— TN EDITORIAL /7==— - 



In the April issue of this magazine, we promised to have 

 the present number out on time, little thinking- that we would 

 again have to give as a reason for delay that a fire had occurred 

 in the printing office. Just a week after the April issue appear- 

 ed, however, the ninth and final fire, now known to be of incen- 

 diary origin, completely destroyed the office. There was 

 nothing to do, therefore, but to wait until new machinery could 

 be purchased and installed, and issue the number as soon as pos- 

 sible. The fact that this last fire has been proven to be the work 

 of a fire-bug makes it appear that the earlier fires with which 

 we have had to contend, were due to the same cause. In the 

 future, however, we expect to be exempt from such delays, since 

 the printing company is now in an absolutely fire-proof struc- 

 ture isolated from other buildings of a combustible nature. 

 The average editor thinks he has enough to do in getting his 

 publication out on time, but a little variety has been injected 

 into our program by three fires in one year and various other 

 little annoyances among which was a dishonest postman, who 

 for one whole subscription season waylaid the money that was 

 addressed to us and got our accounts with subscribers badly 

 tangled up in consequence. But we are still in the game and 

 not only expect to stay in, but can say definitely, now, that in 

 the not far distant future this magazine is to be increased to 

 nearly fifty pages without any increase in the subscription price. 

 We trust that our subscribers will overlook the present un- 

 avoidable delays and aid us in rolling up a subscription list that 

 will make a larger magazine worth while. 



* * * 



Nearly forty years ago, Prof. H. H. Ballard of Pittsfield, 

 Mass., founded a society designed to aid people of all ages in 

 the study of nature. This society was named the Agassiz As- 

 sociation in honor of the famous naturalist, Louis Agassiz and 



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