EDITOR'S REPORT TO BOARD OF EXAMINERS.

To the State Board of Examiners:

SAN FRANCISCO, July 22, 1893.

GENTLEMEN: In accordance with your instructions of March 18, 1893, I have edited the manuscript of the Biennial Report of the State Mineralogist under the provisions of the Act approved March 11, 1893.

It will be remembered that when this manuscript was originally submitted, the Board of Examiners declined to publish it entire, and printed only the brief report of the Trustees of the State Mining Bureau and the introduction to the report by the State Mineralogist. This report also called forth from the Governor the following expression, printed in his message to the Legislature:

I have carefully read the biennial reports of the various State officers and public institutions, with the exception of those of the State Mineralogist as originally prepared, the State Agricultural Society, the Railroad Commissioners, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the State Board of Horticulture, and possibly one or two others, which are so voluminous that none but the unemployed and those directly interested and expecting to derive personal benefit from them can have time to read. While it is the duty of those who prepare these reports to inform the public fully in regard to the conduct of their institutions, very often too little time is devoted by their authors to condensing their statements. Intelligent people do not require arguments, but simply facts, from which they draw their own conclusions. The enormous cost of printing some of these volumes seems to have escaped attention in many cases; notably in that of the State Mineralogist, the cost of printing which, as presented, would have been over $10,000. I have no doubt that this is a valuable contribution, but I believe that $2,000 worth of intelligent editorial work bestowed upon the manuscript would have saved four times that amount in the cost of printing, and the volume would have been of greater value to those interested. People will not read long, tedious reports, and if it were not for the condensed statements given out through the press the people of the State generally would have very little information in regard to our public institutions.

The Legislature then passed an Act, which was approved March 11, 1893, making an appropriation for editing the manuscript of the report of the State Mineralogist for the two years ending September 15, 1892. This Act is as follows:

AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR EDITING THE MANUSCRIPT OF THE REPORT of THE STATE MINERALOGIST FOR THE TWO YEARS ENDING SEPTEMBER 15, 1892. The People of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. There is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of five hundred dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, the same to be expended under the supervision of the State Board of Examiners, to pay for editing the manuscript of the biennial report of the State Mineralogist, for the two years ending September fifteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, said manuscript having been filed with the Governor on said date. SEC. 2. This Act shall take effect immediately.

There were in all 2,307 pages of this manuscript, largely type-written. I have condensed all that relates to the counties of the State very materially, as in some instances I found much duplication of former reports. By comparing the reports previously published, with the man