KEPOKT OF THE EDITOR. . 615 



and volume '4, which has been issued during the past year, was editori- 

 ally the joint product of Mr McGee and myself. 



A contract w^as made with Judd &Detweiler, of this city, at reduced 

 rates, for the composition and press-work. of volume 4, and as their work 

 has been unusually satisfactory, the contract has been continued for 

 volume 5. 



It has not been found practicable to make a contract with an engrav 

 ing company for the reproduction of illustrations. The cost of such 

 reproduction is a variable quantity, conditioned by the character of the 

 object to be reproduced. The services of the Moss Engraving Company 

 were continued for volume 4, and a rigid supervision was exercised over 

 both the character of their work and the prices charged, and it is believed 

 that good results were obtained at rates that compare favorably with the 

 usual market prices. 



For volume 5 the attempt has been made to secure even better results 

 at cheaper rates. Thus far two pieces of line work have been submitted 

 to the Standard Engraving Company of Washington, D. C. The cuts 

 have been satisfactory both in quality and cost. 



The cost of each of the four volumes thus far issued by the Society is 

 as follows : 



Vol. 1. Vol. 2. Vol. 3. Vol. 4. 



(pp. 593 ; pi. 13.) (pp. (5G2 ; pi. 23.) (pp. 541 ; pi. 10.) (pp. 458 ; pi. 10.) 



Letter-press ^1,473 77 $l,99ii 52 ^1,535 59 $1,286 39 



Illustrations 291 85 463 65 383 35 173 25 



ai,765 62 $2,456 17 $1,918 94 $1,459 64 



The last brochure of volume 4 went to j^ress September 23. 



Up to the date of this report 70 pages of volume 5 have been pub- 

 lished. These 70 pages represent the '' Proceedings of the Madison 

 Meeting," and Professor Stevenson's paper, " Origin of the Pennsylvania 

 Anthracite." This last paper was issued November 22, since which time 

 no material has V)een received from members for publication. 



I feel it to be a duty wliich I owe to the administration of the office of 

 Editor, as well as to the best interests of the Society, to urge upon the 

 Fellows the desirability of putting their manuscripts in the best possible 

 form before presenting them for publication. The task of editing the 

 mass of material which the Society annually puts through the press is 

 not a light one, and its arduousness can be greatly curtailed by the author 

 furnishing at least legible manuscript. Aside from this consideration, it 

 is of great advantage to authors themselves by promoting accuracy in the 

 publication of their papers. There are many proper names, technical 

 terms, citations and quotations with which even an editor may not be 

 personally acquainted or which he may not be able to verify, and if the 



