TAXIDEKMY AS A DBOOEATIVE AET. 
59 
TAXIDERMY AS A DECORATIVE ART. 
BY FREDEBIO S. WEBSTER. 
Me. Peesident, Ladies, and Gentlemen : In preparing this 
paper for the General Meeting of this Society I am conscious of 
two evident facts : First, that the time allotted me is not suffi- 
cient to do the subject justice ; second, that my inability to 
place it before you satisfactorily in all its various phases is too 
conspicuous. 
I will endeavor to be unconscious of the grim visage of the 
latter staring me in the face, and point out a few interesting 
facts in relation to the subject, and also offer a few suggestions 
in connection therewith. 
Before I deal directly with the subject I want to make a few 
remarks upon the drawbacks and hindrances that taxidermy has 
suffered. 1 believe it is not until recently that taxidermy has 
been considered an art. I have for many years been laboring in 
and studying taxidermy, and have sought every nook accessible 
to me in order that I might ascertain who in the human race 
was first bold enough to declare that taxidermy was an art. I 
am reluctantly forced to admit that I do not know. History 
states that taxidermy proper was practiced as an art for the 
first time about the year 1753. At this time (and it is to a great 
extent true to-day) the only demands made upon the taxidermist 
were for simple museum specimens. 
Museums, colleges, and other institutions of like character in 
earlier years desired only quantum sufficW’’’ of specimens, 
which they stored in dark and illy ventilated rooms. This, I am 
forced to say, is the sad state of affairs, to a great extent, exist- 
ing to-day. 
Speaking in a general way, none of them for a moment ex- 
amined the quality of the immense collections entrusted to their 
care. No standard of excellence was established, and the persons 
plying the art forced to come up to that standard, and place in 
friendly comparison their different productions, and in this way 
