On Telegraphic Communication. 41 



number of " telegraphic letters" transmitted for a given 

 message, would be greater with such a curtailed alphabet, 

 than would be the case with the existing one, it is contended 

 that the immediate gain from this reduction would outweigh 

 the disadvantage which a more copious alphabet labours under, 

 of requiring a more elaborate arrangement and a greater 

 number of repetitions of the primitive signals. But in point 

 of fact the actual number of telegraphic letters transmitted 

 would also be less. For words are special combinations, and 

 since a vast number of possible combinations are excluded, 

 which do not form words, the existing combinations which do 

 form words must contain a much larger number of compo- 

 nents than would be the case were every available combination 

 occupied by a recognized word. We shall not be far wrong if we 

 assign five as the average number of letters in an English word. 

 Perhaps the true average is a fraction less than five, but if we 

 take into account the habitual omission in telegraphy of un- 

 important words (which are always short), the estimate will 

 stand good. Now the number of possible combinations of 

 ten symbols, five or less in each, is J 00,000. This is clearly 

 greater than the actual number of recognized words in the 

 English (or any) language which has the command of twenty- 

 six symbols, and is not restricted even to twelve or fifteen of 

 them in the formation of any word. Not only then may every 

 useful word of the English language, and of the French 

 too, be represented by a different combination of five symbols 

 out of ten, but a large margin will remain available for almost 

 any conceivably useful variety of signs or phrases. They 

 will not require the transmission, on the whole, of a greater 

 number of symbols or " telegraphic letters" than are now 

 transmitted ; but, on the other hand, will require a very 

 much smaller number of " primitive signs" or impulses.. 



What, now, are the disadvantages of such a system of 

 signals ? The principal one is the necessity of a dictionary. 

 A telegraphic dictionary would have to be compiled, and 

 invariably used at both ends of the wire (but not necessarily 

 at intermediate repetition stations). A vast amount of care, 

 and knowledge, and foresight might be spent with advantage 

 in the compilation of this dictionary, whereby the saving of 

 signals would be immense, as for instance, all words of three 

 letters (or less), besides a great number of the more common 

 words of more letters, might be assigned numbers between 

 ten and 1000, whereby the bulk of messages would be sus- 

 ceptible of transmission by combinations of three symbols 

 only — by "telegraphic three-lettered words" so to speak. 

 Nearly, if not actually, the whole of the remaining words of 

 the language might be assigned numbers from 1000 to 10,000, 



