weights, and measures, consisted of twelve of the next lower, we should possess all the benefits of a decimal coinage without altering the value of a single coin, or any of the common measures and weights, except the ounce, which would be one-third heavier. I recommend the penny, the pound weight, and the foot measure, as the integers, or roots, or units, on which to base a universal system of money, weights, and measures, which would be gradually adopted by all nations. The yard would, of course, be preserved to us for measuring cloth, &c. I have inquired of drapers whether the English yard or the French metre of about 3 feet 3 inches, is the most convenient for handling, and they unanimously pronounce the "French yard" to be too long for the arms.

To preserve the pound of twenty shillings intact, and deduce the cent, penny, and mill from it, is like producing the centre of a circle from the circumference. It is the penny that produces the shilling, and the shilling the pound, and not the contrary. We have made twelve pence constitute a shilling because it is a more convenient number for divisions of a shilling than ten would be.

The two new figures necessary for a twelve system of arithmetic might be & ten, 2 eleven, something like the writing forms of T and E, recommended by a correspondent of the "Times." They work well, for I have employed them about five years, and have added them to the figures of all my book fonts, from Nonpareil to] Small Pica. All counting would be done in twelves; the scale of figures is given in the third line below.

Roman,

Denary.

I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIH, IX, X, XI, XII.

Arabic, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

Denary.

Extended

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

Arabic. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 6, 2, 10. Duodenary, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.

The numeration table would be-Units, dozens, grosses, triples (a new term to signify the third power of twelve), dozens of triples, grosses of triples, sexiads (a new term signifying the sixth power of twelve). Only these two additional words would be required in the place of thousand and million. I recommend that no higher denomination than sexiads (in the place of millions) be employed.

For higher numbers, call over the figures and add the word sexiads. Thus we might say, the American war debt has reached 4 (5, &c.) figures of sexiads of dollars. When we ascend to the region of billions, trillions, and all the other -illions, up to dodecillions, or the twelfth degree above millions, we are lost in a maze of figures and words. Besides, the very meaning of these words is disputed; one method of employing them is adopted in this country, and another in France and the States of America. In England we take six figures for each denomination above a million. but in France and America only three are taken. The consequence is, that "a billion dollars" in America means only the thousandth part of what it means in England. There it means a thousand millions, but here it means' a million millions.

As everybody who can cypher has learned the pence table. he may employ this in addition to the ordinary multiplication table, in performing multiplication by twelves, tintil the twelve table shall be learned.

DUODECIMAL MULTIPLICATION TABLE.

This table is to be repeated thus:-Three ones are three, three twos are six, three threes are nine, three fours are a

dozen, three fives are one-and-three (that is, one dozen and three), three sixes are one-and-six, &c. ; nine ones are nine, twos are one-and-six, nine threes are two-and-three, nine fours are three dozen, &c. Obsolescent numbers may be marked thus (), as (1,728) = 1,000, or one triple.

nine

In Money, the only alteration required by this reform would be to replace the ten and twenty shilling gold pieces by others of twelve and twenty-four shillings value. The twelve shilling piece would be the principal or the highest coin of account, and might be named a Mark. There should also be a smaller gold coin of six shillings, about the size of a four-penny piece, to supersede the present lumbering silver coin of 5s., which can scarcely be called "change." "" France and America could reconstruct their money on the basis of the English penny, which is equal to two cents in America, and nearly equal to the French penny of ten centimes, 25 French pennies being equal to 24 English ones. The English £5 note would be replaced by one bearing the value of £7. 4s., or 100 (one gross) shillings. It might be called a Banko.

In Weights, I recommend the present pound, and that there be no other higher denomination than a load, or a triple pounds, that is, a dozen gross pounds, or 1,728 pounds, which make a light cart-load of 15 cwt. 1 qr. 20 lb. Intermediate weights would be expressed with sufficient convenience by dozens and grosses of pounds. I would fix the pound at its present weight, and have it registered in several places, rather than introduce a new and different pound. The word pound would thus be properly restricted to the meaning of a weight, and would pass out of use as

the name of a coin. The present convenient cut. (hundredweight) would be replaced by a gross pounds, which would be but thirty-two (or two-and-eight) pounds heavier.

In Liquid Measures the present pint, which weighs about. 11. 31 oz., might be taken as the unit. Dozens and grosses of pints would be sufficient for all higher measures till we reach a dozen gross pints, which might be called a tun; the difference between the old and new tun of wine, being that between (2,016) and (1,728) pints, or 2 gross pints, or 3 dozen gallons. The word ton or tun (both pronounced tun) would thus signify a liquid measure only, and not 20 cwt, also.

Lineal Measures might be the foot of twelve inches,

dozens and grosses of feet, which would serve to measure buildings; and for distances on land, the foot, dozens and grosses of feet, and a triple, or 1,000 (1,728) feet, about of a mile, which might be called a long. The mean diameter of the earth (7,9129 miles is 11,267 longs.

In Land or Square Measure, the denominatious might be,-a -a square foot (of twelve inches on each side), dozens and grosses of square feet (the side of which would be found by extracting the square root), and a plot, or a square of a gross feet on each side, that is, 10,000 (20,736) square feet, a little less than half an acre.

Celestial distances might be measured by the diameter of the earth as a unit; thus, the sun is 6,756 (11,875) diameters distant from the earth.

In Time, no change for the better could be made except that of counting the hours of the day forward to two dozen, and thus doing away with the troublesome, and to many persons unintelligible a.m. and p.m. (the former being sometimes read as a contraction signifying after morning); dividing the hour continuously into twelfths, and giving thirty (2 dozen) days to each month, with (35) to December. The last five (in leap-year sir) days of the year might be considered a national festival; interest for money being reckoned the same for December as for any other month. The year should commence at the winter solstice, on the 22nd of December. The only change necessary in clocks and watches would be the division of the space between the hour figures on the dial, into six parts instead of five. Where there is a seconds movement, the seconds hand must be surrounded by the twelve numerals, and the movement adjusted thereto. Chronology in history, and the reckoning the day of the month and the year, might be brought into conformity with the new arithmetic, and a New Style inaugurated, about the year (2000) 1168, or as much earlier as public opinion might demand. The oldest date in Arabic figures in this country is 1454, which is inscribed on a brass plate commemorating the death of Ellen Wood, in the church of Ware. The Arabic figures were not generally adopted in England till the sixteenth century.

=

Divisions, in twelfths, of the several units (hour, foot, pint, pound), to be called primes, seconds, thirds, fourths, &c.; not discarding the additional terms half, quarter,

ounce (11⁄2 of a pound), inch, line (11⁄2 of an inch), gallon, quart, drop, &c. These would be measures of convenience, but not measures of account, except when they are twelfths.

I will now illustrate this duodecimal arithmetic by a few examples.

What is the price of a load of coal, weighing 1 ton 16 cwt. 3 qrs. 24 lbs., at (10d.) per cwt.? The bill would be delivered as 2,490 pounds of coal (or 2 loads, 4 gross, 9 dozen pounds), at 1s. 1d. per gross (pounds). The operation is

There is a difference of d. upon the two calculations, because 1s. 1d. per gross is a little higher rate than 10 d. per cwt.

What is the value of 38 (44) pounds of sugar at 7d. per pound?