Show roman system of figuring counting on the fingers was a reg ular system for the young romans they would make eighteen move ments with the left hand tor the num bers below and eighteen with the right hand for those above two kinds of counting machines called an abacus were also used one was a board strewn with sand on which geometrical figures were drawn the other was a frame with balls moved in grooves to represent figures with E special contrivance for doing t ac alons As teachers were not very pa tient in those days arithmetic might be said to have been learned less by rule than by ferrule |