jy N PRESENTING what is probably the last of the 



series of enlarged and color-illustrated reports of 



the Forest, Fish and Game Commission, it seems 



permissible to call attention to the record which 



these volumes have made. The series was begun 



with the amplified report for the year 1895, in the 



belief that in this way better than any other the valuable work which the 



Commission is doing could be brought to the attention of the public. 



Results have shown that this belief was correct. 



From the very first issue the books have been immensely popular. 



Not only have they commended themselves to residents of New York 



State, but they have been instrumental in causing other states to issue 



similar volumes, and they have been sought eagerly by students of the 



subjects on which they treat. Requests for copies have come in great 



numbers from abroad, and as an instance of the value set upon them, it 



may be mentioned that the Imperial Library of Japan has among its most 



valued possessions a complete set from 1895 to the present time. 



That these reports with their wealth of illustration and the valuable 



special articles which they have contained have brought credit to the 



State, as well as to the Commission, may readily be conceded. Scarcely 



a day passes but there is a demand from some other state for a copy or 



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