Scandinavian origin and Scandinavia being the centre of dispersal in western Europe. 

 The bismer occurs in almost all countries in the west of Europe in which Scandinavian 

 influence is or has been strong, but, it is now obsolete in many districts (e.g., Orkney 

 and the Outer Hebrides) and is not known to exist in Iceland, in which the scarcity 

 of wood may account for its disappearance. Its distribution in Asia is still very 

 imperfectly worked out. The beams figured come from the Madura district (S. India), 

 Eastern Bengal, and the Punjab. 



Fig. i on the plate represents a specimen obtained by myself in the Ramanad 

 division of the Madura district in 1905. The beam measures 52 - 8 cm. in length and is 

 figured a quarter of the true size. It has been turned on a lathe out of extremely heavy, 

 dark wood, and no additional weight has been added to the butt. The butt is orna- 

 mented with plain, transverse, engraved rings arranged in groups of threes and fours. 

 On the upper surface, a little nearer the free end than the centre, there is a cross of five 

 dotted circles inlaid with white metal. The scale is marked in the same manner (fig. 

 irt), the degrees being indicated by single circles, or groups of three circles, each circle 

 dotted in. the •centre and transversed by a line. • Circles, dots and lines are all inlaid with 

 white metal. The circles appeared to have been made with the aid of a : pair of com- 

 passes and their centres are indicated accurately. The suspender is a piece of twine. 

 The pan is plaited out of strips of palm-leaf and is suspended by two loops of twine, 

 which are tied together just below the beam and. have their free ends knotted above it. 

 Different specimens from the same district differ considerably as regards the scale on 

 the beam. . Dr. A. Willey, F.R.S., has kindly sent me a sketch of a very similar speci- 

 men from Ceylon in the Colombo Museum. 



Fig. 2 represents a specimen from the Punjab and is one- third of the true size. 

 In this specimen the beam is of iron and the pan of some alloy, suspended by two loops 

 of twine. The scale is engraved deeply on the beam. It is represented of the true 

 size in fig. 2a. ■ < ■ ,. 



Fig. 3 represents a specimen from the Dacca district. It is represented as one- 

 half the true size. The beam has been turned on a lathe. It is of common, rather 

 light wood. The scale is represented by four incised rings. The suspender is a piece 

 of twine and the pan is represented by two loops of the same material. 



The last two figures are from specimens in the Economic Section of the Indian 

 Museum. I have to thank Messrs. I. H. Burkill and D. Hooper of that section of the 

 Museum for permission to examine them and have them drawn. 



