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Show only every fifth number Is divisible by 5. As an example of how the dec! mal basis f calculation mav become difficult, lake tho number 72. Here we have a number that is divisible by 2, 3, 4, C, S and 9 or Ln other words by all the first nine numbers except 5 and 7. To get a Number thut Is dl-isiblo dl-isiblo by 2, it. . 5, f, S nnd 9, wo havo to go as high as 3t'0. and wo can only get ono Uiat Is divisible by the whole of the nine digits by taking 7 limes 3fi". or 2320. The chances that you may have to divide something Into In-to 7 parts or Into ." pnrts Is us one to S. and you cannot divide 5 or 7 bv anything. The number 7 is the most embarrassing of the lot and 5 comes next, j that 10 being a 'multiple 'multi-ple of 5, the decimal system chooses the second most dlfflcu't of nil the numbers as its basin, aud rejects the simpler ones. We ore told that Ihe c'eclmal hvb-tern hvb-tern Is the natural oa-. and was adopt, ed by men because they had ten lingers. ling-ers. This mav be iidmltte to be true; but eating raw food and living In hides In tin- ground were also natural conditions nnd we have never heard thai wo thould revert to them on that account. We may feel very confident that our uncestors, as they became chill.ed. did not stop counting by tens and take up the habit of counting count-ing by dozens except for the reason thai I hey found Ihe latter course the better one. If nil we had to count was money, the universal adoption of the decimal system would be a good thing; but most of uh have to do count Ing of other things and we will stick-lo stick-lo the y;od old English fashion of talking in dozens when wo mean anything any-thing else than dollars Victoria Colonist. OBJECTIONS TO THE DECIMAL SYSTEM Every now and then some one suggests sug-gests that Ihe United Kingdom should abandon its present system of coinage coin-age and weights and measures and adopt the decimal, or metric, system, which makes io the basis of notation nota-tion A pood many people jump at the conclusion thai the decimal system sys-tem must be of the best, because it lends itself more easily to' multiplication multiplica-tion than any other; but while this may be true, It does not lend1 Itself to division anything like as well as J system of which twelve Is the basis. The number 10 Is divisible only by 2 and by a, nnd us twice 5 is 10, It is practically only divisible by 2. On the other' hand, 12 is divisible by 2. I mid 0, or fundamentally by 2 and 3, I nnd G being only the result of division divi-sion by Ii und 2. It Is a vast convenience conveni-ence to work with numbers thai arc divisible bv .1 as wcl! as by 2. Every other number is divisible by 2 and cxery third numbser by 3. whereas. |