Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-03-18
ANIMALS IN EFFIGY.
THE FAMOUS COLLECTION OWNED BY
 THE SMITHSONIAN.

Have Held Jonah-Of Value to Students
 and Historians.
 Strewn along for distance of 90 yards in the rear of the Smithsonian in. stitution are blocks of plaster of paris of every imaginable shape. some of large size and others fitted together as if to Gpform boxes For the most part they look like the refuse of workshop. Here and there one fragment or another is seen to resemble part of fish or other anil nal, perhaps 8 tail, or head with a pair of fore fiippers A big slab bears the impression of snake. as if the creature. having buried itself in mud for the win ter. had walked from its torpid state and orawled away. Other objects yet more strange are faces and various parts or human bodies apparently fossilized.
 These odd looking things are molds The Smithsonian institution has been collecting them for 80 years past, and some of them have cost great deal of money, Quite number have been fetoh- cd all the way from Alaska, represent ing various animals peculiar to the re- gions of the frozen north. If queer rep tile or fish is found anywhere, there Is nothing better than to make cast of 1t 4 in plaster of paris By this means its shape is copied to perfection, and that is a great help for museum purposes. When, few years ago, whale was stranded on the New England coast, Dr. Palmer, taxidermist of the Smithsonian institution, was sent to make copy of it in papier maohe This he did--that is to say, he made mold of the cetaoean in plaster, of which he took several bar rels full with him, and the papier maehe cast was produced afterward in Washington
 Only one-half of the whale was cast, howevsf, representing what might be termed the port side of the animal This is now hung up in the National museum. On one side 1t shows tho out side of the creature and from the other ,side the inside It was clergyman who on certain occasion not long ago was steering some members of his flock through the building. and. pausing in front of the whale, remarked, pointing to the oapacious interior of the great marine mammali
 ''You sec, my dear friends, that there was plenty of room for JonahP'
 In such ways the Smithsonian insti- tuition has collected molds and made casts of 8 great variety of animals, of- ten sending long distances to get them. Of reptiles alone 1t has secured several hundreds. each representing typical species. while the fishes run up to 1. 200 aud upward From each plaster mold about 50 casts may be made. if de- sired. This facility of multiplication is utilized to considerable extent In aaother, branch of the work not re- iating to animals at all To schools and to museums all over the world the Smithsonian institution sends sets of typical aboriginal implements,of Amer. ica- These are valuable for purposes of study. A mold from an actual stone ax WsIll furnish 50 facsimiles. which only have Co be painted in order to look ex- aotly like the original If more are wanted, another mold is easily made.
 While 1t would not be easy to ship whale or 6 walrus to the Smithsonian institution, smaller animals are readily transported. Nearly all of the creatures of which these molds are made are sent to this city for that purpose. When practicable. two living specimens are forwarded. One serves for the mold. The other Is model for the artist Be-. fore going further 1t should be ex- plained that the casts are intended to represent the animals themselves in the museum, and they must be as -lifeiike as possible. They are painted by men who are skilled In this branch of art.
 Before making mold from snake the animal. if alive. receives dose of ohloroferm. It may or may not recover There have been instances where ser pents have got over the effects of the .Nhloroform two or three times in success Sion, only to be subjected to further doses and made to serve again and again Perhaps an an@sthetized ophid- ian will be ooiled gracefully about the branch of tree. and the mold will be taken from branch and snake together, to be subsequently, painted. of course Or, if 1t were & rattlesnake. it would probably De coiled ill spiral. as If ready to strike In the west wing of the Smithsonian institution Is beautiful exhibit of herattlesnakes of the United States They look as if alive. though only casts. so we'll are they painted. with surroundings of herbage. etc, to oounterfeit natura
 1t Is the same way with reptiles of other kinda There are ever so many queer species of lizards in this country, Particularly in the western deserts. The horned toad is one of these. not being in reality a toad at all. though 1t looks like one There are the edible lizards of Death valley and others which are able to outrun the fastest race horse euoh creatures as these are easily mold ed. every scale in their armor being re- produced with wonderful accuracy ot detail With land mammalsit Is differ ent. for oast of 6 creature with fur coat can hardly be made to look like