PREFACE TO POPULAR EDITION 



THE present volume is an attempt to give, in an abridged 

 and popular form, the results of the recent inquiry into " Grouse 

 Disease," which were published last year in the Report of the 

 Grouse Disease Committee. 



The need for a second and shortened edition of the Report 

 became evident soon after the first edition had been published, 

 for the whole of this first edition was absorbed within a few 

 weeks of its publication, and, although the price was considerable, 

 there would have been little difficulty in finding purchasers for 

 at least double the number of copies available. 



It is impossible to reproduce the second edition on the same 

 scale as the original Report, for the greater number of the 

 coloured plates, which formed part of the work, have now been 

 removed from the lithographer's stones. It is also felt that 

 those who ordered copies of the work, on the assumption 

 that the original edition would be limited in number, are entitled 

 to expect that this understanding would be respected, and that 

 any subsequent publication of the results of the inquiry would not 

 be a mere republication of the original Report. The Committee 

 have, therefore, decided that a popular work in an abridged 

 form should be issued. Such a volume cannot include all the 

 elaborate coloured plates and scientific details which gave to 

 the original edition much of its special value. 



The Committee have come the more willingly to this decision 

 in view of the widely expressed desire that its conclusions should 

 be made available to a larger class of reader than would readily 

 purchase the more expensive and detailed work. Many game- 



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