DECOBATIONS 298 DECREE War (1861-1865) and in other wars. The practice of setting aside a day to visit the graves of the fallen soldiers recall the memory of their noble deeds, and strew their tombs with flowers, took its rise early in the Civil War; first in par- ticular places, here a city, there a vil- lage, or it might be a county. In time, many State Legislatures were induced to make a given day a legal holiday for this purpose, and the President and gov- ernors were led to unite in recommending the observance of the same day (May 30), now known as "Decoration Day," in every State of the Union. In the Southern States various days in April are set apart for decorating the graves of the Confederate dead, and the name "Memorial Day" is more commonly used there than Decoration Day. DECORATIONS, the badges, medals, and ribbons of any order of nobility or merit. The most noted are those of the Order of the Garter, of the Leg^ion of Honor, of the Loyal Legion, and the sev- eral European decorations bestowed by sovereigns. American citizens holding office under the United States govern- ment are not permitted to accept deco- rations from foreign rulers without the consent of Congress. See Service Medals and Decorations. DECORATIVE ART, that form of art that has for its purpose the appropriate adornment of some utilitarian object, thereby adding to its beauty, but not to its usefulness. It differs from the painter's art by being subordinate to the article to which it is applied. It may be divided into (1) architectural decoration and (2) design. Architectural decora- tion applied to the adornment of special buildings or to the symmetrical combina- tion of buildings in cities is either plas- tic or chromatic. Plastic decoration may be (1) purely architectural, as for instance, buttresses, cornices, and col- umns and their capitals, which, while being necessary parts of the building, are carved or molded into beautiful forms; (2) purely ornamental, like flower or scroll work applied to sur- faces; or (3) purely plastic like cary- atids, or figures of men or animals used in special niches. Chromatic decoration may be done by means of painting in oils or distemper, of mosaics in stone, glass or brick, or of bronze, or other metals. Interior mural painting is also an important form of decoration. Design is applied to objects of com- mon use, such as fabrics, wall paper, furniture, household utensils, books and the like, there being few things so utili- tarian as to show no trace of it. It is expressed in both form and color. This is the earliest form of art, as the work of prehistoric man on bone and weapon shows, beginning as a pictorial representation of their exploits ; and also made manifest as an instinct of the race by the way savages tattoo their bodies, carve their totem poles or weapons, weave patterns into their blankets, and deco- rate their utensils and wigwams. The Greeks reached a high degree of perfection in decorative art, but their efforts were especially applied to their temples and public buildings, and purely architectural. The Romans, especially in later times, showed great skill in frescoing the walls of palaces and pri- vate houses with beautiful or grotesque designs, as well as in applied design. In modern times the French may be called the masters of decorative art, but since the beginning of the 20th century a group of men and women in England and in the United States have attained supremacy in applied design. Mural painting has again come to the front in France, while the United States shows some of the finest examples of modern architectural design and deco- ration in such buildings as the Boston Public Library and the Congressional Library in Washington. DE COSTA, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, an American clergyman and writer; born in Charlestown, Mass., July 10, 1831. Included in his many publications are: "The Pre-Columbian Discovery of Aaierica by the Northmen" (1869) ; "The Moabite Stone" (1870) ; and "The Rector of Roxburgh," a novel under the pen-name of "William Hickling" (1873). He became president (1884) of the first branch of the "White Cross Society," of which he was the organizer. He died in 1904. DECOY, a place into which wild fowls are decoyed in order to be caught. A decoy pond is kept only in a secluded situation. Several channels or pipes of a curved form, covered with light hooped net-work, lead from the pond in various directions. The wild fowl are enticed to enter the wide mouth of the channel by tamed ducks, also called decoys, trained for the purpose, or by grain scattered on the water. When they have got well into the covered channel they are sur- prised by the decoy-man and his dog, and driven up into the funnel net at the far end, where they are easily caught. The details differ in different cases, but this is the general principle of the con- trivance. DECREE, in general, an order, edict, or law made by a superior as a rul-^ to govern inferiors. In law it is a judicial decision or determination of a litigated
