LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 



Office of Librarian, 

 Washington^ B. €., August 10, 1898. 



Sir: The publications in the following pages comprise those works 

 relating to forestry which have been collected since the institution of 

 the Division of Forestry in the Department of Agriculture, together 

 with the forestry library of the late Prof. Franz von Baur, of Munich, 

 which was purchased by the Department in 1897. The latter collection 

 was the working library of one of the best known forestry experts in 

 (iermany, and therefore comprises the best German literature on the 

 subject. 



Franz Adolph Gregor von Baur, born in 1830, was one of the younger 

 sons of the head forester of the Duke of Hesse. His elder brothers 

 were fortunate enough to receive the regular gymnasium training, but 

 the young Franz was forced to rely on his own efforts to obtain his ele- 

 mentary education. He was such an ardent student that even with 

 these disadvantages he succeeded in preparing himself for the Univer- 

 sity of Giessen, where he took high honors in the forestry course. As 

 a result of a competitive examination, in which he distanced sixteen 

 other applicants, he was appointed a forest assistant in the Darmstailt 

 Forestry Department. In 1855 he was appointed professor of mathe- 

 matics in the forestry school at Weisswasser, Bohemia, and occupied 

 similar positions in other institutions until called to the University of 

 Munich as professor of forestry in the year 1878. This position he occu- 

 pied until his death. Professor Baur was the editor of the Forstwis- 

 senschaftliches Centralblatt from 1871), and thus became acquainted 

 with the literature of forestry, and made large collections of books and 

 periodicals relating to the subject. He was in correspondence or inti- 

 mately acquainted with all the forest exjierts of the world, and thus 

 was able to obtain for his collection many valuable publications not 

 obtainable through ordinary sources. 



The catalogue which follows is one by authors, with a separate list 

 of the serial publications, and a subject index. No works have been 

 included which do not have a direct bearing on the subject, even those 

 relating to landscape gardening and botany being omitted. It is 

 believed that the collection is larger and more representative than any 



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