Notices respecting New Books. 49 



place for all parcels of leu, below ten such parcels: the 

 third column, for all parcels of a lumtiiecl (or ten times 

 ten) below ten : the fourth, for all parcels of a thousand 

 (or ten hundred) below ten : the fifth, for all parcels of 

 ten ttiousaud below ten : the six'h, for all parcels of a 

 hundred thousand (or ten times ten thousand) below ten : 

 the seventh, for all parcels of ten hundred thousand (or a 

 million) below ten, &c. 



*' I'luis by the help of the nine sicrniticaiU figures and 

 the cypher we are able to desiirnate aU numbers"' however 

 great; and this, while each of the figures (called the ten 

 digits, from the Latin word signifying'o y?/<aer) always rc"- 

 tains the same numeral significaiicy. "For example, in the 

 two numbers 57 and 570, the character 5 denotes in each 

 the riumber tive, and the character 7 the number seven : 

 but in the former the 5 standing in the second colunm 

 designates five parcels of ten each, or fifty ; but in the Liter, 

 where it stands in the third column, it designates five par- 

 cels of a hundred each, or five hundred : and in the former, 

 the 7 standing in the right hand column designates seven 

 units; but in the latter, standing in the second column, 

 designates seven tens, or seventy. And thus we see that 

 the cypher, though it denote that there is -no number be- 

 longing to its column, yet nuist be written; in order to 

 bring the significant figur'ts into their proper places. 



'♦ To facilitate nuiTieraiion, we commonlv mark off by 

 a comma every period of six figures, commencing; Irorii 

 the right hand, and often scmf-periods of three figures. 

 And as the name of a miilioii is given to ten hundredlhou- 

 sand,so ten liundred tbou-;and nrdiions are called a billion ; 

 the place of which therefore commencc/S at the thirteenth 

 column. In like manner the names of a Irillic/i, (juadnl- 

 lion, Sec. are given to ten hundred thousand billiotis, tril- 

 hoiis, &c. 



*' But here it is to be observed, that the facility with 

 which wc can designate the highoot numbers, and perform 

 every arithmetical calculalioiron them, has occasioned an 

 insensibility to ibe enormous mao-nitude of the- numbf-rs of 

 which we s|)cak. One billion is^vel-y easily mentioned, and 

 easily designated bv a unit followed bv twelve cyphers : 

 thus— l,()ououo,0()(;(iOu. A child also can mulhplv or di'- 

 vide that number. But perhaps the reader will be sur- 

 prised at the btritenifnt that tliere is not one billion of se- 

 conds in thirty thousand years; though there be GO seconds 

 in every minute, Go minutes in every hour, 24 hours in 

 every day, and in a solar year 365 davs 5 hours IS tninnts-s 

 ' VoL4l. No. 177.^'^«. 1813. I) and 



