Silas Wilder Has a Very Old Math Book University Missourian, Columbia, Mo., June 13, 1910, p. 5. A CENTURY OLD ARITHMETIC Seymour, Ind.-Silas Wilder, a resident of this city, has in his possession an old arithmetic (book) that was used in 1803 by his father, Ethan Wilder, in Sterling, Mass. It is interesting because it is so different from the text books now in use in the public schools. The old book, which is written on heavy paper, is about 12x7 inches. It contains a statement of the various arithmetical rules which are immediately followed by illustrations that area solved in full. The arithmetic, although over one hundred years old, is well preserved and the written matter is very legible. -Indianapolis News