Flowering plants of the Riviera : a sescriptive account of 1800 of the more interesting species online

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A SELECTION OF BOOKS ON BOTANY,
GARDENING, ETC.

ALPINE FLORA : for Tourists and Amateur Botanists. With Text
descriptive of the most widely distributed and attractive Alpine plants.
By Dr. JULIUS HOFFMANN. Translated by E. S. BARTON (Mrs. A.
GEPP). With 40 Plates containing 250 Coloured Figures from
water-colour sketches by HERMANN FRIESE. 8vo, js. 6d. net.

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CHEMISTRY OF PLANT PRO-
DUCTS. By PAUL HAAS, D.Sc., Ph.D., Demonstrator in Organic
and Applied Chemistry and in Chemical Physiology at the University
College, London ; and T. G. HILL, A.R.C.S., F.L.S., Reader in
Vegetable Physiology in the University of London, University Col-
lege. With Diagrams. 8vo, 75. 6d. net.

TEXT-BOOK OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY. By DANIEL TREMBLY
MACDOUGALL, Ph.D. With 159 Illustrations. 8vo, ;j. 6d. net.

A POPULAR TREATISE ON THE PHYSIOLOGY OF PLANTS.
By Dr. PAUL SORAUER. Translated by F. E. WEISS, B.Sc., F.L.S.
With 33 Illustrations. 8vo, gj. net.

DISEASES OF PLANTS INDUCED BY CRYPTOGAM 1C PARA-
SITES, Introduction to the Study of Pathogenic Fungi, Slime Fungi,
Bacteria and Algae. By Dr. KARL FREIHERR VON TUBEUF,
Privatdocent in the University of Munich. English Edition by
WILLIAM G. SMITH, B.Sc., Ph.D., Lecturer on Plant Physiology,
University of Edinburgh. With 330 Illustrations. Royal 8vo, 1 8s. net.

A PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF BOTANY :
Flowering Plants. By ]. BRETLAND FARMER, D.Sc., Professor of
Botany in the Royal College of Science, London. With 121 Illustra-
tions. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d.

A SCHOOL FLORA. For the Use of Elementary Botanical Classes.
By W. MARSHALL WATTS, D.Sc. Lond. With 174 Illustrations.
Crown 8vo, 3^. 6d.

SOUTH AFRICAN FLOWERING PLANTS : For the use of Be-
ginners, Students and Teachers. By the Rev. Professor G. HENSLOW,
M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., etc. With 112 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 5-$-.

PLANTS AND THEIR WAYS IN SOUTH AFRICA. By BERTHA
STONEMAN, Huguenot College, Wellington, South Africa. With 275
Illustrations. Crown 8vo, y. 6d.

AN INTERMEDIATE TEXT-BOOK OF BOTANY. By ERNEST
EVANS, Natural Science Master, Technical Institute, Burnley. With
303 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 6s.

A YEAR'S BOTANY. Adapted to Home and School Use. By
FRANCES A. KITCHENER. With 195 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 55.



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New York, Bombay and Calcutta.



A SELECTION OF BOOKS ON BOTANY, GARDENING,
ETC. continued.

ROYAL GARDENS. By CYRIL WARD, B.A., Member of the Royal
Cambrian Academy of Art, Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, and
New Society of Water-Colour Painters. Illustrated with 32 full-page
colour reproductions from original water colours and 5 pen drawings
by the author.
Royal 8vo, i6s. net.
Large Paper Edition restricted to 250 copies. Royal 4to, 42$. net.

HOME AND GARDEN : Notes and Thoughts. Practical and Critical,
of a Worker in both. By GERTRUDE JEKYLL. With 53 Illustrations.
8vo, 6s. net.

WOOD AND GARDEN : Notes and Thoughts. Practical and Critical,
of a Working Amateur. By GERTRUDE JEKYLL. With 71 Illus-
trations. 8vo, 6s. net.

ITALIAN GARDENS. After drawings by GEORGE S. ELGOOD, R.I.
With Notes by the Artist, and 52 Plates in Colour. Royal 4to, 42^.
net.

SOME ENGLISH GARDENS. After Drawings by GEORGE S. ELGOOD,
R.I., with Notes by GERTRUDE JEKYLL, and 50 Plates in Colour.
Royal 4to, 42*. net.

