Making a Plant Drier

Still life of the tools and nails and sheet metal and boards needed to make a plant drier at the Htamanthi Forward Station (see Sorting Specimens). [NOTE: My sketch of what the finished product should look like is on the paper to the right of the box of nails].

How To Make A Plant Drier

So we had just come out of the Hukaung Valley Tiger Preserve with a lot of plant specimens in plastic bags drenched in FAA (formalin and acetic acid), and we needed to dry them before heading back to Yangon and New York. We found a local carpenter in Tanai (see Tolagyi Tour of Tanai) and sketched out what we needed. Essentially a box with a metal bottom and air holes that we could put a heat source (charcoal burners) under and dry the specimens. Turned out really nice. [NOTE: There's a story about what happened here, but I'll save that for another time. Bet you can guess].