1 4 PREFACE. 



in this line is fully demonstrated by the carefully prepared statements of the article 

 to which reference has just been made. Attention also is called to the colored 

 plates which abound in this volume. As in previous years, those of the fish have 

 been prepared by Mr. Denton and those of the birds by Mr. Ridgway. 



Besides the special articles already mentioned, the Commission acknowledges its 

 indebtedness to Mr. Spencer, of the New York Aquarium ; to Professor Felt, the 

 State Entomologist; to Dr. Gifford, of Cornell University; to Dr. Schenck, the 

 Forester of the Biltmore Estate ; to Mr. Oberholser, and to Dr. Fernow, Director of 

 the State College of Forestry at Cornell University, for the several valuable con- 

 tributions to which their names are respectively attached. The growing interest in 

 the Commission's task of working out the forestry problem in this State has led to 

 the selection of the several exhaustive articles bearing on the subject which appear 

 in this volume. Especial interest attaches to the contribution on the Beginnings of 

 Professional Forestry in the Adirondacks, which recounts the preliminary work now 

 being done by Cornell University in the Great North Woods. Dr. Gifford's descrip- 

 tion of European Forest Scenes is valuable as a companion study, and Dr. Schenck's 

 views on Forest Taxation deal with a part of the problem which must sooner or 

 later be considered. Professor Felt's contribution on Insects Injurious to Elm Trees 

 deals directly with a subject of interest to many citizens, and its value has been 

 shown by a demand for its publication in pamphlet form for general distribution. 



THE COMMISSIONERS. 



