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, 
v. 
