Show MUSEUMS RARELY DECEIVED imitation mutation ml tation are quickly detected by of the institutions Ac according carding to dr W D matthew as curator of the american museum seum ot of natural history Ill stor there IB 18 little forgery of fossils and buch things lor one reason the prices paid for articles artl claa in this city are not high enough to tempt folgers or even een to repay ino work necessary to produce a euitt ss ful imitation yet some borne imitations are put on the market chere was for instance the fraud of which prof cope was tor for a time the victim prof pi of lope cope made a specialty of fossils and in one of lits his treaties announced the discovery of the cacno tast leus trem gerus a new variety of massod n in a note in a subsequent edition he acknowledged he was mistaken and that no such animal ever existed lle lie was led into error by purchasing what was represented to be a tooth of oc a hitherto hith eito unknown herd prof copa bit out to di discover stover the animal to which it had bad belonged and classified it among the mastodons it was not until after hla his publication of the fact that he the fraud thit that had been practised practiced on him three 1 I teeth ot of a famigl ir variety had been glued together in a w wy ay iy that c could not be detected except by micro eximina examination tion cope worked out ills his anicil and it was something even larlor thin than a common or barden before he be took to the microscope cro scope in the lame iame way a hotd english naturalist w m is several beveral years ago made a victim of a similar deception A curious and tooth wis sold to him by it a ni nun in who ae declared cared that he had found it in a part of I 1 arance ranee especially i rich ich in the scientist hid had made extinct vertebrates te his special study lie to mas ft 13 working hard oer this bunth and wis wig ired to produce almost any kind hind of exotic and extinct animal when his suspicions were awakened aNNak ened as to Us its authenticity it was then that it consisted of three teeth taken from tile the remains of prehistoric fish and glued together rho flip teeth of the I 1 sh were common enough and singly could hive been recognized it was wag only the app appearance ppearl earince ce of the three together and attributed attil buted to a mammal that lint mystified fled the learned doctor the indian relies relics that aro are now dow dug up in the southwest ue aie not dot be eved to be forged to any considerable extent every piece tint that Is bought for a museum of any pretensions must be properly accredited and it if Us its pedigree contains the n tine ime of no scientist there Is little cannee thu that it will be accepted in case it has such the testimony of this expert will be sought chere have undoubtedly been cases in which articles dug up at the home of clire cliff dwellers were deposited there in advance but suii such frauds have been detected and the money broulet by these objects is not sufficient to mike imposture impo ture on any extensive scale worth while indian dress arrows household goods and similar lelica are aured by the he indians for sale bile lusi ai they always have been aal on they tire ara not sold as antiques by any but the small bnell dealt s the feline bame holds true of the alaskan relies relics that are beginning to have in en interest for american collectors they are made now in larger quantities thin ever and are always what the shopkeepers represent them to be they nie are too crude and too easily ini im stated for I 1 the he temptation to be resisted but there Is no trouble in finding the genuine relics in sufficient supplies for the museums even they are not sold nt at very high prices it Is the cheapness of most of the tha articles that helps to prevent pi event imitation dr Matt matthew liew told the sun reporter and the money paid tor for them is not enough to make the industry profitable on any large scale I 1 it if anybody should vend bend to the museum her heie e the teeth that deceived I 1 or copt copo we should not pay more than ten dollars for ahm so you see it la Is not worth whilo to make a very elaborate fraud for that |