Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-02-05
Peunsylyania's Picture Book.

The Birds OF pennsylvania IL
the title of costly and handsomely
illustrated book published by the state
for free distribution, and so eagerly
scrambled for that second and revised
edition was promptly authorized by the
Legislature, for the satisfaction Of dis
appointed applicants for the first. There
seemed to be no better argument for the
free publication and distribution of this
book than that large number Of people
wanted 1t and did not want to pay for
II. 1t afforded graceful and easy way
Of complimenting influential supporters
Of assemblymen, and therefore met with
favor, while it seemed to be in the line
Of encouragement of knowledge, and SO
found little opposition. When the sec
ond edition was called for there were
some signs of impatience by city repre-
sentatives who failed to appreciate birds,
and by few who thought good book
worth paying for, and did not like to
zee the state going into the free distribu-
tion of anything that might really have
high market value. The first edition
Of six thousand copies and the second of
nineteen thousand, will cost the state
together about seventy thousand dollars,
and then no doubt a third edition, still
further revised, will be called for and
cheerfully granted, because the states
man IL desperately tired Of giving tons
Of uninteresting reports to his infiuen-
tial friends and appreciates this picture
book with Its one hundred colored lith-
ographs, for which the plates cost four
hundred and fifty dollars each. 1t is a
very pleasant arrangement all around,
excepting for the book dealer with books
on birds for sale, and as he IL an insig-
nificant minority he can Of course ex-
pect no mercy, and rapid extension Of
the principle may be looked for. Books
on cattle, horses, sheep and dogs, may
rapidly follow the birds (; then books on
flowers, trees and all nature, on scale
similar to that adopted by the state ge-
illogical survey, with its endless process
sion of volumes. Then after Pennsylva-
MAS free encyclopedia has become
famous, there may be q suggestion that
Pennsylvania books on men and women
commonly called novels, should he
printed free. Although issued by the
state for nothing, many of these books
ere sure to find their way rapidly to
book dealers, ard people who really
value them pay dearly.
The seventy thousand dollars might
have been more profitably employed in
cautiously introducing new and valuable
species Of birds, In lessening the nui-
sance Of the English sparrow, If it is q
nuisance, and in establishing state
aviaries just as We have state fish farms.
Hawks might be destroyed and insectiv-
orous birds increased. In fact If our
statesmen were bent on booming birds
they could have used the money well !;
but they were only anxious to meet the
pressure for free and light literature. At
. recent meeting of the State Grange Of
the Patrons of Husbandry, Governor
Beaver was censured for not hurrying
up the publication of the second edition,
and 1t Is now carefully explained that
the state printer was too busy, but has
at last commenced work on it. 1t is
pity that small nominal price, say a
dollar volume, can not be put on the
book just TO see how many of the appli-
cants would stop clamoring.