hich threatens disaster to the
feline progeny; it may be called the _cat-tail mania_, seeing that its
victims possess an insatiable desire for amputating and preserving the
caudal appendages of all the neighborhood cats. A self-confessed
member of this cult was recently arrested in one of the eastern
States.

There are several species of bibliophiles; there are _many_ species
of bibliomaniacs. Some admire books for what they contain; others for
their beautiful type, hand-made paper, artistic illustrations, ample
margins, untrimmed edges, etc.; and there are others who attach more
importance to the limited number of copies issued than to either the
contents or workmanship.

If a book is to attain any considerable commercial value and increase
in worth year after year, it is of first importance that the number of
copies issued be actually limited; and the greater the restriction the
more likelihood that the monetary value will be steadily enhanced. But
it must not be forgotten that the mere "limitation" will not of itself
create a furore among judicious book-buyers; the book, or set of
books, should rest upon some more secure basis of valuation than that
of scarcity.

Dibdin says in his _Bibliomania_, issued in 1811: "About twelve years
ago I was rash enough to publish a small volume of poems, with my name
affixed. They were the productions of my juvenile years; and I need
hardly say at this period how ashamed I am of their authorship. The
monthly and analytical reviews did me the kindness of just tolerating
them, and of warning me not to commit any future trespass upon the
premises of Parnassus. I struck off five hundred copies, and was glad
to get rid of half of them as wastepaper; the remaining half has been
partly destroyed by my own hands, and has partly mouldered away in
oblivion amidst the dust of booksellers' shelves. My only consolation
is that the volume is _exceedingly rare_!"

The contents, first to be considered, should be worthy of
preservation; next in importance is the selection of appropriate type,
and the size and style of page, which should be determined by the nature
of the work and the period in which it was written. The size of the book
and the margins of the page must be carefully considered in order to
harmonize with the text-page. In choosing illustrations it is important
to determine whether they should be ornate and illustrative, or classic
and emblematical in design. The paper should be ha