Four administrative areas are thus created: two primary areas—namely, counties at large, and boroughs of 100,000 inhabitants and upwards.—Nineteenth Century Maga.
Annapolis, June 25, 1776. That four battalions be instantly raised . . . . each company to consist of ninety men, to wit: one captain, two lieutenants, etc.—Am. Archives.
When viz. or namely or as follows ends a paragraph, the colon is commonly inserted; but the dash or comma-dash or colon-dash may sometimes be noticed,—it is a matter of office style. (See Punctuation, Rule 8, post.)
But if, referring to a succeeding sentence or paragraph, the words “the following” or “as follows” appear, the sentence in which they occur should be closed with the colon or colon-dash, as in the following examples: {p84}
The description given of the English Nonconformists in many pages that stand for history, is as follows: That they started forth under a well-settled order of constitution and discipline of the Church of England, etc.—Ellis’s Puritan Age.
Mr. Faulkner, from the Committee on Pensions, to whom were referred the following bills, reported them severally without amendment, and submitted reports thereon:
A bill (H. R. 10318) granting a pension to Mary C. Davis; and
A bill (H. R. 8400) to place the name of John J. Mitchell on the pension-roll.—Congressional Record, July 22, ’88.
The hyphen is used to connect the parts of a compound word; to show the divisions of words into syllables; it is placed at the end of a line when a word is not finished; and it is sometimes placed between vowels, to show that they belong to different syllables (as “co-ordinate”). In regard to its use in compound words great diversity exists; and the proof-reader can have, as we believe, no fixed system which will apply to all varieties of work. In specifications for bridges, buildings, etc., the better way is to avoid compounding; for, in everything of that kind, one will find so many “door-sills,” “newel-posts,” “stair-balusters,” “pulley-stiles,” etc., that if he begin marking in the hyphens he will scarcely make an end of it, and many hyphens sadly deform a page: better put “door knobs,” “window frames,” “stair nosings,” etc., omitting hyphens.
Here, too, the dictionaries can scarcely be said to assist, if they do not even mislead. Worcester has “brickwork,” “brasswork,” without hyphens; {p85} “wood-work,” “iron-work,” with them. “Greenhouse” is closed up, while “school-house” is not; “wood-house” has a hyphen, “almshouse” has none. (Wilson writes “schoolhouse.”) Webster has “brick-work” with the hyphen, “woodwork” without it,—just reversing Worcester. Again, Worcester writes, “humblebee” and “bumblebee”: Webster, under B, has “bumble-bee, . . . . sometimes called humble-bee”; and, under H, writes “humblebee, . . . . often called bumblebee,” apparently forgetful of his previous hyphens.