14. = Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [January, 1915. 
scale and the length of the beam. The Dacca beam, however, 
is of superior workmanship, being well turned in a lathe and 
the broad left portion is somewhat spindle-shaped in broad 
end, though the beam as a whole is tapering and not sharply 
divided into a narrow portion and a broad portion like the 
Chitia Nagpur ‘ tula.’’ 
The beam marked ‘‘ India ’’ referred to before resembles 
the Chutia Nagpur “ tula ’’ and the Dacca beam in being one 
very closely. The broad portion of the beam how-. 
ever is shaped to a form of spindle—the transverse diameter 
of which is 4 cm. The narrow portion terminates in an 
é] 
which reminds one of the value of each division of Chitia 
or 
The shape, the scale and the ornamentations of this beam 
all point to a more advanced state of society than the Chitia - 
Nagpur ‘‘tula’’ and the Dacca weighing beam. These three 
represent the shorter variety, whereas the Madura beam and two 
Rambha beams represent the long and tapering variety of this 
kind of weighing beams. 
It would be also interesting to ascertain the real meaning 
of the word Bisd. It may have been derived from Binsa or 
parts of Orissa twenty palas go to make one Bisd, and that 
0 
twenty. Whether the word Bisdé has any connection with the 
Scandinavian word Bismer, which is borne by the beam it 
