+486.+ We quite often abbreviate the names of the months, especially
those which have long names. Short names like _March_, _April_, _May_,
_June_ and _July_, should never be abbreviated. For the other months we
use in correspondence the abbreviations, _Jan._, _Feb._, _Aug._,
_Sept._, _Oct._, _Nov._, _Dec._ Days of the week are also sometimes
abbreviated as follows: _Sun._, _Mon._, _Tues._, _Wed._, _Thur._,
_Fri._, _Sat._ Do not use these abbreviations too often. Spell out the
names of the months and of the days of the week except in lists of dates
or something that calls for abbreviations to save time or space.
_Mr._, _Mrs._, _Messrs._, _Jr._, _Sr._, are never spelled out, but are
always written in the abbreviated form. You will often find _Doctor_ and
_Professor_ abbreviated to _Dr._, _Prof._ This is permissible but it is
always good form to write them out in full.
+487.+ We have abbreviated forms for a number of names; as for example:
_Geo._, _Chas._, _Thos._, _Wm._, etc. But it is always much better to
write these names out in full: _George_, _Charles_, _Thomas_, _William_,
etc.
Remember that nicknames are not abbreviations and do not require a
period after them. _Jim_, _Charley_, _Tom_, and _Bill_ are not
abbreviations but nicknames.
In correspondence or in any circumstance that demands the saving of time
or space, we abbreviate the names of states and territories, as follows:
Alabama, Ala.
Arizona, Ariz.
Arkansas, Ark.
California, Cal.
Colorado, Colo.
Connecticut, Conn.
Delaware, Del.
District of Columbia, D. C.
Florida, Fla.
Georgia, Ga.
Idaho, Ida.
Illinois, Ill.
Indiana, Ind.
Iowa, Ia.
Kansas, Kan.
Kentucky, Ky.
Louisiana, La.
Maine, Me.
Maryland, Md.
Massachusetts, Mass.
Michigan, Mich.
Minnesota, Minn.
Mississippi, Miss.
Missouri, Mo.
Montana, Mont.
Nebraska, Neb.
Nevada, Nev.
New Hampshire, N. H.
New Jersey, N. J.
New Mexico, N. M.
New York, N. Y.
North Carolina, N. C.
North Dakota, N. D.
Ohio, O.
Oklahoma, Okla.
Oregon, Ore.
Pennsylvania, Pa. or Penna.
Rhode Island, R. I.
South Carolina, S. C.
South Dakota, S. D.
Tennessee, Tenn.
Texas, Tex.
Vermont, Vt.
Virginia, Va.
Washington, Wash.
West Virginia, W. Va.
Wisconsin, Wis.
Wyoming, Wyo.
+488.+ Use _a. m._ and _p. m._ after dates in lists of dates or
schedules of trains or for any similar purpose, but in the text of a
letter or manuscript it is better to write them out in full. As for
example, do not say: