No. 17] FOURTH BIENNIAL REPORT 20, 



was to come out of the general funds in the treasury of the 

 state. When the first bulletin of the Survey came to be printed, 

 an unexpected difficulty appeared. The general law in regard 

 to the state printing provides for the printing of not more than 

 1,575 copies of any public document, except certain reports in 

 regard to which the law specifically provides for a larger edition. 

 But an edition of 1,575 copies is utterly inadequate for the bul- 

 letins in the Survey. It is desired that these bulletins should be, 

 as is customary in the case of similar publications in other states, 

 widely distributed to colleges, scientific institutions, public libra- 

 ries, scientific men, teachers, and others. The editions of similar 

 reports published by other states generally range from 3,000 to 

 8,000. It is obviously useless to prepare elaborate scientific re- 

 ports, and then print so small an edition as to render it impossible 

 for those reports to reach the persons who would desire to use 

 them. Hence the necessity for some action of the General As- 

 sembly to provide for the printing of the bulletins of the Survey. 



The editions of bulletins thus far published have ranged 

 between 3,000 and 4,000 copies. The former number seems the 

 minimum number which will permit proper distribution of any 

 of the bulletins likely to be published in the future. Some 

 bulletins are of more popular character than others, and appeal 

 to a wider constituency of readers. 



The respective numbers of copies deemed necessary to meet 

 the demand which may be reasonably anticipated in the case of 

 the bulletins already accepted for publication but not yet ordered 

 by the Board of Control to be printed, and of those bulletins which 

 are approaching completion and which may be expected to be 

 ready for publication within a few months, are shown in the 

 following table : — 



