29 
This is the part used by the writer or the person making 
the communication. In the other part the numbers are 
ranged in order with their meanings attached, so that if one 
gets a communication consisting of a series of ideographic 
numbers, one has only to turn to this part of the dictionary 
to find a key to each. In corresponding, therefore, with a 
China man, 2 dictionaries would be needed, one an English 
dictionary would enable the person in Engla,nd to find the 
ideographs answering to the words or ideas he wishes to 
communicate ; the other a Chinese dictionary, in which 
these same ideographs could be read off into Chinese by a 
China man. This without the labour of acquiring a know- 
ledge of Chinese characters, etc. etc. 
So far we have rivalled the more ancient systems of 
ideography in completeness and have much simplified them. 
It next becomes clear that we may by very slight marks 
about our figures qualify the ideas so as to convey what is 
otherwise conveyed by the grammatical structure of 
language, by inflection, etc. 
Dr. Bachmaier lias drawn up a list of such signs which 
may be easily applied, thus; masculine or feminine are 
denoted by a slight mark above or below the first digit of 
the figure, as — 126 masculine, 126 feminine; the plural is 
denoted by a mark extending entirely beneath the number, 
as — 126; a substantive is denoted by an accent, thus — 126; 
an adjective by another kind of accent, thus — i26 ; a verb 
by a wavy line, as — 126; the past tense by a line through 
the figures 126, and the future by one above them, as — 126; 
the comparative and superlative degrees by dots, as — 126 
comparative, 126 superlative. Cases, by adding the numbers 
representing the prepositions that qualify the particular 
case, and so on. One or two rules to govern the position of 
the verb and of the adjective in the sentence and all is 
learnt that is required to enable us to communicate. The 
rapidity witli which it can be done is a matter of practice, 
