In constructing the table I sent you two days ago, I find that I have made an absurd mistake. It arose from my carelessly taking a stone weight as 16 lbs., instead of 14 lbs., which I beg you to allow me correct. Instead of the number 412, I ought to have given the number 539. The corrected rule based on Dr. Barr's momentum of 2600 lbs. is, therefore, as follows:--Length of drop, in feet, is found by dividing the number 539 by the square of the number of stones in weight of convict's body, exclusive of the weight of his head. Thus, if a convict weighs 11 stones altogether, and we take his head as 1 stone, we have length of drop = 539/100 = 5·39 feet (5 ft. 5 in. nearly). The table, corrected, stands thus:-- Weight of body without head. Length of drop. 15 stones 2 ft. 5 in. 14 " 2 " 9 " 13 " 3 " 2 " 12 " 3 " 9 " 11 " 4 " 6 " 10 " 5 " 5 " 9 " 6 " 8 " 8 " 8 " 3 " 7 " 11 " 0 " In allowing, in the case of convict Conway, who weighed 11 stones 2 lbs., 1 stone for the head, I may be allowing too much; it is a mere guess. If his head weighed 9 lbs., the drop ought to have been 4 ft. 10 in. Yours truly, X. Y. P.S.--A mistake of 3 or 4 lbs. in estimating weight of head makes, you will see, a considerable error in calculating the drop. It will be seen that this calculation, which does not include the weight of the head in a man's hanging weight, works out the drop to a rather greater length than my own table, but the difference is only small, and I have always found my own table give quite sufficient drop. The Rope. The apparatus for carrying out the extreme penalty of the law is very simple. The most important item is the rope, which must necessarily possess certain properties if the death of the condemned person is to be instantaneous and painless. For successful working the rope must, of course, be strong, and it must also be pliable in order to tighten freely. It should be as thin as possible, consistent with strength, in order that the noose may be free running, but of course, it must not be so thin as to be liable to outwardly rupture the blood vessels of the neck.