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INTRODUCTION 



BY THE GENERAL EDITOR 



This is the day of the small book. There is 

 much to be done. Time is short. Information 

 is earnestly desired, but it is wanted in compact 

 form, confined directly to the subject in view, 

 authenticated by real knowledge, and, withal, 

 gracefully delivered. It is to fulfill these con- 

 ditions that the present series has been pro- 

 jected to lend real assistance to those who are 

 looking about for new tools and fresh ideas. 



It is addressed especially to the man and 

 woman at a distance from the libraries, exhibi- 

 tions, and daily notes of progress, which are 

 the main advantage, to a studious mind, of liv- 

 ing in or near a large city. The editor has had 

 in view, especially, the farmer and villager 

 who is striving to make the life of himself and 

 his family broader and brighter, as well as to 

 increase his bank account; and it is therefore 

 in the humane, rather than in a commercial di- 

 rection, that the Library has been planned. 

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