Preface 



I 



The third volume of the Boone and Crockett 

 Club book is now presented to its members. 

 The two earlier ones *' American Big Game 

 Hunting," and " Hunting in Many Lands," 

 were published in 1893 and 1895, respectively, 

 the purpose of the club being to issue one 

 such volume every two years. 



Since the publication of the last volume a 

 wider public interest has been aroused in sev- 

 eral of the objects for which the club is work- 

 ing, and not a little progress has been made 

 in carrying them out. Some of these matters 

 deserve especial mention. 



Late in the year 1895 the National Academy 

 of Sciences, at the request of the Secretary of 

 the Interior, appointed a committee of forestry 

 experts, who should examine the national for- 

 ests and report upon them. After this com- 

 mittee had reported, thirteen additional forest 

 reservations in the West, covering 21,000,000 

 acres of land, were set aside by Presidential 



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