DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

WASHINGTON D. C., June 29, 1886.

Prof.O.C.Marsh,

New Haven, Conn.

Dear Sir:

Captain Brian calls my attention to the fact that on the stereotyped blocks of the Explanations for Plates no numbers appear, the numbers used in your edition having seemingly been cut off. On comparing one case, that of Plate 47, it was found the reference to astrologus was given as page 146 for each one of the figures, although the figures were described on pages following page 146 as well as on that page. I have to request, therefore, that you will supply this office with correct references to the text, the omission of the references used in your edition being apparently intentional.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

WASHINGTON D. C., May 19, 1887.

Dear Sir:

It has been learned that it will be practicable to greatly diminish the delay in the publication of the Annual Reports of the Survey, if the material can be placed in the hands of the Public Printer promptly--not later than the last day of each fiscal year. Chiefs of divisions are therefore urged to secure from their assistants reports for June before the end of the month, and to prepare their administrative reports in time for transmission to this office not later than the 28th proximo.

By order of the Director:

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

WASHINGTON D. C., June 28, 1887.

Prof.O.C.Marsh,
New Haven,Conn.

Dear Sir:

Referring to your request for the promotion of Mr.
Barbour the Director desires me to inquire whether you would
like to have the salary fixed at $1,600 instead of $1,400;
the 1,500 rating is impracticable.

(1118-1887)

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

WASHINGTON D. C.,

Nov. 10 1887.

Sir:

In the hope of facilitating the work and securing a desirable uniformity in the books issued by the Survey, a few suggestions respecting the preparation of manuscript for the press have been thrown together and are here with submitted for your consideration.

Any criticisms or additional suggestions you may be pleased to make will be gratefully received. It is hoped that these notes may form the basis of a circular of instructions to authors, to be promulgated under the authority of the Director.

I have the honor to be

Prof. O. C. Marsh,
Yale College.

Proposed rules for the preparation of manuscript, etc.,
for publications of the U.S.Geological Survey.

Type.

1. The type used in the annual reports will be pica for the report of the Director and long primer for administrative reports and accompanying papers; extracts, foot-notes and tab-ular matter throughout the volume will be printed in brevier unless some special considerations should render the use of a different type advisable.

2. In the monographs pica will be used for the text, long primer for extracts, and brevier for tabular matter (unless the use of nonpareil is unavoidable) and for foot-notes.

3. In the bulletins long primer will be used for the text, brevier for extracts and foot-notes, and nonpareil or brevier for tabular matter, as may seem best in individual cases.

Preparation of manuscript.

1. It is not deemed advisable to select a series of types to be invariably used for headings throughout the publications of the Survey, owing to varying requirements in different cases, but an effort will be made in the Editorial Division to secure uniformity as far as may be deemed desirable. To assist in effecting this and for other reasons authors are requested to forward with each manuscript offered for publication a table of contents showing by suitable in-dentions the order and grade of the headings used throughout the work, and they are also requested to mark the headings themselves on the upper right-hand corner with figures showing them to be of the first, second, third, etc. order. All par-agraphs should be clearly indicated.

2. "Copy" may be furnished (1) as written by the author, (2) as copied for him by an amanuensis, or (3) as printed on the type-writer. In the last case it may be somewhat more conveniently handled; but with an author's original manuscript, unless his revision of copied work is very careful, the liability to error is considerably less than with a copy of any description. In all cases it is well to preserve the original manuscript for reference, including the originals

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of analyses, tables, manuscript extracts, etc. Where citations are made from printed books the pages copied from should be noted, even if it should not be thought desirable to publish the complete reference. Where quotations beginning a paragraph are inserted with *type-writer* they should be written in "narrow-guage."

3. One side of the paper only should be written upon, and additional matter, if more than a few words, should be written upon a separate paper and attached to the manuscript, with a clear indication of the place of insertion.

4. Webster's Dictionary will be followed as the authority in orthography except where there is some special reason for not following it.

5. In general spell out indefinite numbers, as, about a thousand feet. Put in figures (1) numbers higher than ten where specific, (2) indefinite numbers if there are many of them, (3) hours of the day, (4) percentages, etc.

6. Statements, words, phrases, or abbreviations in foreign languages should not be underscored for italic, and if such expressions and words have exact English equivalents these should be preferred. The use of italic type for foreign

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words somewhat impairs its distinctiveness for side headings
and it also unnecessarily limits the capacity of those writers
whose inclinations or necessities dispose them to depend upon
italics for emphasis.

