We sincerely trust that no genealogical worker who reads these lines has any other thought than that of giving the fruit of his labors to the public. The whole genealogical world protests against any other idea. It is a patriotic duty as well as a moral obligation to put it in print. Having ourselves profited from the printed pages of many a worker, shall we refuse to repay the debt? We hope better things of every reader of this book, and assume that all his researches are to appear in print as soon as they can be put into proper shape. It matters not whether we have much or little, one page or a thousand, enough copy for a chart, a pamphlet or a volume: it should be printed and published. If we have worked out only a single ancestral line, and have no leisure for further work, or must turn away from such labor for some time to come, let us print what we have collected. If we commit our manuscript to type, we are quite likely to receive a rich reward. Some one sees our production, gets into communication with us,--being interested along the same lines,--and very soon we find ourselves learning things we long desired to know! Hundreds can tell of such experiences. Do not hesitate to print because your work is fragmentary or incomplete. Sometimes one strikes a genealogical "snag," and, do what he may, is unable to proceed in the work of investigation. Under these circumstances some genealogists become discouraged, holding back their entire work for years in the hope of solving their perplexities. This is the wrong way. It is much better to print the work in its incomplete form, frankly setting forth the difficulties encountered. This has many times resulted in the solution of the problem. Some one, somewhere, may hold the key, and as soon as our printed page catches his eye he will supply the needed link. Sometimes two genealogists, unknown to each other, are at work on intersecting lines, which cause them the greatest perplexity, while each has in his hands the precise facts which would solve the other's puzzle. In this situation they may grope on for years without making material progress. If they would only print what they have completed, each would discover the complement of his work in the other, and each could then go on with his task rejoicing. Printing in itself is another reward. The exultant thrill of actual authorship is only felt when we see our work in black and white on the pages of the printed volume. This is the true goal of literary desire.