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ITS EXISTENCE THROUGHOUT THE ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. 1) A KW IN J AN ISM EXPLODED AND A REVOLUTION IN FIGURES PROPOSED. By W. S. NIXON. HAMILTON: ' *• K Bakkkr, Book and Job Printer, 8 John Street North i888. fiw/|iPP«»^'!« iM/WJiiill i^'iii ■ \ ■^^ IMiFReBUeiFlSIl. IN order to show that some radical reformation is necessary in our decimal and tabular systems, one has only to glance at the financial and market reports of the monetary and commercial centres of the world, as they appear reflected in the leading daily news- papers. A very small fraction in the upward or down- ward tendency of the articles quoted in the money, stock or provision markets, means thousands — aye, millions — of 4* 5> 6, 7, 10, II, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, ai, aa, a3, a4, 25, 26, 27, 30. 31. 3a. 33. 34. 35. 36» 37» 40. etc. By this simple arr tngement sixty-four would be 100 ; thirty-two would be 40 ; sixteen, 20 ; and eight, 10. The half of ten would be, 4 ; the half of four a ; and the half of two, i. The orignal i could be divided into decimals of 8, and the decimal of eight into sub-decimals still lower — in fact as low as you like to go, but always with octave numbers that would give equal parts. You now would ask, *• What is to be gained by all this ? Can wc not subdivide or multiply now in order to get any proportion we wish ?" To this I will say that you can ; but you get irregular numbers in the simplest kind of calculation, and then you are carried into irregular fractions that lead to endless trouble. I hold that the introduction of my system into all tables of measures (and it can be easily done), will simplify calculations to such a degree that a child will become proficient in figures in one-quarter the time at present devoted to arithmetic. There would also be less brain-taxing and less insanity in the land, and the time saved from a simplification of figures could be devoted to the study of something else. Tile reader may then say ; *• In the start out you say you have the authority of the Creator for your revo- lutionary proposition ?" To this I answer that I have. And why is it that nearly everything that lives is con- structed on a quadratic or octave basis ? Why is every aninial given four legs ? — nearly every insect eight legs ? Why has the caterpillar and the crayfish eight legs ? Why has the centipede sixty-four legs ? And why has his lesser type — the earwig — sixteen ? Why has the octopod or cuttlefish eight arms ? And why has each 10 THE CREATOR'S Mrin fiixty-four Nuckers ? Why has an car of wheal, barley or other jjrain nearly always four rows? And why has an «;ar of corn nearly always r'mhi rows ? It Konietinu's has, in extraordinary f^rowlh, twelve and sixteen rows; Imt very seldom ten. Why has the arma «hllc» e'ght shields on his hack, and why ai o the sections of a turtle or tortoise shell octagonal ? Why rias man thirty-two teeth, divided into sections of foui and eight ? Why has he twenty-four ribs ? Why has horse and many other animals sixteen teeth, divideil into sections of four f Why do we find the quadratic and octave systems adoptetl in the formation of the franu; work of all living creatures ? Why do the arm bones of man and their attachments number 64 ? Why do the leg bones and attac hments number the same ? Why are there just eight pieces in the breastbone of a young child ? Why have we eight fingers ? Why have most animals foiir or eight hooves ? Why have all animals two, four and tight teats ? Why have the numbers four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two and sixty-four so great a place all through the works of the Creator ? Does il not show that His calculations are founded on a basis of equalization that cannot be improved ? Then why should not man, His humble imitator, adopt a systeni that has the approval of the Almighty ? All species of Mollusca have eight legs, and nearly all birds have eight claws. If we go into the varieties of fruit and nuts we find that the pawpaw, the orange, the citron, the lemon, the pomgranate, the apple and hundreds of other varities of fruit and nuts are sub- divided into fourths and eighths, while the foilage of almost all flowers is controlled by the same law. The canine and feline species of animals have, as a rule, sixteen toes, and the weather shells of nuts open into four sections. No matter where you search in Nature the same rule