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The census bureau of the United States for taking the general census is now busily engaged in reducing the schedules furnished by the fifty thousand enumerators, and in tabulating the results of the work done at the beginning of the present summer. The scope of the original census of former times has been amplified so as to include many particulars, and the work of recording the results is correspondingly increased. Calculating and tabulating machinery has been brought into use to shorten the time expended in reaching the conclusion. With this aid the work is progressing with exceeding rapidity. In the mere summation of results or enumeration in gross a single operator can dispose of 50,000 names in a day. Were this all that is required, the work would be completed now. But each schedule contains many particulars, as regards country of birth, age, health data, etc. Each of these headings again subdivides into a large number. Thus, under country of birth all the countries of the world are included, and under health there is a numerous list of diseases to be tabulated. This has led to a division of the office work as regard such particulars, and special tabulations are made for a number of classes.

Our readers are necessarily familiar with the work of the census enumerator. This work is entered on blank (schedules, which he fills in with names and other data. The schedules from the enumerators from all parts of the United States were transmitted to Washington by registered mail. Even in the packing a regular system was followed. The blanks which had been filled up were laid one upon the other on a piece of straw board. Each pile contained the schedules of a single enumerator. On top of all was placed an empty portfolio, to whose center was pasted the label with the enumerator's name and the designation of his district upon it. The bundle was then corded together and a number of such bundles, representing from 13 to 15 enumeration districts, were placed together in a box which they exactly fitted. The box, 27 inches long and about 18 inches in its other dimensions, properly closed and sealed, was sent in this shape to the Washington office. One hundred such boxes were received daily, and several trucks were kept busy transferring them.

The first operation was the enumeration in gross of the population of the United States, and by the same operation the enumeration of families and of their size. We illustrate the machine on which this work was done. It comprises a key board with a number of keys, numbered from 1 to 20, and upon the face of the machine in front of the operator, 21 dials. The keys work the indexes on the dials by electricity. Three tabulations were made here, one the gross number of people in the United States, another the number of families, and finally the number of families of each number of individuals from 1 to 20. Having a schedule at hand, the operator we may assume sees in it a family of six members; he strikes upon the key number 6. This causes the hands on two of the dials to move. The hand on dial No. 6 moves forward one, indicating that there is one family of 6 members. The hand on the odd dial moves forward 6 divisions, indicating that there are 6 individuals to be accounted for from the schedule in question. As each contact is made a bell rings. In this way the enumeration of families up to 20 members is conducted. The few families exceeding this are not provided for on the machine, and are so rare that they may, of course, be specially noted. Great dexterity is attained in the use of this machine. It is on this that many operators attain the speed of 50,000 names per day, and the entire count of the United States has now been twice executed on machines of this type, making a total of 64,000,000 of individuals each time.

The next operation involves a classifying of the large number of data contained on the schedules. This work is done by a system of machinery involving the use of perforated cards recalling the lace pattern cards used on lace machines. For ages, race, and all other data, such as diseases or other particulars, a card is punched for each person on the schedules. The apparatus used we illustrate, together with a representation of the punched card. In front of the operator is a perforated plate, each of whose perforations has a designation marked at its side.

As samples of designations, we find one set marked with numerals running from to 100, with intervals of five between. These are used to designate age. On another portion of the board the 18 divisions of the earth as adopted for the uses of the census are given for the purpose of tabulating nationalities. The same system is carried out to cover all the cases that may be named upon the schedule. The range and capacity of the machine may be realized from the fact that there are 240 of these apertures. A punch attached to a species of pantograph frame works above this plate. Back of the perforated plate is a place for the insertion of a card, and above the card and attached to the pantograph frame is a second punch. Thus connected to the frame, the second punch reproduces all the movements of the first punch in duplicate on a smaller scale and within the area of the card. When the first punch nearest the operator is forced down into any hole of the perforated plate, the punch over the card is forced down through the card, making a corresponding aperture. While it is perfectly obvious that 240 such apertures might be made on a single card, it is equally clear that this never could be required. Thus a person would only be referred to one race, and only a single age number could be tabulated, the same holding for other data, so that as carried out about 18 or 20 perforations are made in each card.