THE AMATEUR GARDENER'S ROSE BOOK. By Dr. JULIUS
HOFFMANN. Translated from the German by JOHN WEATHERS,
F.R.H.S., N.R.S. With 20 Coloured Plates from Drawings by
HERMANN FRIESE and 16 Woodcuts. 8vo, 75. 6d. net.

ROSES, THEIR HISTORY, DEVELOPMENT AND CULTI-
VATION. By the REV. JOSEPH H. PEMBERTON, Past President of
the National Rose Society. With a Frontispiece in Colour, 9 Litho-
graphic Plates and other Illustrations in the Text. 8vo, IDS. 6d. net.

THE PROFITABLE CULTURE OF VEGETABLES FOR MARKET
GARDENERS, SMALL HOLDERS, AND OTHERS. By THOMAS
SMITH, F.R.H.S., Manager of the Fels Fruit Farm and Mayland
French Garden. With numerous Illustrations. 8vo, 6s. net.

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS. By JOHN
WEATHERS, F.R.H.S. With 163 Diagrams. 8vo, 2is. net.

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SCHOOL, COTTAGE, AND ALLOT-
MENT GARDENING. With 66 Illustrations and Examination
Questions on Cottage Gardening. By JOHN WEATHERS, F.R.H.S.
Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. net.



LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO., 39 Paternoster Row, London;
New York, Bombay and Calcutta.



FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE RIVIERA



ALPINE FLORA:

FOR TOURISTS AND AMATEUR BOTANISTS.

With Text Descriptive of the most widely distributed
and attractive Alpine Plants.

BY DR. JULIUS HOFFMANN.
Translated by E. S. BARTON (Mrs. A. GEPP).

With 40 Plates, containing 250 Coloured Figures from
Water-Colour Sketches by HERMANN FRIESE.

8vo, 75. dd. net.
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.,

LONDON, NEW YORK, BOMBAY AND CALCUTTA.






PLATE I.



1. Anemone palmata.
3. Papaver pinnatitidum.



2. Papaver setigerum.
4. Xigella damascena.



FLOWERING PLANTS
OF THE RIVIERA



A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF 1800 OF THE MORE
INTERESTING SPECIES



BY

H. STUART THOMPSON, F.L.S.

AUTHOR OF "ALPINE PLANTS OF EUROPE," "SUB-ALPINE PLANTS," ETC.



WITH AN INTRODUCTION ON RIVIERA VEGETATION

BY

A. G. TANSLEY, M.A.



UNIVERSITY LECTURER IN BOTANY, CAMBRIDGE
EDITOR OF "TYPES OF BRITISH VF.GETATION," ETC.



24 COLOURED PLATES (112 FIGURES), AFTER WATER-COLOUR

DRA WINGS, BY CLARENCE BICKNELL, AND REPRODUCTIONS

OF 16 PHOTOGRAPHS OF VEGETATION BY THE AUTHOR



LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.

39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON

NEW YORK, BOMBAY AND CALCUTTA

1914



; mi >r>IW() I !



AM>I1



IT V IO



313



3)3
T373C

\X^ '



PREFACE.



BOTANISTS, and indeed many other visitors to the French and Italian
Riviera, have long wanted a portable book descriptive of the numerous
Flowering Plants to be found on those coasts and the adjoining hills ;
and it is believed that an illustrated work with short descriptions of
about 1 800 of the commoner and of the more interesting plants will
be found useful. We are unaware of the existence of any book
descriptive of a large proportion of the Riviera plants alone. Several
books of a more or less popular nature have been published during
recent years, but they have dealt with other features besides the
flowers. The best of these is the beautifully illustrated and extremely
readable " Riviera Nature Notes," by the modest " C. C.". The late
Professor Strasburger's "Rambles on the Riviera" should also be
mentioned.