seems to hold good, and the more DECIMAL SYSTEM. IS you search the more will you be satisfied that the quadratic or octave formations have been generally adopted. If the Creator has therefore taken four or eight as the basis of calculation in the formation of His wondrous works, how can man improve on it, or why should he deviate from so perfect a system ? If, then, there is a mathematical calculation in the construction of all living creatures, how can there be any connecting link tietween l! species? If there are a given numl)er of lx)nes in i .e framework of a certain species, how can any connection exist between such a species and one whose ' imework i'^ tormed by 1 alf the numt)er ? As well might we ndeavor to build a full-ringed ship with the same aiunber of timbers, ropes, spars and spikes as would be required for a sloop; or build a four-story house with t^e same quantity of stones or bricks, timber and planks as would erect a one-story cottage. Evolution is a splendid fallacy to think over, but the history of Nature, as read in its own pages, is strongly adverse to it. I he numbers of bones, etc., ere the same in all living species where a freak of Nature has not taken place. Uniformity is the rule ; irregularity the exception. These are facts which Darwinianists cannot disprove, and these are facts which show the utter impossibility of a graduated evolution in the origin of species. When facts are sustained by figures there is no getting over them, and Darwinianism cannot upset the figures I here give, and which are palpable to everybody with their eyes open. If you want a confirmation of what I here state, go and examine for yourself. It took me years to make the discovery. The proof is now all around you. " But," says one, " your proposition irf very revo- f 12 THE CREATOR'S lutionary. It upsets everytl.'ng in the way of modern calculation." All right. Let modern calculation be upset, if it is founded on a wrong basis, and the sooner the better. It is about fifty years since Benjamin Pitman formu- lated his shorthand system. It lingered along under reverses for many years ; but now it is taught in a great many schools. I, too, can wait fifty years. Pitman's system was very revolutionary ; but revolutions that sweep away the cobwebs of the dark ages are necessary. The Western States of America are more progressive than any other part of the world, simply because they are not held back by existing legacies of former days. I know that the system I propose to introduce will be held in check by existing habits ; but I am willing to wait. There is one thing about this system, however, that gives me encouragement. It is sO simple and so easily understood, and it will save so much labor, that architects and engineers, and all others who are com- pelled to make very fine calculations, will very soon adopt it. It will be in their own interest that they do so. The riddance of irregular fractions, and the mis- calculations they are apt to lead up to, will be a suffi- cient incentive in favor of my system. I also know that, like many others who have trod the path of original discovery, I will be pestered with an army of improvers and imitators — these banes of genius, and pirates of originality. I am not afraid, however. I feel satisfied that my system will be so unique as to obviate the perils of discovery which have held back other original thinkers. But I do not claim to have originated anything. I have only solved the keu which controls the calculations of the Great Architect of the Universe, from whom all good comes. DECIMAL SYSTEM. »3 The main object at which I aim is the simplification and assimilation of all measurements, so that the world can go along much smoother than heretofore, and have less use for insane asylums. All are not born with the same capacity for the analyzation of abstruse calcula- tions, and a simple arrangement like what I here pro- pose, and of which the Creator is the author, will obliterate all complexities in figures, both to the child and to the adult. By changing the decimal to octaves in all measurements, those that are not already in that shape will be assimilated to those that are, and a uniformity will then exist in everything. In the simplification of the subdivision [of coin or money, how much better would it be to take the present dollar as a standard and divide it into sixty-four cents. Thirty-two cents would then be a half-dollar, i6 cents a quarter, 8 cents an eighth, 4 cents a