21

Logic II 21

would reject all weights outside a certain "tolerance", as it
is called in coinage. Those that were too light would have to
be thrown away. They would lie in a heap, until they appeared
to deceive a future archaeologist. (Petrie's weights however, are
somewhat heavier, not lighter, than independent evidence would lead us
to believe the ket to have been.) Those that were too heavy would
be reground, but would for the most part still be rather
heavier than the standard. The consequence would be that
the curve would be cut down vertically at two ordinates
(equally distant, perhaps, from the standard,) while the ordinates
of its maximum would be at the right of that of the standard. If
the workman had a balance at hand, and frequently used
it during the process of adjustment, the form of the error
curve would depend upon the construction of the balance. If
it were like a modern balance which shows so as to show not only that
one mass is greater than another, but also whether it is
much or little greater, the workman would put keep in one pan