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No. XIX.—NATURAL FORMS. 
In the infancy of the arts mankind must have availed 
themselves of the natural forms of the objects met with ; 
and as the process of adapting and modifying them to their 
wants has been slow and continuous, traces of the forms of 
nature have been preserved in those arts which are indigenous 
and have remained isolated. When, on the other hand, they 
have been derived from civilized races, or have degenerated 
from a more advanced state, the more complex forms of the 
higher civilization become conventionalized, and are fre¬ 
quently retained in an altered condition after the knowledge 
of their original uses has been lost. It is desirable, there¬ 
fore, to pay attention to the forms of the objects constructed 
by savages, with the view of ascertaining to what extent they 
approximate to the natural forms of the materials employed, 
and to note those objects in which the natural forms have 
been little or not at all changed. 
i. Do the clubs and other weapons approximate to the 
natural forms of the stems, roots, or branches of trees? 
2. Are the curves the natural curves of the branches ? and do 
they follow the grain of the wood? 3. Are the natural forms 
of stones employed as hammers, mace-heads, or for other 
purposes ? 4. Are gourds, shell-fruit, sea-shells, human or 
other skulls employed as drinking-vessels ? 5. Are the forms 
of these closely imitated in pottery ? 6. Are gourds, reeds, 
bones, skulls, sinews, and root fibres employed in musical in¬ 
struments ? 7. Are the skins of animals or bark of trees much 
altered in clothing ? 8. Are the skins of animals flayed off 
the body with only one incision employed as water-vessels, 
bagpipes, pouches, or bellows ? 9. Are the head-skins of 
animals, with the ears and mane, employed as head-dresses, 
or the skins of horned or prickled fish? to. Are any of 
them copied in artificial head-dresses? 11. For what pur¬ 
poses is the bamboo used—tubes, drinking-vessels, baskets, 
rings, &c. ? 12. Are shells, teeth, claws, seeds, bones, beetles 
wings, vertebrae of snakes, and other natural objects 
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