sixteenth, and 2 cents the thirty- second part. The dollar would not be reduced, but the cent simply enhanced. The cent could be subdivided into 8 mills, and these mills into eighths, which would be one-sixty-fourth of a cent. In all equal divisions of any sum the subdivision would then be a regular amount, and all irregular fractions would be avoided. In a similar manner a square mile of land could be taken as a basis, and subdivided into eighths. This would do away with such horrible measurements as that " 30J square yards make one square perch," and all the complexity that such measurements lead up to. The degrees of th.. circle is another basis which requires reorganization. When one gets below an eighth of a circle, or 45 degrees, he is submerged into the mazes of irregular fractions, and this leads the me- T «4 THE CREATOR'S chanical engineer, the marine architect and many other skilled artizans into a vortex of endless trouble. We owe the dollar and centime to the French and their revolution of the last century, and they also made many improvements in scales of measurements. That the dollar and cent was a considerable stride in the way of reform is evidenced by the fact that many young and rising nations have since adopted it. But it was not a perfect decimal system, and not until we copy after the Great Author of All will we have a system that will be faultless, and in this system eight is the basis, and not ten. As a proof that the old ten was unsuited for degrees of measurements, it is only necessary to refer to the old degrees of the tables of measurements — in none of which does it take a prominent part. The hundred weight of loo lbs. is of modern origin, and was adopted in order to conform with loo cents in the dollar, which is also of modern origin. There must, then, have been strong reasons for ignoring the old ten in lineal and all other measurements, and these reasons are found in the fact that when you get below the quarter of a hundred (25), you are immediately into a maze of fractions. I now propose to give what I consider a perfect and uniform system of measurements — a system which will simplify all calculations, and one which will not only be understood by the youngest child, but which will give comparative proportions throughout, and therefore show the relations of calculation between different articles, be they liquid or solid, lineal or cubic, or the monetary proportions to the quantities of all. Before giving the tables, I will give a multiplication table on the octave basis, carried up to 20, or the old-time 16' DECIMAL SYSTEM. »5 In carrying out multiplication so far, I consider it is a step in advance of stopping at the ordinary 12, as the child, being relieved of all former complex tables of measurements, can easily afford to tax its memory with a little extra multiplication. Ot course, in this table the figures 8 and 9 become obsolete, and 10 takes the place of the former 8. The new multiplication table, as here given, will seem odd to the reader at first, but as the mind becomes accustomed to it the oddness will disappear. The eradication of the figure 9, too, will be a blessing in more ways than one : Twice I are 2 Three is are 3 Four IS are 4 •1 2 ' • 4 2 " 6 41 2 *< 10 II 3 ' 6 3 " " • < ■% II 14 1* 4 ' ' 10 " 4 " 14 II M II 20 II 5 ' • 12 " 5 " 17 II c II 24 II 6 • ' X4 6 " 22 • 6 " 30 II 7 ' ' 16 7 " 24 ' 7 " 34 II 10 ' ' 20 " 10 " 30 • 10 " 40 ^, II II ' ' 22 " II " 33 ' II '• 44 II 12 ' ' 24 " 12 " 36 ' 12 " 50 II 13 ' • 26 •• 13 '• 41 ' 13 " 54 II 14 ' ' 30 " 14 " 44 ' 14 " 60 II 15 • . 32 •' 15 •' 47 . ij .. 64 II 16 ' * 34 " 16 " 52 • 16 " 70 '■ II 17 • ' 36 " 17 •• 55 • 17 " 74 II 20 ' ' 40 •• 20 " 60 ' 20 " lOO Five IS an 8 5 Six IS are 6 Sevei 1 IS are 7 ti 2 " 12 2 " 14 2 " 16 • 1 3 " 17 3 " 22 3 " 25 ^ .- 11 4 " 24 •• 4 " 30 4 " 34 «• 3 " 31 " 5 " 36 5 " 43 II 6 " 36 " 6 " 44 6 " 52 II 7 " 43 " 7 " 52 7 " 61 la 10 " 50 " 10 " 60 10 " 70 II II •: 55 " II " 66 II •' 77 ti 12 " 62 '• 12 " 74 12 " 106 II 13 " 67 13 " 102 13 .. "5 • 4 14 •• 74 " 14 " no 14 " 124 II 15 " lOI " 15 " 116 15 " 133 II 16 " 106 " 16 " 124 16 " 142 II 17 " "3 120 17 " 132 17 " 151 II 20 " " 20 " 140 ao " 160 x6 THE CREATOR'S Ten 18 are lo II 3 • ' 20 •1 3 • • 30 •1 4 ' • 40 «l 5 • • 50 II 6 ' • 60 fl 7 ' ' 70 tl 10 • • 100 II II • • 110 II 12 • • 120 II 13 • ' 130 «l M ' ' 140 •1 15 ' ' 150 II i6 • • i6o • 1 17 ' • 170 20 * ' 200 Eleven is are 11 | 2 • ' 22 3 ' • 33 4 ' ' 44 5 ' ' 55 6 • • 66 7 ' ' 77 10 • ' no II • • 121 12 ' ' 132 13 • • 143 M ' ' 154 15 ' • 165 16 • ' 176 17 ' ' 207 20 : • 220 Twelve is are 12 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 II 12 13 M 15 16 17 20 24 36 50 62 74 106 120 132 144 156 170 202 214 226 240 Thirteen is are 13 2 " 26 3 " 41 4 " 54 5 " 67 6 " 102 7 " "5 10 " 130 11 " 143 12 " 156 13 " 171 14 " 204 15 " 217 16 " 232 17 " 245 20 " 260 Fourteen is are 14 | 2 ' ' 30 3 ' ' 44 4 ' ' 60 5 • ' 74 6 • • no 7 ' • 124 10 • ' 140 II • ' 154 12 • ' 170 I3 ' ' 204 H ' ' 220 15 ' ' 234 16 • ' 250 17 ' ' 264 20 ' < 300 Fifteen is are 15 II 2 " 32 " 3 " 47 4 •• 64 5 " lOI " 6 " 116 11 y „ 1^3 " 10 " 150 '• II " 165 " 12 " 202 " 13 " 217 14 " 234 15 " 251 16 " 266 17 " 303 20 " 320 II II Sixteen is are 16 Seventeen is are 17 Twenty is are 20 II 2 34 2 36 2 40 3 52 3 55 3 60 " 4 70 4 74 it 100 " 5 io6 5 "3 5 120 •• 6 124 6 132 6 140 " 7 142 7 151 7 160 " 10 160 10 170 10 200 " u 176 II 207 II 220 " 12 214 12 226 12 240 M ,3 232 13 245 13 260 " 14 150 14 264 14 300 " 15 266 15 303 15 320 •• 16 304 16 322 16 340 .. ,7 322 17 341 17 JO " 20 340 20 360 20 ^00 DECIMAL SYSTEM. "7 15 32 47 64 lOI 116 LIQUID MEASURE. Liquid aneasure is now adapted to a quadratic or octave scale, and will therefore require very little alter- ation ; but in order to make it correspond with dry measure a few slight changes are made. As the best wheat now averages 64 lbs. to the bushel, a bushel or cental of 100 (64) lbs. should be taken as the basis of all grain measurements. The following table is given as an improvement on the old system : Ten (8) gills one pint. Ten " pints one gallon. Ten " gallons one cental, (64 lbs.) Ten " centals one hogshead. Four hogsheads one ton. Dry- AVBRDUPOIS MEASURE. Ten (8) grains one scruple. Ten Ten Ten Liquid — Ten Ten Ten scruples one dram, drams one ounce, ounces one pound. pounds one gallon. gallons one cental or bushel. centals one hogshead. Four hogsheads one ton. COIN MEASURE. In order to give a proper decimal division of all coins, and in order to obviate fractions in all fine calculations, I propose to divide the present dollar into 100 (64) cents, the value of the cent to be enhanced, but the dollar to remain as it is. Another benefit to be derived from this change will be that, as all other measures will correspond in the scale of divisions, the value of any quantity can be found much easier than by the old system. If the pounds in a bushel or feet or inches in a scale, or any other form of measurement, correspond with the divisions of coin, it will be a very simple matter to find the relative value of any article, either in so THE CREATOR'S small or large proportions. And as the new system subdivides any number into equal proportions, no fractional calculations will be required. Table : Ten (8) mites one mill. Ten " mills one cent. Ten " cents one dime. Ten *' dimes one dollar. The execrable pounds, shillings and pence could also be simplified by adapting other divisions of coin to the half-crown, which is the eighth part of a pound. CIRCLE MEASURE. It was a great mistake to divide the circle into 360 degrees. The degrees of the circle sho Id correspond >vith the hours of the day. In all mechanical calculations, when any division below the eighth of a circle is required, the scientist or artisan is at once dropped into irregular fractions, which not only gives him endless trouble, but also renders it impossible for him to make true calculations. In order to remedy this I propose to adopt the following scale : ., 100 (64) seconds one minute. ' 100 " minutes one degree. 400 (256) degrees one circle. TIME MEASUREMENT. 100 (64) seconds one minute. 100 " minutes one hour. 40 (32) hours one day. » , By such an arrangement ten (8) degrees of circle measurement would be equal to an hour of time, or the 40th (32nd) part of a day, and a navigator could tell, when the sun is at its zenith, not only the exact time of day, but also the point of longtitude at which his vessel was located. In all measurements ot circles, too, cor- rect distances could be struck, because if it was d tell, ime of vessel cor- was DECIMAL SYSTEM. 91 necessary to make a finer calculation than the second gave, it could be sub-divided into infinitesimal octavTS, as so desired. ANNUAL MEASUREMENT. By the present irregularity of the months of the year, the first half of the year is three days shorter than the second. In order to make an equalization I propose to run them as follows : January 36 (30) days. rebruary 36 ^30] March 37 (3^ April 36 (30) May 37 (31 June 36 (30) Total, 266.