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MONTHLY LETTER OF THE BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
eS 

SOME SUGGESTIONS ON THE PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS 
Attention of writers and typists to a few simple points in the 
preparation of manuscripts may help much in economy of time on the part 
of editors, compositors, and others who later have to deal with the manu- 
scripts. Some suggestions, heretofore offered in special cases, are 
here repeated for wider circulation. 
Manuscripts for the editor or printer should be the FIRST SHEETS 
{mot carbon copies), and these will hereafter be required. The paper 
used for carbon copies is not substantial enough to endure the hard 
treatment generally suffered by manuscripts, and the carbon print is 
difficult to read and is readily obliterated in editing. 
All the matter typed should be double-spaced, including the head 
ings, "Literature Cited," tables, etc., and this rule applies equally 
well to matter submitted for the Bureau News Letter. A little compres— 
Sion may be desirable, if it is a case of getting a paragraph entirely 
into a page, or of other emergency. 
A margin of at least an inch should be left on each side of the 
text. 
. All center heads should be typed in capitals, and should not be 
underscored. 
After completing a paragraph, do not begin another on the same 
page unless there is room for the entire paragraph. In other words, do 
not divide a paragraph between two pages, except in the rare case that 
a single paragraph is too long for an entire page. Observance of this 
precaution facilitates the distribution of a manuscript among the com- 
positors, and promotes resultant speed in printing. 
Do not combine text and tables on the same page. Tables go to a 
Special compositor. Bring a paragraph to a close at the point where the 
table is to be inserted, and continue with a new paragraph, on a new page. 
Then number all the pages consecutively, including tables, in their proper 
position. 
Do not run horizontal lines between successive lines of figures in 
tables. Horizontal lines specially needed will be supplied. Worth-while 
information on the construction of tables may be obtained by studying the 
tables in almost any Technical Bulletin, or, perhaps better, in the 
Journal of Agricultural Research. 
January, 1928 
