There are some parts of plants that loose a great deal of their beauty, not to say characteristic shape, by the ordinary process of drying for preservation between paper under pressure. For example, the leaves of the various kinds of pitcher plants are no longer the round long sacs for holding water that they were when growing, and the large blossoms of fantastic shapes so conspicuous, strange and beautiful in the orchid family lose nearly all, in ordinary drying, that made them attractive while fresh.

Many persons with conservatories wish to preserve some of the floral specimens in a dry state, but usually give up in despair after one or two attempts in the ordinary dry way or by means of the various solutions that have been recommended from time to time.

During the past two years some experiments have been made with a view of finding some cheap and convenient way of preserving the tender parts of plants or those of peculiar shape in their normal form. Nothing has been found that is better than hayseed. For a body like the pitcher of a cephalotus, timothy seed is excellent. The pitcher may be placed in a vessel containing the seed, the cavity or "pitcher" being filled with the same material. I have simply hung the pitchers up in the open air filled with the seed, and had them dry in perfect form. With the tender fantastic orchid flowers for example, some of the lighter grass seeds, as those of red-top, are better. The main point is to have a light and absorbent substance that will fill up the cavities and at the same time be of some weight to hold the slenderest part in place. I have had some of the orchid flowers with long slender floral parts several inches long dried in this way, that is, packed in grass seed, and they have held their shape and much of their color for a year pinned to a door casing in the laboratory.

The method is so simple that any one can practice it. The material is cheap and the results are satisfactory. Simply have a large-mouthed vessel - I used straight-sided glass jars, holding a half gallon - and fill in the seed around the specimens carefully, and let them stand in a dry warm room. - Byron D. Halsted.