Ardoino's " Flore Analytique du Dept. des Alpes-Maritimes,"
published in 1867, is a useful account of the Flowering Plants and
Ferns of that department ; very frequent reference has been made to
it, but, as " C. C." remarked, it has been found to contain many
errors. The splendid work of M. Emile Burnat (" Flore des Alpes-
Maritimes "), 1892-1906, does not make the progress we should like
to see : four volumes (to Umbelliferae only) have hitherto appeared ;
and though so elaborate it is not primarily descriptive, nor is it illus-
trated. For the adjoining Department of the Var the " Catalogue
des Plantes Vasculaires " was published in 1908 by the late Abel
Albert and M. Emile Jahandiez. This useful work is still less a
descriptive " Flora," though it contains some interesting notes and
photographs. I am indebted to these two French botanists for much
information in regard to the habitats, times of flowering and localities
of many of the species. I have also to thank M. Jahandiez for kind
help in his Library and Herbarium at Carqueiranne.

I have found Mr. Clarence Bicknell's large illustrated volume
(now out of print), entitled " Flowering Plants and Ferns of the
Riviera and Adjoining Mountains" (1885), very helpful, though it
contains descriptions and figures of not mofe than 220 plants. The
same writer's "Flora of Bordighera and San Remo" (1896) is a
catalogue of the wild plants of that neighbourhood, which contains
many original notes of great value. Moggridge's " Contributions to
the Flora of Mentone and to a Winter Flora of the Riviera" (1866-
71) is a costly work somewhat similar to Mr. Bicknell's larger volume.

485633

AC"



vi FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE RIVIERA

It contains ninety-seven beautifully coloured plates on which some
138 species are figured. It has long been out of print.

The present work, intended chiefly for tourists, is an attempt to
give short descriptions of about 1800 of the Flowering Plants grow-
ing wild on the French Riviera, as far as San Remo in Italy, and the
hill country to 1000 metres, or about 3300 feet, is included. It was
impossible to make a book of this size include characters of the
plants of the higher mountains, or indeed all the species of the plains
and hills. However, brief allusion is made to many other plants of
the district, including some characteristic introductions which form
such salient features in the landscape, and comparatively few species
which occur within the area treated are not mentioned at least by
name. A list of the Ferns is also given. The flora is so rich that
in the Department of the Var alone there are not less than 2140
species (excluding the Ferns), besides many sub-species which are
given specific rank by some botanists.

For several reasons, and particularly because I have spent more
time in the Var, that Department is dealt with more fully than the
Department of les Alpes-Maritimes. Moreover, there is a far greater
area of unspoiled littoral in the Var. The word " littoral " is used
in the text in a general way, not for the coast only but to include the
stretch of comparatively low land within reasonable distance of the
seaboard. Much of it comprises low hills covered with Pines, Oaks
of several kinds, and maquis.

Very little attention has been paid here to some of the large
" critical " genera, such as Rubus, Rosa, Hieracium and Salix ; nor
is there space for a full rendering of the Sedges and Grasses, though
some eighty-five of the Grasses are briefly characterized. For the
same reason comparatively few varieties are mentioned, and such a
family as Umbelliferse and some of the Apetalous families, such as
Polygonaceae and Chenopodiaceae, are somewhat summarily treated.
Many of these plants are not only inconspicuous weeds, some of them
well-known in the British Isles, but they flower in the late summer
when few visitors are in the South.

The nomenclature does not follow rigidly the Vienna Rules of
1905 ; and in some cases a well-known name is purposely left, even
though it may not be the earliest name. Sometimes a synonym is
added. English names are given to most of the plants which appear
in Great Britain, but it was not thought desirable to coin many other
English names.

An effort has been made to compile tables or keys to all the
genera occurring in the area. These have been based upon the
arrangement in Hooker's " Student's Flora of the British Isles," and
supplemented by reference to Coste's " Flore de la France," Arcan-
geli's " Flora Italiana," Bentham's " Handbook of the British Flora,"
Babington's " Manual of British Botany," and other works. Owing
to there being no writer on western Mediterranean plants but Arcan-
geli who had adopted Hooker's tabular system of genera, great diffi-



PRKFACK vii

culty was often experienced in making such generic keys uniform. I
hope, however, that the result may be found useful to those students
who are accustomed to work with keys, which at their best are not
always reliable.

The synopsis of the Families is chiefly based upon the arrange-
ment of Bentham and Hooker, which adhered closely to that of de
Jussieu as modified by de Candolle. Dr. Rendle's " Classification of
Flowering Plants " (Vol. I, Gymnosperms and Monocotyledons) has
also been consulted ; and the author has kindly given me advice.