7. Follow local usage in spelling the names of towns and cities, if settled; if not, the spelling of the Postal Guide. Use St. etc. for Saint in proper names. Write U. S. Army, U.S.Geological Survey, etc. Abbreviate names of States accompanying names of towns as in U.S.Postal Guide.

8. The liability to error will be diminished if cubic centimeters, millimeters, etc. are spelled out instead of abbreviated; gramme is to be preferred to gram, which is liable to be confounded with grain. Let all the compounds of gramme be spelled like it. In tables giving chemical analyses let the names as well as the symbols of the constituents appear. Write feet and inches instead of ' and", since these marks are used with varying signification. Write N. 30° 50' 20" E.

9. In writing decimals avoid superfluous ciphers: 5, not 0.5.

10. Write etc. instead of &c.

11. Capitalize names of geological formations, as, the

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Cretaceous, but not expressions like cretaceous shales etc.
Geographical designations like northeastern Ohio and eastern
New York should be written with small letters, but write the
Southern States, the Northwest, etc. Write Hudson river, New
York city, etc., but where the word city forms a part of the
name capitalize, as Virginia City, and when universal usage
has settled upon the use of capitals, follow that, as, East
Tennessee.

12. In indicating the different parts of a plate, avoid
the use of the word Figure, because of its use in referring
to text illustrations; thus, instead of Plate XIV, Fig.3, say
Plate XIV, c, etc. It is thought by some a serviceable dis-
tinction in paleontological works to print fig. and plate
with small letters when referring to the illustrations in
another work.

13. Write names of species thus: Unio felchii White,
not Unio Felchii, White.

14. In giving titles of books and papers in the text
use quotation marks in all cases and capitalize principal
words in short titles, but in long titles capitalize only
proper names.

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( Proposed substitute for 14.) Insert in the text short
titles only, capitalizing principal words and not quoting
the titles; relegate to foot-notes all long titles, capital-
izing sparingly and not quoting.

( Proposed substitute for 14--No.2.) Give all titles
of books and papers in foot-notes--the rule in Poggendorff's
Annalen.

15. While it is recognized that perfect uniformity in
making foot-note references is not attainable (nor, perhaps,
always desirable, in view of the different purposes for which
such references are made) it is believed that there should be
agreement in the absence of a reason for variation, and the
following suggestions are made towards securing this:

A. Books not forming part of a series.

Give short titles in full, and abridge long ones if
thought desirable, indicating omissions in the title by dots,
thus: . . . Follow the title with the name of the author if
not already given, the place and year of publication, the
volume and part or page, and capitalize and punctuate thus:

Manual of Geology, . . . by James D. Dana, 2d., ed.,
New York, 1875, p. 79.

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Recherches géologique dans les parties de la Savoie, du Piémont et de la Suisse voisines du Mont Blanc, par Alphonse Favre, Paris, 1867, vol.1, p. 163.

Gangstudien oder Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Erzgänge, herausgegeben von Bernhard Cotta, Freiberg, 1850, vol.1, p.40.

In the first of the above cases, with the liberty of abridging a well known title is taken the liberty of altering the punctuation of the original to suit the abridged form, and the other statements on the title page (the titles of other works by the same author, the legends and number of illustrations) are omitted. Principal words in the title are capitalized.

In the second, punctuation is supplied in the case of a title printed without any, and the designation of the volume is in English instead of French. Principal words of the title are not capitalized.

In the third, German substantives are capitalized, and the designation of the volume and the page is in English.

In all three the size of the volume, whether illustrated or not, and the number of volumes composing the work are omitted. It is conceived that this information is not needed

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except in work somewhat bibliographical in its nature, which
class is not embraced within the purview of these suggestions.
If the size of the work and the number of volumes composing
it are stated insert such matter before the place of publica-
tion, thus: 3 vols., 4°. In citing by page a work that has
passed through more than one edition, an indication should be
given of the edition used. Where two or more references to
the same work occur in immediate succession and on the same
page, use ibid. for the title and give the new page, but in
other cases repeat the title either as first given or in
abridged form.

Serials.

In the case of little known or unusual works give tol-
erably complete titles or full ones; in other cases short
titles may be preferred. If short titles are used, abridge
and abbreviate them as below, treating similarly any cases not
embraced in the present list: