother with the fruit Should be taken if Possible, but either of them in Case they Cannot both be procured will be usefull./ the plants this gatherd are to be Lay'd in a Basket not pressed Close, Lest they Should bruise each other, and kept as much as possible from the Sun, that they may not fade nor wither: in Cases however where plants are to be brought from a distance it is better to have a faded or withered specimen than none at all.
When they are Brought home which Should be within a few hours after they have been gatherd, they are to be put in between the leaves of a paper Book, two leaves of which should be left between each plant they Should be lay'd as Smooth as the Conveniently Can, each - leaf flat to the paper: but no leaves or flowers are to be pulld off even if they should happen to be Rumpled, the Books are then to be piled upon each other and a flat board or some such thing of 10 or 12 lbs - Weight, Lay'd upon them, to keep the leaves of the Books together in this manner they are to Lay 12 hours: they are then to be taken up and will be found damp, the plants must therefore be shifted into other Books that are dry, during which time they may be materially smooth'd, and many leaves which have been Rumpled by the first Laying in Spread out flat and Even.
Each of these Books is then to be tied up with packthread