CLASS III....LESSON IV.

DIVISION,

Is the last of the four fundamental rules of arithmetic, or upon which rules all others depend. It is the rule by which is found how many of any smaller given numbers are contained in a greater, and the overplus.

There are three descriptions of numbers concerned in division....the dividend, or sum to be divided....the divisor, or lesser sum, which the dividend is to be divided by....and the quotient, or result....take the following examples :

I have 1376 volumes of Hume's history of England, which I wish to divide into sets.....each set contains 8 volumes, how many sets have I? Dividend.

Divisor 8 1376 (172 Quotient.

.8

.57

.56

.. 16

..16

When the first figure on the left of the dividend is greater than the divisor, (for example, if it were 9) place the divisor under that figure; but when it is greater as above, place it under the second figure, and say eight into thirteen once, 8 from 13, five remain, place one to the quotient; then bring down to the right of this remainder the next figure 7, and by your multiplication table you will count how many times 8

go into 57; for 7 times 8 are 56 ....then place to the quotient and set 56 under the 57, and subtract, and the remainder is one; bring down the next figure of the dividend, and place it to the right of the remainder, and it makes sixteen; then say 8 into sixteen twice, and place 2 to the quotient and no remainder being left.... the quotient, shews that the number of sets of 8 volumes is 172.

Dollars, cents, and mills alone should be noted

These two weights vary only in the division into drams and scruples by the apothecaries, who only use this weight in compounding medicines, they buy by averdupoise and sell by troy weight. Troy weight is used in the purchase and sale of jewellery, gold and silver and liquors. One grain of Troy weight is supposed to weigh a grain and a half of sound dry wheat.

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AVERDUPOISE WEIGHT.

Ton. Hundred. Quarter. Pounds. Qunces. Drams. 1 = 20 = 80 = 2240 = 55840 = 573440

By this measure is weighed all grocery and other heavy goods, excepting precious metals,

jewels, &c.

An inch is supposed to be the length of three

grains of barley.

Four inches....a hand.

Six feet, or two yards....a fathom.

Three miles....a league.

Sixty nautical or geographical miles a degree, or about 691 of our common miles.

By this measure, wine, brandy, cyder, mead, vinegar, oil, and honey, are measured.

The ale and beer measure differs from the wine measure in the cubic measure of the gallon, and contains 51 cubic inches more, or 212 cubic inches.

By this measure all dry wares, such as corn, seeds, fruits, roots, sand, salt, coals, &c. are

This distribution of time is not exactly conformable to the calendar, for the solar and lunar month both differ from it; but it approaches nearest the lunar. The solar time is calculated by this proportion of parts, but the time of the calendar alters the term months, according to the following old verse :

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;

February alone hath eight and a score,
But ev'ry leap year gains one more.

The calendar year has 52 weeks, which is four weeks more than the computation by months of 28 days....this is explained in the lessons on astronomy and chronology.

OF NUMERICAL LETTERS.

2. What were those figures mentioned as in use, before the present figures in arithmetic werebrought from Asia to Europe?