I California has unique claims upon tbe interest of the world. From Point Barrow to Cape Horn there is no name better known nor mightier to conjure with than that of this golden-haired mistress of the Argonauts who has become the accomplished 'hostess of the nations. We who live here know best how our shores are thronged continually by seekers health, iunshine, fortune, romance. and all earthly delights, and how m?erring is the re- turn of such as think to shake off the spell once fastened. We sit at the focus of desire, and'yet so bountiful and varied are the marvelous resources of our State, that not half ha? yet been claimed). and the bloom of nature is still unsullied. Nature's story is not trite with us, and we long to share with the widest circle of friends the freshness of our youthful joys. A book on "The 'Birds of California" is not giroply "another bird-book," but the book which, outside of one treating of your own State, you will enjoy most of all. And. you are coming to C?rlifornia anyway. O? course you are. Everybody worth while is, to visit, or rest, or dream, to. retrieve broken fortunes, or recuperate, o.r luxuriate, or-or stud?) bit&,'. BIRDS! Why, we have 531 kinds of them--more by over a hundred than any other state iu
the Union can show. Do you wonder that we are a little self-conscious? or very insistent
that we have got a good thing and need help to,enjoy it? Well, anyhow, we believe that a work on The Birds of California" ought to be su- premely beautiful.and very s?t?i??pg.?_We are going to do our best, and we want your interest, your help, YOUR. ?v?U?IASM, NOW. Suedess, a success is already assre'ed. We purposely delayed this announcement until that.point should be reached, but now that it is reached, we want to act quickly, so as to ensure the very largest success possible. We want to build a larger, brighter, better book than we first promised, and we know that this will be possible if we receive promptly the endorsement we are asking' for. Don't wait till the hard work is all done and the other fellows have received all the glory. Help yourself to one of the best editious m,w ana .joy both the satisfaction of the books themselves and the consciousness of having parti- cipated in a public-spirited service. On the next page we are going to tell yon how you can do this; but first, we want to remind you: That the largest success of the proposed work depends upon cooperation. That the realization of our present plans will justify present sacrifice on the part of any subscriber. That we have conscientiously graduated the expenses of our undertaking so as to allow the financially strong to bear the burdens of. the less able. The Patrons are frankly expected to bear a disproportionately heavy share of the "undertaking cost" of the enter- pnse. If the Patron does not get quite all he is paying for in sheer physical values, the Stockholder and Large Paper subscribers are thereby getting a great deal mofe than they are asked to pay for. That there is a place in our endeavor for every sincer? bird and book,lover, however humble. That' we are going to achieve, throughout, the best that skill and experience can elaborate from the best materials that money and taste can produce. That we shall take a far greater pride in delivering to our customers a set of books which fulfil their fondest expectation than we shall in paying cash dividends to our stock- holders (who, of course, are in this case the subscribers themselves). And, lastly, That we will not hurry unduly nor scamp our work at any point. We confidently expect to go to press September 1st, 1915, and to make deliveries in May, 1916; but if for any reason we require more time, we definitely reserve the right to employ another year without reproach or liability. A SPECIAL OFFER TO MEMBERS OF THE COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB ' Our enterprise being a purely cooperative one, We have for the sake of convenience in administration organized a ?tock company under 'the 'laws of this State. Our authorized capital is $75,000, and of this we require $30,000 to bring our work to press. (The press expenses themselves will stand from $35,060 to. $75,000 more, according to the number and quality of the books ordered; but' this item will be self-insuring). We are offering therefore to subscribers only, 300 shares of our stock of the (original) par value of $100 each (now $110), on the basis of oue share to each Stockholder subscriber, and five to each .Patrou subscriber. Of this amount 190, yielding an income of $19,000, has already been sold, and the current price to the public has risen to $11t3 per share. But we offer hereby the remainder of 110 shares to members of the Cooper Ornithological Club only, for limited time or until sold out, at par, payable in four annual instalments of $25 each. The stock so subscribed for yields dividends payable in books. That is to say, if you subscribe for one share of stock, paying $25 down, and $25 the first day of each January 'thereafter until the sum of $1130 has been paid, you Will receive as a guaranteed dividend a set of the Stockholders' Edition of "The Birds of Califomia"--a set which, if paid for on