I am greatly indebted to Mr. Clarence Bicknell, of Bordighera,
for kindly lending me a number of his water-colour drawings of
flowers for reproduction in the work. Though the reproductions
are necessarily smaller than one could wish, they will greatly add
to the value of the book. The little half-tone vegetation scenes are
selected from a large number of photographs taken by me in 1912
and 1913. I have also to thank my friend Mr. A. G. Tansley, M.A.,
of Cambridge, not only for help and encouragement but for his
kindness in writing an Introduction on Riviera Vegetation; and
my friends Messrs. H. W. Pugsley, B.A., and C. E. Salmon,
F.L.S., for revising the genera Fumaria and Statice respectively.
To Mr. J. F. Duthie, B.A., I am indebted also for some help last
spring on the Riviera ; while Mr. Raine of Hyeres has in the past
supplied me with specimens and shown me where interesting or rare
plants grow in his neighbourhood. Lastly, Dr. B. Daydon Jackson,
General Secretary of the Linnean Society, has always been ready
to give prompt assistance from his vast store of knowledge.

The author of the charming "Riviera Nature Notes" (Mr.
Comerford-Casey) said he did riot confine himself to remarks about
the structure and affinities of the different species ; " for many
of the plants which surround us here have an interest other than
botanical. They are connected with history, with mythology and
with the outward symbolism of religion : they are enshrined in the
literature of Rome and Greece and Palestine, and associated with the
progress of mankind. To lose sight of this would be to do scanty justice
to the subject." Because it was impossible to lengthen the present
work to include many such interesting things, makes me rejoice all
the more that this aspect was treated so admirably by "C. C."
Many useful notes on the properties of some of the plants are to be
found in Professor Penzig's little " Flore coloriee de poche du Littoral
Mediterraneen," a book which deserves to be better illustrated.

That there may be errors in a work of this description goes
without saying, for, as M. Favre says, " il n'y a que ceux qui ne font
rien qui ne se trompent pas " ; but it is hoped they are of no
great seriousness. However, the author will gladly avail himself of
any suggestions for a future edition, if they are kindly sent to him
through the publishers.

H. S. THOMPSON

12 January, 1914.



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATE

I. Anemone palmuta, Papaver setigerum, Papaver pinnatifdinn,

Nigella damascena Frontispiece

PAGE

II. Fig. i. Forest of Pinus Pinaster and Quercus Suber (Cork - | be-

Oak), etc., on siliceous soil near Hyeres . j-tween

Fig. 2. Mixed wood on Triassic soil near Carqueiranne . J 8 & 9

III. Fig. i. Umbrella or Stone Pines (Pinus Pinea) . \ be .
Fig. 2. Aleppo Pines (P. halepensis), jfitniperus phoenicea, I tween

Arundo Donax, and bank of Sea-wrack at Beau- J g & n
Rivage (Var) J

IV. Clematis Flammula, Adonis autumnalis, Anemone stellata,

Anemone coronaria var. phcenicea . . . . . .21

V. Moricandia arvensis, Diplotaxis erucoides, Alyssum maritimum,

Hypecoum procumbens, Fumaria spicata .... 28

VI. Cistus salvi&folius, Helianthemum Tubcraria, Dianthus longi-

caulis, Cistus monspeliensis, Cistus albidus 44

VII. Fig. i. The three common species of Cistus in winter . ^

Fig. 2. The common tall Spurge with dark purple glands > 46

(Euphorbia Characias) J

VIII. Linum narbonense, Silene sericea, S. muscipula, Hypericum Corrs,

Linum maritimum . . . . . . . .51

IX. Cneonim tricoccum, Pistacia Lentiscus, Ceratonia Siliqua, Rutu

angustifolia, Oxalis cernua 62

X. Spartium junceum, Genista argentea, Calycotome spinosa, Cytisus

trifiorus 71

XI. Anthyllis tetraphylla, Tetragonolobus siliquosus, Medicago

scutellata, Medicago marina, Trifolium angustifolium . . 74
XII. Bonjeania recta, Coronilla Emerus, Scorpiurus subvillosa, Lotus

edulis 85

XIII. Onobrychis caput-galli, Psoralea bituminosa, Lathyrus Cly-

menum, Lathyrus latifolius var. angustifolius ... 92

XIV. Lathyrus annuus, Lathyrus angulatus, Vicia hybrida, Vicia

atropurpurea 97

XV. Fig. i. Prickly-pears (Opuntia grandis) and Olives near Hyeres,"!

Fig. 2. Common Prickly-pear (Opuntia Ficus Indica) at Les j

Ameniers near Toulon in April }

XVI. Ecbalium Elaterium, Orlaya grandiftora, Tamarix africana,

Crucianella maritima, Lonicera implexa . . . .112
XVII. Scabiosa maritima, Bellis silvestris, Calendula arvensis, Senecio

Cineraria . . . . . . 115



FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE RIVIERA



XVIII. Catananche carulea, Echinops Kitro, Carlina corymbosa, Scoly-

mus hispanicus . . . . . . . . .126

XIX. Atractylis cancellata, Leuzea conifera, Galactites tomentosa,

Crupina Crupinastrum, Xanthium strumarium . . . 128
XX. Specularia falcata, Campanula bononiensis, Coris mon$peliensis,

Arbutus Unedo, Primula marginata 145

XXI. Nerium Oleander, Olea europaea, Vinca acutiflora, Phillyrea

angustifolia, jasminum/rut'icans . . . . . .151

XXII. Hyoscyamus albus, Cerinthe aspera, Anchusa italica, Lithosper-

mum purpureo-ccsruleum ....... 154

XXIII. Orobanche cruenta, Scrophularia canina, Vitex Agnus-Castus,

Stachys heraclea, Veronica Teucrium, Prunella hyssopifolia . 177
XXIV. Daphne Gnidium, Aristolochia Pistolnchia, Euphorbia dendroides,

Smilax aspera, Gladiolus segetum ...... 192

XXV. Fig. i. Cork-Oaks in January near Hyeres. Maquis of
Calycotome, Quercus coccifera, Cistus albidus,
Rosemary, etc. ......

Fig. 2. Cork-Oaks and Tree Heath on Triassic soil near

Carqueiranne in March

XXVI. Fig. i. Maquis of Lentisque, Quercus coccifera, Cistus, etc.,
beneath small Aleppo Pines on limestone near

Carqueiranne

Fig. 2. Maquis of Tree Heath (Erica arborea), Arbutus,
Calycotome, etc., in wood of Pinus Pinaster on
siliceous soil near Cap de Le"oube .
XXVII. Allium roseum, Simethis bicolor, Scilla hyacinthoides, Lilium

pomponium, Asphodelus fistulosus

XXVIII. Sternbergia lutea, Crocus versicolor, Narcissus italicus, Pancra-
tium maritimum, Arisarum vulgar e .....

XXIX. Serapias cordigcra, S. longipetala, Orchis palmtris, Limodorum

abortiorum, Orchis laxiflora, Orchis coriophora

XXX. Ophrys Bertolonii, Ophrys fusca, Orchis provincialis, Cephalan-
thera rubra .........

XXXI. Fig. i. Agave americana in fruit, at Beau-Rivage, Var, in^
winter ........

Fig. 2. Arundo Donax in flower in November: the tall reeds j
used for basket-making, fencing, etc. . . j

XXXII. Fig. i. Phcenix canariensis (Canary Palm) at Hyeres in"|
November ....... I

Fig. 2. Pritchardia filamentosa (Washingtonia robusta) at j
Hyeres J



be-
tween
192
and
193



199



215



231



234



ON COLLECTING AND PRESERVING PLANTS. 1

A FEW hints on how to collect plants and dry and mount them for an herbarium
may be useful to some readers, particularly as the subject is discussed either
very briefly or not at all in most botanical books.

Plants can be collected and preserved on the Riviera, in the Alps, or any extra-
tropical country, much in the same way as in the British Isles. Specimens are
usually put into a japanned or painted tin, commonly called a vasculum ; while
an ordinary large sponge-bag would in the mountains be found a useful adjunct
or alternative, for it can easily be carried in the ruck-sack when on mountain
expeditions, and is more convenient than a tin. Sponge-bags are light and
fairly waterproof, and for many small fleshy plants, such as Saxifrages and
Sempervivums, they are both convenient and handy. Some botanists, however,
prefer to take into the field a light portfolio, furnished with leather straps and
sheets of drying-paper, so that the plants and particularly the more delicate
ones, and those, like Veronicas, whose blossoms drop easily, can be put straight
into paper, and sorted and rearranged in a proper press on returning to the
house. We do not, however, much recommend the use of such a portable
press, especially as it wastes time and is quite useless in wet or windy weather.

