PUBLISHER'S NOTICES 



xiv 



changed, but in the modern way the 

 whole line must be recast. 



A duplicate of the revised proof is 

 cut into proper lengths and pasted on 

 what is known as a make-up sheet and 

 then the metal on the galley is made 

 into pages with the cuts properly in- 

 serted. These pages are arranged in 

 sixteen to a "form" to be printed on 

 one side of a sheet of paper twenty- 

 eight by forty-two inches. 



In the foreground of the illustration 

 is shown the foreman who has just 

 completed the locking of a form ; that 

 is, each page is made firm within an 

 iron frame known as a chase. The 

 top of the table on which this is done 

 is a marble slab known as an impos- 

 ing stone. 



From the imposing stone the pages 

 are taken in what the printer calls 

 "forms" to the press room and sixteen 

 pages are printed. The sheet is then 

 turned and printed on the other side 

 from another form. These sheets are 

 cut and each half folded making what 

 is known as a signature or sixteen 

 pages. Our magazine is made up of 

 four of these signatures. 



The sheets are then gathered with 

 the covers and two staples put through 

 the back in what is known as saddle- 

 back binding. The books are then 

 taken to the cutter and trimmed. From 

 the bindery they are carried to Sound 

 Beach where they are mailed. 



Does the Guide to Nature Pay? 



Not infrequently our friends, especi- 

 ally members of The Agassiz Associa- 

 tion, desiring to know the situation, 

 ask, "Have you yet placed The) Guide 

 to Nature on a paying basis ?" Some 

 of these friends seem to believe that to 

 attain that result is a forlorn and hope- 

 less task, while others, who look at 

 things wholly from the financial point 

 of view, make us feel that unless we 

 speedily accomplish the paying basis it 

 is not worth while to continue the mag- 

 azine. 



Let the editor frankly state that he 

 never expects the magazine to yield a 

 cash dividend because he is constantly 

 putting more money into it so as pur- 

 posely to keep the expense a little in 

 advance of the income. Our present 

 income is more than twice that of two 

 vears ac;o, and we have intentionally 



kept the expenses in the same propor- 

 tion. In other words, the more we re- 

 ceive the better the magazine will be 

 made. The magazine would not be dis- 

 continued even if there were no income. 

 It is the regular, monthly, official pub- 

 lication of The Agassiz Association, 

 and if it were only a tiny four-page 

 circular, or even a one-page leaflet of 

 information and instruction occasion- 

 ally issued to the members, it would 

 still be continued. But why should it 

 ever be looked upon by any of our 

 friends as a money-making investment? 

 Take the official journals that represent 

 other ideals ; for example, that of the 

 Humane Society, or of a church society 

 for the promulgation of other good 

 things. Of them one never asks, "Does 

 it pay?" but rather, "Is it doing good 

 work in disseminating its ideals?" I 

 believe that every Humane Society 

 publishes its journals at an annual loss, 

 and yet the publication is continued as 

 well worth while because it is the me- 

 dium through which the work is ac- 

 complished. There is no better clear- 

 ing house than The Guide to Nature, 

 and in that respect it should go on and 

 have the continued support of the mem- 

 bers. 



Then, too, if there were not a dollar 

 of income The Guide to Nature would 

 surely stand for a high purpose in pro- 

 mulgating its ideals of popular science 

 or, as voiced in that choice phrase 

 coined for the charter of The Carnegie 

 Institution, "the application of knowl- 

 edge to the good of humanity." As 

 such the magazine would be well worth 

 while, and, to my mind, better worth 

 while than many of the technical 

 pamphlets and circulars issued by the 

 technical societies, and in which the 

 technical minutiae of science are piled 

 up in enormous quantities. These are 

 published at great expense and are dis- 

 tributed for the good of the cause, with 

 but little expectation of accomplishing 

 any financial result. The Guide to 

 Nature is for men and women who 

 seek nature for enlightenment, intel- 

 lectual recreation or rest. For these 

 purposes we ask your membership, 

 your contributions, your subscriptions, 

 and if our Association did nothing but 

 publish Tin: Guide to Nature, the re- 

 sults that we have already reached and 

 those that we hope to reach are and will 

 lie well worth your financial support. 



