Arithmetic 1700 B. C.

Probably the oldest copy book for horue lessons in arithmetic was recently unearthed inEgypt. The papyrus, whioh was f ouud in excellent condition, dates from the period about 1700 B. C. - that is, a,bout 100 years bef ore the time of Moses, or almost 8, 600 years ago. It proves that the Egyptians had a thorongh knowledge of elementary mathematics almost to the extent of our own. The papyrus has a long heading, "Direction how to attain the knowledge of all dark things," etc. Numerous examples show that their principal operations with entire units and fractions were made by means of addition and multiplication. Subtractions and divisions were not known in their present form, but correct resnlts were obtained nevertheless. Equations are also fonnd in the papyrus. Among the examples given is this one : Ten measnres of barley are to be divided among ten persons in snch a manner that each eubsequent person receives one-eighth of a measnreless than the one before him. Another example given is: There are seven men, each one has seven cats, each cat has eaten seven mice, each mouse has eaten seven grains of barley. Each grain of barley would, if cultivated, have yielded seven measnres of barley. How much barley has been lost in that way? The papyrus also contains calculations of area, the calcnlation of the area of a circle and its transformation into a square, and flnally calculations of tho cubic