The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-20
From Leslie,s Weekly.

Cornell university is about to receive
a rare and unique addition to Its mu-
seum-rare In material and unique in
presentation. 1t Is a collection of all
the species and sub-species Of wood
peckers described in the check list OF
the American Ornithologists' Union as
North American, and ranging in the
present collection from St Lucas, IN
California, to Juneau, in Alaska. me
collection embraces both sexes, and has,
in addition to a few birds not to be
found in the checklist, some fine MeXi-
can specimens, making a total Of eighty
mounted birds.
But this number and variety are not
more striking than the novelty OF
mounting They are all attached In
natural attitudes on what appears to
be the shattered trunk Of beech tree,
but which is really hollow imitation,
so cleverly managed as to escape ordl-
nary detection. This arrangement Of
congress of species on an imposed tree
is both useful and artistic, for 1t ad-
mits of the piercing Of the thin shell
of it's trunk by the sharpened leg-wires
could the artist so we'll get the peculiar
clinging positions of this interesting
archaeological family. At the same
time 1t makes it easy to. group the birds
so compactly as to enable the spectator
to see plainly the whole number at a
glance-instead of being compelled to
ransack long lines of T-perches in the
museum to be able to identify a sin
gle species.
This artistic grouping Of the birds
is no small achievement. The natural
environment which Emerson lamented
the loss of, in that poem which treats
of the sparroW-song and the sea-Shell,
is here pretty nearly saved. And it is
an important factor in promulgating
any branch-and especially this capti-
waiting one-of natural science. The
present collection is so much of a step
forward in artistic suggestion and in
truthful reporting that it would make
the heart Of Ruskin glad if he could
see 1t; and we shall be surprised if it
does not give the makers of future COL
lections a practical hint.
By providing thus a suitable enyi-
ronment-a combination Of dermi-plas-
tic and pictorial art (for there is a
painted background against which the
tree is seD-a cycloranlic landscape of
distinct beauty has been evolved. Nor
does this beauty impair the scientific
value of the birds, since they are
plainly labeled with their popular Eng
lish names, and with the numbers of
the American Ornithological union
check list.
This work-which it has taken years
to accomplish-is the production and
gift of Mr.. George B. Sutton, of New
ark Valley, Tioga county, New York.
Mr.. Sutton is a painter of landscapes
and animals, a lifelong naturalist, and,
incidentally, a taxidermist, who uses
the latter art as auxiliary to the pic
torial one. He proposes giving other
of his grouped works to this university
and, eventually, all of them. The pres
ent piece is fancifully titled by him
THE Woodpecker Congress of North
America" But whether it be a con
gress or camp meeting, it has no
other audience to listen to it's chatter,
in the landscape prescribed for it, than
an old heron who is fishing in the creek
near by and who seems a little puz-
zled at these tree intruders.
A single instance which may be cited
here will show how difficult it often is