The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-10-04

Women who return from the coun-
try, mountain or seashore with beauti-
full specimens of wild flowers, ferns
and seaweed, as well as butterflies, will
do we'll to preserve them in permanent
form by making Mature Pictures"
According to an ancient custom,
botanical specimens have been pasted
in herbariums, while butterflies and
kindred things have been mounted on
pins. Finally some one originated the
plaster mount for natural history spec
linens, but the detail of preparing the
mount to suit the specimen, together
with the Inconvenience of having a col
lection in different sizes, proved a
rather serious obstacle to their use
Besides, the fragility of the mount and
the brittleness of the dried insects
made the glass mount of little practical
value.
The idea of nature pictures finally
suggested itself to the cole ctor who
was wise and thoughtful enough to
desire to preserve other beautiful
things besides insects in the same way.
A specimen mount was originated
wherein the insect could be advantage
ously shown in connection with its
life history and food plant. AS a re-
suit of this first effort, which was
great success, everybody who is in
terested in nature is making these ma
ture pictures.
Not infrequently they are exquisite
in their blending of colors. For in
stance, a panel picture has for a back
ground the regulation white waddlng
stretched firmly across the frame. In
one corner of the picture is a cluster or
baby" cattails with their picturesque
leaves. One little cattail has broken
neck as one often sees them in The
swamp where the wind has done dam
age. dragon fly hovers over the dis
abled cattail, while yellow and blue
butterfly fits about the clump of green.
The object of this picture is apparent.
1t is to show the life history of the
dragon fly by reproducing its natural
haunts as nearly as possible.
Another picture shows a clump Of
golden rod and ferns in the corner.
with gaily coored butterflies bathing
in the pollen of the flowers.
Another dainty and realistic picture
shows a wild rose growing in a garden.
The exquisite pink shade of the bios
SONS is perfectly preserved, and the
flowers themselves look fresh IN spite
of the fact that it is several months
since the branch was plucked and the
petals pressed. In the heart of one
velvety rose is a bumblebee apparently
slipping the fragrance of the blossom,
and quite intoxicated with 1t. So life
like does the bee appear that the spec
tator half expects to hear 1t hum be-
tween sips of nectar. Two brilliantly
colored butterflies are in the fore
ground-one poised on a stem of the
rose, another on the wing flying in
the direction of a blossom.
Not only the delicate flowers and
ferns, but the slender waving grasses
of the field and meadow are mounted
on the cotton wadding so cleverly that
| they appear to stand out in bas-relief
on the back of each picture the
| scientific and common names of the
| specimens, and the locality from which
| they were taken, are given.
| Any one who understands the pres
| ervaton of specimens against dam
| age by moths, can mount these pic
| lures, satisfactorily and will be much
! gratified with the results, for while the
| glass lasts the specimen win remain
| perfect.
First catch your hare before you
cook it," is an old adage. The applica-
| ton is apparent. Catch the butterfly
| in an insect net. so the wings will not
be injured. 4 convenient, roughly
made one may be improvised from a
crotched branch. with net bag at
tached. III taking the insect from the