84 JOURNAL OF THS WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES VOL. 11, NO. 4 



The publication of scientific periodicals in the form of loose separates 

 which can be filed according to the taste of the subscriber has been 

 suggested several times, and an actual trial of the plan was begun 

 by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers 

 in 1920. It is still too soon to judge of the advantages or disadvan- 

 tages of the plan. Somewhat similar is the loose-leaf type of serial 

 literature best exemplified by Lefax. 



Popular magazines. — There were listed ^^ in 1920 in the United 

 States and Canada 139 literary, illustrated, and humorous publica- 

 tions of general circulation, most of them issued monthly; 33 "women's 

 publications of home circulation;" and 25 "mail order publications." 

 In addition, there were 880 religious and 562 agricultural publications, 

 mostly w^eekly. The aggregate circulation of the first group was 

 about 22 million, and the individual circulation varied from 2.1 

 million down to 0.01 million. The aggregate circulation of all was of 

 the order of magnitude of 80 million; which, taking into account the 

 number of weekly publications, is very probably equivalent to at 

 least two copies per month for every inhabitant of the country, — 

 numerically a very effective medium of distribution. 



The material published by these periodicals covers a wide range. 

 A few are specifically devoted almost wholly to scientific information. 

 Such are the Popular Science Monthly, Science and Invention, and 

 Scientific American Monthly. Having circulations of 0.1 to 0.25 

 million, and appearing in all public libraries, this group reaches 

 perhaps 2 million readers. The most striking example of success 

 in this field, and one which proves the existence of an extensive public 

 demand for information as well as for entertainment, is the National 

 Geographic Magazine of this city, with nearly 0.8 million circulation. 



Beginning with the scientific-informational type, these general 

 periodicals may be arranged in order of decreasing amounts of in- 

 formation, ending with those made up entirely of fiction, fun, or 

 gossip. As a whole, they supply a very large quantity of scientific 

 information to the public, but the material is nearly as heterogeneous 

 and disconnected as that supplied by the strictly scientific group. 



With respect to producers of information, they play a very small 

 part in distribution. Seldom, if ever, do they announce the original 

 results of research. They are under the necessity not so much of 

 making a correct and understandable record, as of making a readable 

 and interesting record, of discoveries. Hence their dependence upon 



15 Ayer's Annual, 1921. 



