32 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



projected. The undertaking, bound to be an arduous one, has not been entered 

 upon hastily. The advice of the leading botanists of this State and country was 

 sought as to its timeliness, its scope, mode of presentation and illustration. 

 The interested public will rind it to be not a highly technical guide, couched in 

 closely analytical descriptions, but a comparatively brief text, untechnical so 

 far as the theme permits, accompanied by color illustrations taken from the 

 growing plants. The present State Botanist, Dr Homer D. House, is the respon- 

 sible author of the work; he has not only prepared the text and its arrangement, 

 but has supervised in detail the color photography; he has accompanied the 

 photographers into the field on every visit and has selected every subject which 

 is here reproduced. 



The color illustrations must speak for themselves. They have been executed 

 with most painstaking care by the quadricolor process, and the living and grow- 

 ing plants have been reproduced in their colors as near to those of Nature as 

 now seems possible. The Matthews-Northrup Company of Buffalo, and the 

 Zeese- Wilkinson Company of New York are to be credited with the quality of 

 the coloration and printing of these plates. 



As such, then, these volumes are given to the people of the State and as such, 

 we believe, they would have this service rendered. 



- The volumes of Museum Memoir 12, parts 1 and 2, constituting 

 " The Birds of New York " and the portfolios of color plates taken 

 from these volumes, are in constant demand. Indeed, the demand 

 does not diminish and becomes much freshened with the approach of 

 every spring. From these facts it is obvious that the vanishing 

 editions of this publication must be replenished in order to meet 

 the call, not only from the citizens of this State, but from every 

 quarter where the study of the birds and their protection is 

 pursued. 



