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 ing which our own Government neglects, while other nations are pushing ahead and injuring the old British reputation for quality and accuracy in every kind of manufacture and machine. It is not ignorance, because the necessity for cultivating scientific methods has been dinned into John Bull's ears for very many years, and, generally speaking, he is more indifferent now than he was before 1870. Indeed, it may be questioned if there was not more genuine taste for hard study and sound education years ago, when the population was many millions less, than at the present time, when horse-racing, betting, billiards, football, and hooliganism in every form are the favourite amusements of a great majority of our commercial and artizan population. But this is not an essay on social progress. Of books which may be regarded as labour-saving tools in the business of every shopkeeper there are at least two which should be considered indispensable:—

A Local Directory.

A Ready Reckoner.

This may seem a very trite and obvious thing to say, but any one with a turn for inquiry may easily ascertain how very necessary these recommendations are, if he strolls into any retail shop in a strange locality, and asks to see the directory. One might as well ask for a sight of the Bible or a Nautical Almanac in a public house!

The list which follows is composed mostly of books which will be found useful in almost any kind