Due to a lack of publications, students have had to look beyond the Harvard Lampoon for laughs this year. Then again, this many be nothing unusual.

In fact, both the Lampoon and the Harvard Advocate, the oldest literary magazine in the country, have had problems producing their magazines this semester.

The Lampoon's "February" issue made it to the stands only this month. It was labeled the year's fourth issue, when in reality it was only the second. In addition, the masthead lists editors whose terms ended last January instead of the current top brass.

And the venerable Advocate released its annual spring contest issue a little later than intended, President Alp T. Aker '95 said.

The reasons for the delays are as different as the two publications themselves. Lampoon President John Aboud III '95 claimed his 119-year-old Bow Street social organization has traditionally had a complex system of distribution.

"Don't you know about our intricate distribution network?" Aboud Asked.

Although the Lampoon officially states on its title page that it is published five times a year, Aboud said output varies depending upon the staff'sinclinations.

'It's in keeping with the whole whimsicalnature of the Lampoon," Aboud said. "We like tokeep the public guessing."

Aboud said that unlike the 121-year-old HarvardCrimson which materializes predictably every dayand is therefor "just dull," the Lampoon prefersto surprise its readers. Aboud is also an editorof The Crimson.

And former Lampoon Ibis William C. Wu '94, saidthe Bow William C. Wu '94, said the Bow Streetgang traditionally has "no real set schedule" butproduces a magazine "whenever we feel like [it]."

"For the most part we try to produce fivemagazines a year," Wu said. "But sometimes therereally isn't enough time to do it."

But according to Aboud, the Lampoon hasproduced more than five issues a year at times asthey did last year.

In an outright lie during yesterday'sinterview, Aboud claimed that an issue appearedevery week last May in an unparalleled bout ofproductivity.

The Advocate, however, which produces fourissues a year, has fixed deadlines, Fiction EditorAndisheh Mahdavi '95 said.

"We have to get four issues out. We can'treally delay an issue," Mahdavi said. "When therewere fewer submissions, we wound up printing fewerstories."

The Advocate usually produces a fall issue inmid-November, a winter issue in mid-December toJanuary, a spring issue in April and acommencement issue in May, said Managing EditorKyle D. Waide '95.

This year, the Advocate has put out issuesclose to on time, but the magazine wanted topublish earlier.

Waide said the Advocate had come out "a littlelate" because submissions were slower in coming inand the printers had taken longer than expected.

Aker said he hoped to distribute the Advocateto literary aficionados before spring break inorder to "space out" he spring and Commencementissues.

But this year's Spring issue came out the weekafter spring break, denying bookworms theirAdvocates on Bahamian beaches.

"[Usually,] in terms of when this particularissue of the Advocate--the Spring Contestissue--come out, it's on time," Aker said