Many of the tins carried by young botanists are bought ready-made, and are
too short. For ordinary purposes the tin should be about sixteen inches long, seven
or eight inches wide, and about two and a half or three inches deep. It should
have rounded edges, and the opening, which is on the broad side, should be
large enough to admit average specimens without difficulty or needless doubling.
The cover to the opening is attached by a couple of hinges, and it fastens at
the side by a sliding wire bolt. If this should work loose and there be danger
of the lid falling open when carried, the bolt can be bent the least bit out of the
straight and it will then hold firmly. The plant-tin is most conveniently carried
from the shoulders by a leather strap ; but sometimes it has a thick wire handle
at the top, which is convenient on occasion. On hot days the vasculum should
be kept as much as possible out of the sun, for the metal gets very hot if
exposed to brilliant sunshine. To combat this difficulty, or rather to prevent its
consequences, the writer often lays the first delicate specimens in a bed of fresh
green leaves placed in the tin. If necessary these can be removed as the tin
gets too full.

When a sponge-bag is not carried, it is often an advantage to have a
smaller tin, such as is sometimes called a sandwich-tin, which will go within the
coat-pocket. Small and delicate specimens can thus be carried, or it can be
used for wet or dirty roots which might damage delicate flowers in the larger box.

1 Reprinted, with slight alterations, from the author's "Sub- Alpine Plants,"
by permission of Messrs. George Routledge & Sons, Ltd.



xii FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE RIVIERA

A perfect specimen should have root, stem, leaves, flowers and fruit both
young and mature if possible. If, as is often the case, the fruit cannot be ob-
tained on the same plant with the flowers, it should be gathered separately from
another. It is most important to get the fruit, and in a more or less developed
state, for in some families, such as Cruciferce, Legtiminosce , and Umbellijercr, it
is at times impossible to determine a plant correctly without it. Good typical
specimens should be selected, not necessarily the largest, but the most perfect
and convenient in size. When possible a root-leaf or two should be collected
as well as stem-leaves, but, of course, in many small plants most of the leaves
will be root-leaves.

The sheets of paper upon which the specimens are finally mounted should
not be less than about 15 x 10 inches, which is the size most cartridge paper
cuts into, but 16 x 10 is still better, and this is the size adopted in the Kew
Herbarium, and quite large enough for ordinary purposes, though exceeded in
several of the other great public herbaria.

When plants are not more than about fifteen inches long it is better to put
them into the tin and the press whole not cut or doubled. When, however, a
tall plant or shrub is dealt with, a good flowering branch should be cut off with
several of the lower stem-leaves, and the root-leaves, if any, should be added
separately, so as to give the complete habit as much as possible.

A notebook should always be taken into the field, in which the names, when
known, of all the rarer and more interesting plants should be entered, together
with date, habitat, locality, and anything of special interest worth recording.
These notebooks form the basis of both the temporary and permanent labels
referred to later. When in a foreign country it is sometimes desirable for
botanists to enter the names of all the interesting species they come across in
their walks, whether they keep^ dry specimens or not, for such notes are some-
times useful long afterwards, and it is astonishing how quickly such things are
forgotten if not noted down.

A press is very simply made from two stout boards, about r.6 x io inches,
and of sufficient thickness not to warp. The boards are best with cross-pieces
tenoned at the ends, in the manner that drawing-boards are made ; and they
are either furnished with strong leather straps screws are not advisable or
the pressure can be obtained by placing glazed bricks, boxes of pebbles, or
heavy iron weights on top. Such automatic pressure is best, for it adjusts itself
to the diminishing thickness of the contents of the press as the specimens dry.
A press of this kind, or a pair of them, can be taken to the Continent without
much trouble ; but if a few plants only are to be collected, it would suffice
to take a couple of pieces of thick mill-board with either leather straps or
thinner straps made of a kind of braid, or of the cloth that saddlers use, with
buckles attached. Elastic bands are not recommended, for they break easily
and cannot be adjusted like straps.