UNIFORMITY OF SIZE OF PAGES OF SOCIETIES' PUBLICATIONS. 79 



(22 cm. X 28-5 cm., or 8| in. X llj in.) almost universal, but the pre- 

 ponderating sizes approach most nearly to demy, and on account of the 

 large margins of many journals this is the most convenient size of the 

 two, besides making the volumes less unwieldy. The Committee, there- 

 fore, recommefid, in cases where it is desired to retain the quarto size, the 

 following measurements : — • 



Standard Quarto Size. — Paper demy, the pages measuring, when uncut, 

 22 cm. x28'5 cm., or 8^ in. wide x 11 J in. high. Reprints and unbound 

 numbers of this size to be uncut, or cut 0-25 cm., or ^ in. Measurements 

 of letterpress to be c:=18*5 cm., or 7^ in., d=2l-5 cm., or 8| in. 



Limits of Quarto Size. — Paper pages not to measureless than 21 '5 cm., 

 or 8| in., wide x 28 cm., or 11 in., high. Letterpress not to exceed the 

 measurements 0=19 cm., or 7| in., d-=23 cm., or 9 in. 



The same remarks as to the advantage of standard and limiting sizes 

 apply as in the case of the octavo. Allowing for 0'25 cm., or ^ in., being 

 cut oflf in binding, the limiting sizes will allow of a margin of not less than 

 2 cm., or | in., all round, while the standard size will give a margin of 3*25 

 cm., or 1;^ in., at the sides, and 2-5 cm., or 1 in., at the top and bottom. 



Plates often get sadly mutilated when different papers are bound 

 together, and sometimes this even happens when a volume of any periodi- 

 cal is bound up. Where they are folded over they not infrequently get 

 cut in two by the guillotine. To avoid this the Committee recommend 

 that the dimensions of the illustrations should never exceed 13 cm. x 20 cm., 

 or 5i in. x 7|- in., for octavo plates, and 21 cm. x 25 cm., or 8^ in. x 10 in., 

 for quarto, the width being measured from the back of the book. Where 

 plates have to be folded, the fold should be 12-5 cm., or 5 in., from the 

 stitching in octavo, and 20"5 cm., or 8^ in., in quarto papers. Any folding 

 plate should, when referred to elsewhere than in the opposite page of 

 letterpress, have a blank s-psLce equal to the breadth of the paper page at 

 the left hand, so that when open it can be referred to without closing the 

 portion of the book being read that refers to it. This should be carried 

 out even when the diagram or plate would not otherwise have to be folded, 

 in order to reduce the trouble of reference. 



Each article should begin a page. If possible it should begin a right- 

 hand page. It is then possible to bind up any article with others on the 

 same subject without having also to bind up the last half page of another 

 paper. This difficulty can be overcome to some extent by splitting the 

 paper. The pages of some of the journals abstracted in the ' Proceedings 

 of the Physical Society ' are split, one side being sent to each abstractor. 



Comparison of Marpieiic Standards. — Interim Report of the Commit- 

 tee, consisting of Professor A. W. RtJCKER (Chairman) , Mr. W. 

 Watson (Secretary), Professor A. Schuster, and Professor H. H. 

 Turner, ajji^ointed to confer v:ith the Astronomer Royal and, the 

 Sujjeriidendents of other Ohservatories with reference to the Com- 

 parison of Magnetic Standards, tvith a view of carrying out such- 

 Comparison. 



Professor Rucker and Mr. Watson have carefully compared three Kew- 

 pattern magnetometers in order to investigate the causes of the discre- 

 pancies between the measurements of declination made with them. They 



