A CRITIQUE ON MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 
Just here, someone mJio lias divined onr thoughts tells ns that 
it gives them character to have their months open, and enables 
their dentition to be studied. On the contrary it takes away from 
their character, for animals — uidess yawning — rarely open their 
mouths ivithoiit accompanying the action with an eipially expres- 
sive movement of the limbs. As for dentition, who knows but 
what the taxidermist has changed the original skull for that of 
another and different animal, to say nothing of the fact that 
many of the teeth are more or less hidden by the lips and tongue. 
Moreover every Museum has, or should have, collections of skulls 
fi'om which the dentition could be easily studied. Mammals 
other than Carnivores are suffered to close their mouths, but are 
rarely permitted to assume any other than a walking attitude. 
But as the greater portion of a collection necessarily consists of 
birds, and as they will perhaps illustrate my ideas better than any 
other animals, we will leave the mammals and pass onwards. 
The birds we find arranged in serried ranks and look as if tlie 
greater part had been turned after a model by an eccentric lathe. 
Let anyone glance at the smaller birds in the American Museum 
of hfatural History, in Hew York, and he will see this in its 
pei'fection. 
Of course the taxidermist is somewhat to blame for this mo- 
notony, but then he is sadly hampered by the turned T-perch, so 
universally used in our Museums. Let anyone mount consecu- 
tively one hundred birds with closed wings on plain perches, and 
he will realize the difficulty of giving them a variety of attitude, 
and long for a little change. But, as a high authority (Dr. 
Cones) tells us, “ museum bii'ds are, for study, and ‘ spread eagle ’ 
styles of mounting, artificial rocks and flowers, etc., are entirely 
out of place in a collection of any scientific pretensions or de- 
signed for popular instruction.” 
How, the mere fact that Museums are for joopiilar instruction 
is a reason why the animals contained in them should he so 
arranged as to exhibit as many as possible of their most striking 
peculiai'ities and characteristics, and in order to do this some 
latitude in mounting must be permitted, and so far as is possible, 
an approach made to their natural surroundings. The Humming 
Bird should hover over a flower, the Woodpecker climb the side 
of a tree in search of food, and the Goatsucker should sit 
lengthwise of a bough or hang suspended with outstretched wings 
