62 



Coin and Currency in [No. 9, new series. 



The grain trough which is made on the principle of the manger 

 is shown in elevation and section at figs. 2 and 3. The lid " a" 

 opens with a hinge ; " b" is the reservoir for seeds, " c, c, c" are 

 holes for feeding, and " d" is the perch. Fig. 4 is a grain trough 

 of the same sort, but round in form. 



The water trough is merely a modification of the " fountains 

 used in England," and constructed of materials most available in 

 India. It is shown at fig. 5, and consists of a decanter, bottle or 

 carboy filled with water and supported over a finger glass or suit- 

 able vessel by a slight framing. 



IX. Coin and Currency in Ancient and Modern times. By 

 Henry King, a. b., m. b., Assistant Surgeon, Madras Army. 



" Empirici, farmicae more, congerunt tantum et utuntur : rationales, 

 aranearum more, telas et se conficiunt : apis vero ratio media est, quae 

 materiam et floribus narti et agri elicit, sed tamen earn propria facul- 

 tate vertit et digerit." — Bacon, Aph. xcv. 



Two subjects are exciting considerable attention in the com- 

 mercial world at the present time, decimal coinage, and the drain 

 of silver from Europe to Asia. These may impart to the facts col- 

 lected in this paper some of the interest which attaches to them- 

 selves. I have brought together, and arranged' as systematically 

 as my ability permitted, as much information upon Coin and Cur- 

 rency, in ancient and modern times, as my own very limited 

 library, to which alone I had access, could supply. All are fami- 

 liar with Lord Bacon's celebrated illustration which heads this 

 paper. I have tried to imitate the Bee : I have, at any rate, fol- 

 lowed the example of the Ant. 



The subjects which I have endeavoured to illustrate in this pa- 

 per are ; the material of coin, the mint, systems of division, 

 depreciations, and the eastward drain of the precious me- 

 tals. Any mention of paper currencies has been impossible. To 

 treat of them even briefly would require an exclusive Essay. 



The first step in civilization is the division of labor ; the second, 

 the establishment of a circulating medium — of money in some 