(182). July 36(3o|day«. August 37 (31) September 36 hoi October 37 1311 November 36 (301 December 37 (31) Total. 267.(183). with leap year added to January. BUILDING MEASURE. It will be a great advantage to Architects and Builders to have the lineal measure scale slightly modified. There is no sense in having 12 inches in a foot, or 3 feet in a yard ; but as the foot has been adopted throughout the English-speaking world as a standard, I find it impossible to throw it out in order to adopt the decimal sub-division of a land-measure mile, as given further on. The existing foot must therefore be scaled as follows : Ten (8) rays one line. Ten " lines one inch. Ten " inches one foot. Ten " feet one rod. CUBIC MEASURE. As cubic measure will necessarily have to be adapted to building measure, so will it be necessary to take th« present foot measurement, with a difference of 10 (8) 22 THE CREATOR'S I I t •■ inches in the foot instead of the former subdivision of (la) inches. The table will therefore read as follows : Kxx) (512) cubic lines one cubic inch 1000 " cubic inches one cubic fool. 1000 " cubic feet one cubic rod. 100 (64) cubic feet one cutx;. 200 (128) cubic feet one cord LINKAL AND SQIJARF. MJ'ASURK. The old divisions of measurements for lineal, square or cubic measure are the most unreasonable and com- plex of all the relics of the dark ajjcs that have been handed down to us, and the wonder is that no reforma- tion has been attempted ere this. In order to relegate to the shades of obscurity such monstrosities as 9 square feet, 30^ square yards, 5J yards, etc., I have proposed the following scale as an improvement : Ten (8) nails one link of 15'' old inches Ten " links one chain. Ten " chains one perch. Ten " perches one furloug. Ten " furlong.^ one mile. SQUARE MEASURE. For land or square measure : 100 (64) square nails one square link. 100 11 41 links one chain. 100 « • 41 chains one " perch. 100 1 1 14 perches one " furlong 100 1 1 14 furlongs one " mile. It will be seen by all the foregoing tables that the octave principle is completely carried out, and that therefore all complicated amounts are completely thrown out. Such a reformation in all measurements would be a wonderful change for the better, and all multiplication, division or subtraction could be done in simple decimal that would save a vast amount of figuring and hard brain work. As simplicity is the thing most needed in mechanical measurements, there is no reason why there should be any delay in the general adoption of the tss^ss^saesaissBmsm DECIMAL SYSTEM. '3 'ision of Hows : square nd com- Lve been reforma- legate to ) square )roposed ;hat the nd that thrown :ould be lication, lecimal id hard eded in ly there of the octave principle as liere given. It is all very well to say that our present scales were handed down to us from the Pyramids. Many other changes for the better have been maile within the last few centuries that had no connection with the Pyramids, and every day the world is brought face to face with discoveries, inventions and revolutions in all the branches of science that leave the Pyramids and all other ancient relics in the dim distance where tliey should very properly be left. A certain amount of respect for the relics, as relics, of the past is all very well ; but that we should still continue to worship these monuments of ignorance and foUyi because they were worshipped by the taskmasters of the Jews, is the height of nonsense. In an age like this we should endeavor to keep pace with the march of im- provement, in figures as well as in everything else. Our figures have already stuck too long in the old groove. It is time they were turned into new channels. Although the world has progressed very rapidly during the last half a century, there is yet room for considerable improvement, and will be until the end of time. Eight and nine are figures that we can very well dispense with — substituting ten for the former and annihilating the latter. Three is so often mixed up with 8, and 8 with 3, that we will be gamers by disusing one of them. As for 9, it is an awkward number to add, multiply or divide with, and it, too, is often taken for 7 in writing ; and in print, if it becomes reversed, it creates confusion by making a very good 6. In using 10 for 8 we create a decimal that, with a little practice, will be found much more handy, and which will be better suited to the requirements of monetary and com- mercial transactions, and particularly to transactions on a large scale. The Decimal System of the Creator, as here set forth, is a perfect one, an^ cannot be im- proved upon. The old decimal system was good «4 THE CREATOR'S enough in its way for times gone by ; but now, when everything h«is a money value — when even the water we drink and the air we breathe has its monetary vahi* ation, we need something Ixittcr. There was a time in the world's history — and not very long ago either — when the fingers were the ready reckoners of threC" fourths of the inhabitants, and the habit still exists to a great extent on three continents. :l^l* I I The interior tribes of Africa are not very bright, 90 far as calculation is cqncerned, and the Denkaras, of the Gold Coast, as well as many of those along the Congo, cannot comprehend any greater amount than five, so crude is their ^^minds in this respect, and it is strange that' although the Arabs of Africa receive the credit of the origin of numbers in the remote past, that at the present day, not far from Arabia, there can be ound people who cannot comprehend a greater sum than the fingers and thumb of the right hand. All scales of measurement have had their origin in bygone centuries, and at the present day, outside of the English speaking communities, there are no two countries in the world that use the same measures, for either coin, liquid, solid or lineal measure. In the interchange of commodities all these different measure- ments lead to confusion, and if the English-speaking nations can introduce a scale that will be perfect in ■ every respect, it is bound to supercede and expunge them all. Language follows in the wake of commerce, and the mother tongue of Shakspeare and Milton is bound to absorb or eradicate all other languages before another century has passed over the world's history. ^ With"ourilanguagt, too, must go our system of calcu- lation, and [for this reason, if no other, it should be made perfect. DFXIMAL SYSTEM. 33 A word, now, alMiut evolutionary theories, and their contradiction l)y the mechanical modes of the working of Nature, as we find them illustrated all around us. A spontaneous outgrowth of animal, insectiverous or piscatorial life would net t)c uniform ; and if unitorm in certain sections, could un !er no conditions of chance be uniform throughout the 'vorld. The great Author of Creation, who gave only two toes to the ostrich ; who gave four feet to all quadrupeds and four hooves to many — who divided the hooves of some into eight, and placed eight rows on an ear of corn and eight legs under the simple caterpillar — who gave sixteen toes to nearly all animals and sixteen teeth to many others — who supplied the vain peacock with a uniformity of twenty-four feathers in his brilliant tail and counted out two dozen ribs to man and a great many other animals — who gave man thirty-two teeth and the same number of finger joints — who gave the centipede exactly sixty- four feet — does nothmg by chance or spontaniety. The bear of Borneo or Africa has all the peculiar features of his gigantic relation at the North pole, and his con- formation is exactly similar. The Madagascar cat is closely allied to the feline species of North America, and the skeletons of the hipopotami and rhinoceros species found in the beds of the coal mines of England and the Paris Basin are similarly constructed to those now found in the Upper Nile and in other parts of the world, and have the same number of bones. The descendants of the baboons and monkeys who consti- tuted, with the Australian rat or jungle pig, the only animals found on many of the solitary islands dis- covered in the Indian Ocean during the Sixteenth Century, and where man had never heretofore trod, are just the same as the baboons and monkeys that gambol in the woods of South America and other parts of the world. The physical perfection of the New Zealanders, V 96 THK CREATOR'S when they were found, hud in no wise differed from the men who assisted thr IMiaroahs to nde IC^ypt and who had been carefully laid to rest four or five thousand years aiJio. If evohition had any recortl in fact, surely some sh^d^t transformation would have taken place in that time. True, the physical proportions of man arc found to vary eonsiili'rahly in difTerent parts of the world, l)utth(;se proportions are attrihutable to climatic caii8?s, and to food and habits. The Hushman of Australia, like his woolly brother of the continent of Africa, lived in the secluded fastnesses of tlark forests, where the inter-tropical sun never shone, and theriifore, like the Cockney of I^ondon, or the canaille of Paris (who also see very little sunlight), he was stunted and squat. On the same principle the Objibewa of the woody region north of Rainey Lake, in Canada, bears no comparison to the Plain Indian of the prairies, close by. The former is stimted, with ill-formed legs from constant occupation in his canoe, while the Plain Indian towers above the ordinary stature, and is well formed. With fair allowance for local causes, as far back as man can be traced, whether in historic or pre- historic times, he is found to be the same creature, and no connecting-link has or can be discovered, that will ally him in the remotest degree to any other species, or can any other known species of animal be traced to another. The same law of Nature which says, " Thus far shalt thou go and no farther,*' still holds, and has always held good. As I said before, the mathematical calculation in the con- struction of the different species of animals and plants is a barrier that cannot be overcome, and never will. Hybridized animals and plants can only go a certain distance ; then they revert to original species. This barrier was as complete thousands of years ago as it is now. t i, i M r r. t r, in '{.■'_ DECIMAL SYSTKM. Hilt, nitliough, physli ally, ntan In about the snrnr ai hr was four or five thousand years ago, intellectually lie has n\iu\v rapid stridcR, every succeeding generation liavinj^ lunrfitteil l)y the efforts and advancements of the preceding' ones, until now, when science and inven- tion are making such swift progress that the nation or people that fails to keep pace with the times is sure to t)c left in the race. I will now (lose the present pamphlet with the hope that those who feel disposed to criticize its contents will w Vh well the arguments given, and the reformations pi ,u)sed, before they arrive at a hasty conclusion that so revolutionary a step in the reorganization of our figures is impracticable. Take scjuare or cube root, and try a few examples with the annexed multiplication table. Test it in any other way, and see if it is net a K'reat stride in the way of improvement on the old system. With the pounds of the bushel corresponding with the decimal of the system, see how easy it is to calculate in any shape or form on a large or small tjuantity of wheat or grain. The cental system is the only proper system by which grain should be measured In illustration I will state that, in the spring of 1888, when oats was so dear and other grains so cheap, if people had understood the weight relation of oats to wheat, barley, rye or other grains, ihey woidd have ceased throwing away their money on it and purchased grains that had three times the feeding capacity. The feeding capacity of a bushel of wheat should be' at least equal to three bushels of oats of 34 lbs. each, and so on with other grains. With a square mile as a land measure basis, see how easy it is to divide of) any section or sub-section of the land without the aid of a professional surveyor. Or, with the foot measure divi- ded into eight mches instead of twelve, see how much easier it is for the carpenter or timber man to make ■1^ Il Hi !'- 30 THE CREATOR'S DECIMAL SYSTEM. fine calculations on a portion of a building, or on the dimensions of a log or stick of timber, or how much easier it will be for an architect to reduce the plan of an elaborate building to paper, so that the operatives can understand every detail in following its lines. To the mechanical engineer or pattern-maker, the pro- posed changes herein given will be as the dawn of a new creation, and no longer will portions of engines fail to fulfil the mission for which the designer intended them. A unitormity in the subdivision of the circle will be the key to straighten out all former miscalcu- lations, and to give perfection where formerly Im- perfection was most likely to result. And even if a stubborn wcrld forever refuses to adopt the octave decimal system herein given, it can at least adopt on octave uniformity in tables of measurement to tl.e old system of decimals that will be a great stride in the way of improvemer -^.n the old usages. DM. )r on the w much 2 plan of )eratives les. To :he pro- iwn of a engines intended le circle liscalcu- !rly Iiu. ven if a ; octave dopt on I ti.e old i in the i>^ sr