

Above, Models of Psilocybe Caerulescens were part of a past 

 special exhibit on "Mexican Sacred Mushrooms." Right, A 

 portion of the "Illinois Woodland" diorama in Hall 29 includes 

 trees and many types of plants made under the supervision of 

 Emil Sella. 



found that while "he had come out even on expenditures for 

 labor and material, for his own time and for profit there was 

 nothing.'"-' His wife was to later state that "Constituted as 

 he was and striving always for perfection in his work rather 

 than for this world's goods, the knowledge that he had in- 

 vented excellent methods and the acceptance by the Field 

 Museum and by the scientific world at large of his long- 

 cherished dream of the habitat group amply repaid him. 

 He often remarked that he felt this was 'a pretty good four 

 years' work."'" 



"Pretty good" it was! — in those four years he invented 

 an original type of manniken for taxidermy and an effective 

 process of manufacturing plant accessories and he intro- 

 duced the concept of painted backgrounds for mammal 

 habitat grovips. The blending of these three achievements 

 in the "Four Seasons" resulted in "the first true habitat 

 groups of mammals. To be sure, accessories and back- 

 grounds had occasionally been used for other taxidermic 

 groups of mammals, especially in ornamental wall cases, 

 but any accessories and background that were available or 

 that suited the taste of the artist had usually been employed. 

 To portray a true habitat group, in other words a Jaunal 

 habitat group, the accessories must have been secured from 

 and the background must show the actual place in which the 

 specimens were obtained."" 



The "Four Seasons" were installed in the Field Museum 

 inl902 and today, 66 years later, are still on exhibit (Halll 6). 



In these 66 years the Museum has added to its halls 

 many famous habitat groups and botanical exhibits featur- 

 ing plant reproductions. The quality of "The Four Sea- 

 sons" plant reproductions has not only been equaled but 

 has been surpassed by the efforts of the technicians of the 

 Museum's Stanley Field Plant Reproduction Laboratory. 

 "Alpine Vegetation" and "Seashore Vegetation" (Hall 25) 

 are excellent examples of the achievements of this depart- 

 ment and were created by Emil Sella with the assistance of 

 Frank Boryca. 



Although Sella retired in 1961, Boryca is still busy out- 

 fitting the Museum's exhibits with greenery. Twenty-nine 

 years ago he left a job in a foundry to become a mold -maker 

 in the plant reproduction lab. As the years passed and staff 

 members retired or left, he moved forward to fill their jobs 

 and is now expert in all aspects of the lab's work. Over the 

 years technicians have made many modifications in Ake- 

 ley's original method and now have a great array of mate- 

 rials with which to work, but many of the essentials remain 

 the same. For large leaves — such as a cabbage leaf — Boryca 

 still employs a plaster mold to create a wax replica. To 

 cast smaller leaves Boryca uses a pale green plastic in metal 

 dies. The green color is easier on the eyes than white and 

 it affords a base for additional coloring. Boryca adds to 

 this color with dye, striving for the gradations of color found 

 in nature rather than accepting the easily-achieved, uni- 

 form hues of mass-produced leaves. 



Page 12 NOVEMBER 



