GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEYS. 449 



colleges in tlie State, and should be furnished at cost of publication 

 to other applicants; the money received therefor being covered back 

 into the State treasury. 



It was supposed that, by this proviso of the act, every citizen of the 

 , State who really valued a report would be easily able to obtain a 

 copy, while no copies Avould be wasted, as by a free distribution. 

 But, in point of fact, there was little or no sale, because citizens of 

 the State were accustomed to obtain from their representatives and 

 senators, without cost, all other State documents. 



Consequently, when, in 1875, Report B, on the Mineralogy of the 

 State, and Report J, on Petroleum, appeared, and a popular demand 

 for copies of them was made on the members of the legislature, who 

 could not furnish to their constituents what they had to purchase for 

 them.selves, an act was passed providing for a special edition of 

 5,000 copies of each one of these reports, for the use of the senate 

 and house of representatives. Similar acts were subsequently passed 

 by the legislatures of 1877. 1878, and 1879, respecting all the reports. 



Under these acts, 425,931 copies of geological reports were printed 

 for members of the legislature and distributed by them among their 

 constituency. In addition to this, and under the organic law of the 

 survey, the board published 110,509 copies, part of which were dis- 

 tributed to public libraries, universities, and colleges in the State, and 

 the remainder held at sale at cost. But the sale of reports was almost 

 wholly stopped by the free distribution of the special legislative 

 editions; so that in 1885 there still remained unsold 43,118 copies. 



In view of this fact an act was passed and approved by the gov- 

 ernor, July 3, 1885, the first section of which enacted : 



That the board of comiuissioners of the geological survey are hereby author- 

 ized !ind directed to distribute the reuiaining copies of said reports as follows: 

 Fifty copies of each report to the State librarian for distribution and exchauge 

 with other States and Territories, and of the balance an equal number of vol- 

 umes to each member of the present senate and house of representatives, 

 making the sets complete, as far as practicable. 



The board, before acting under this law. submitted the same to 

 the attorney general of the State, and in accordance with the in- 

 terpretation of the act received from the department, the stock of 

 reports was distributed as follows: 

 Copies retained for distribution to jjublic libraries, universities, and 



colleges in the State, under the act of May 14, 1874 6, 132 



Copies (50 sets) delivered to the State librarian 3,600 



Copies delivered to the senate librarian for distribution to the senate___ 7,040 

 Copies delivered to the resident clerk of the house of representatives, 



for distribution to the members of the house 26, 162 



Copies mislaid and discovered after distribution had been made 61 



Copies damaged 123 



Total 43, 118 



