Sorting Room
When one returns from a collecting trip it is best to
take the plants as soon as possible to a room where they can be
assorted.
An hour or so delay usually does not matter, but the sooner
they are attended to the better. Sometimes when they are carefully
placed in the basket, as described above, they may be kept over night
without injury, but this will depend on the _kinds_ in the collection.
Coprini_ are apt to deliquesce, certain other specimens, especially in
warm weather, are apt to be so infested with larvæ that they will be
ruined by morning, when immediate drying might save them. Other thin and
delicate ones, especially in dry weather, will dry out so completely
that one loses the opportunity of taking notes on the fresh specimen.
Specimens to be photographed should be attended to at once, unless it is
too late in the day, when they should be set aside in an upright
position, and if necessary under a bell-jar, until the following day.
As far as possible good specimens should be selected for the photograph,
representing different stages of development, and one to show the
fruiting surface. Sometimes it will be necessary to make more than one
photograph to obtain all the stages.
Also on different days one is apt
to obtain a specimen representing an important stage in development not
represented before. The plants should be arranged close together to
economize space, but not usually touching nor too crowded.
They should be placed in their natural position as far as possible, and means for
support, if used, should be hidden behind the plant. They should be so
arranged as to show individual as well as specific character and should
be photographed if possible natural size, or at least not on a plate
smaller than 5 × 7 inches unless the plants are small; while larger ones
are better on 6 × 8 or larger.
Some very small ones it may be necessary
to enlarge in order to show the character of the fruiting surface, and
even large specimens can sometimes have a portion of the hymenium
enlarged to good advantage if it is desirable to show the characters
clearly.
The background should be selected to bring out the characters
strongly, and in the exposure and developing it is often necessary to
disregard the effect of the background in order to bring out the detail
of texture on the plant itself.
The background should be renewed as
often as necessary to have it uniform and neat. There is much more that
might be said under this head, but there is not space here.