File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (18133511796).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo14amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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The Laysan Island group made for the State University of Iowa by Mr. Homer R. Dill. This group shows a portion of the albatross rookery on the little island of Laysan where millions of birds find a home in the middle of the Pacific Ocean habitat groups thus involved a slight de- parture from nature, in that while the background depicted an actual scene, the foreground was often generalized and this involves the whole question of how far it is allowable to depart from actuali- ties. May we combine animals from different localities or show together those taken at different seasons? Shall we fabricate our soil and "fake" our trees? Personally the writer believes that all these things are permissible, with certain restrictions, nay, in some instances, must be done, not merely to make a group at all, but to enhance its educational value. For example, a bison in his winter coat may be introduced into a group with the mother and young and a baby moose placed with an antlered 60 bull — in no other way can you com- plete the life cycle and tell the whole story. Dr. Chapman found it physically impossible to bring away the water- soaked nests of the flamingos; Mr. Cherrie found equal difficulty with the sodden nests of the guacharo birds, while to carry off the cave in which they were found would have defied even Hercules in his prime. Here certainly, fabrica- tion is a necessity; and if so much, why not more? If we cannot import a tree from the forests of Venezuela, let us "adapt" an ironwood from Vermont, whereon a colony of howling monkeys may disport themselves. In this case it is the animals and not their surround- ings that are to be emphasized and the

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