10 é 
their subjects, but of comparatively little immediate educa- 
tional utility. The ichthyological report, on the other hand, 
will be prepared with a view to presenting an exhaustive state- 
ment of our knowledge concerning the species of fishes of the 
state from the standpoint of the ichthyologist, but also all the 
facts and inferences concerning our native fishes of interest to 
fishermen, science teachers, amateur students, and other in- 
telligent citizens. 
The rapidly growing interest in nature stduy, and the 
urgent and increasing call for materials available to the sci- 
ence teacher lead me to believe that the State Laboratory may 
do education a service at this time by giving its periodical 
publications a new form and direction. While brief technical 
papers should undoubtedly be published from time to time as 
new results of merely scientific value are obtained, I intend 
that our principal Bulletin articles shall be prepared with the 
needs of the science teacher and the advanced science student 
especially in mind. One such article is now in course of prep- 
aration by Professor Smith and will probably be ready for 
publication during the course of the winter. 
THE LABORATORY LIBRARY. 
Increased activity in publication has enabled us during 
the last two years to establish a larger and much more valu- 
able system of exchanges than heretofore, especially with 
European scientific societies and institutions. We are now 
receiving in exchange for our State Laboratory Bulletin one 
hundred and eighty-one periodical scientific publications, of 
which fifty-nine are American, twenty-eight are British or 
British-colonial, twenty-six are German, sixteen French, 
twelve Italian, and the remaining forty are Russian, Swedish, 
Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Portugese, Egyptian, 
South American, and Japanese. Purchases for the library, 
although made to the limit of our actual requirement, have 
been fewer in number than of recent years owing to the fact 
that the departments of our work now in progress have been 
remarkably well provided for heretofore. Purchases of books, 
pamphlets, and periodicals amount to $1274.47 for the two 
