Sometimes it is impossible to dry the plant in the press or in the sand. This is due to the fact that the plant is either too juicy or fleshy, for example, mushrooms or juicy fruits of plants. Meanwhile, to have mushrooms or other plants necessary and interesting for studying in the lessons.
Therefore, such plants have to be preserved in banks with alcohol (strength of 60-70 Grd), formalin or saturated solution of table salt.
It must be borne in mind that alcohol bleaches plants, pulling all the coloring substances from them. The plant stored in alcohol becomes colorless or dirty – yellow, while alcohol acquires coloring.
Therefore, alcohol is well used for not green plants (for example, mushrooms).
In formalin, the green color of plants remains better than in alcohol. When using formalin, dilute one part in twenty parts of water. If you add an incomplete teaspoon of soda by every 100 cubic centimeters of formalin, then the green coloring of plants during canning will remain even better. Soda must first be diluted in a small amount of warm water, then pour this solution into formalin, shake well and only then dilute the water.
Sometimes it happens that there is neither alcohol nor formalin for canning at hand. In this case, prepare a strong solution of salt. To do this, take hot water and rash ordinary table salt into it until it stops dissolving. Let the solution stand for 2-3 hours, then filter it through filter paper and then consume.
Store plants in canning liquids in banks made of white or green glass, tightly clogging them with plugs. Banks should be wide. You can find them in stores of educational and visual aids. Other banks are often used, but necessarily with a wide neck and a tightly closed, grated glass or ordinary traffic jam.
For excursions, prepare a large jar of alcohol and put it in a basket. You can throw everything that you get into this bank on the way.
When collecting plants and preserving them in one form or another, do not forget about labels. Each plant should have a label written in a clear and legible handwriting. If you do not do this, then your works will depreciate and lose scientific interest.