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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



you thiuk it a valuable socitfy, aud tliat you approve of my , farmers— to agricultural improvcmeiits.iii the judicious adoptioU 

 efforts in helping to conduct it. I wish they had been more } of the best breeds of stock, the beat modes of culture, the 

 worthy your approval. What I have done has beeu from a best varieties of grain and of roots, the best implements, the 

 strong sense of public duty. I am a true belieAer in the prize beat manures, and the best and most economical management 

 system : to it we owe the improvements in British agriculture. , of the whole. It is in this way we may— and I would add, 

 I believe that we have raaiuly to look for our prosperity as I that we will — defy the whole world to beat us. 



THE SELLING OF GRAIN BY MEASURE OR BY WEIGHT. 



There is no subject to which the attention of govern- 

 ments, in most countries that have made any progress in 

 civilization, has been more frequently directed than that of 

 weights and measures ; and there is none the legislation 

 about which has given less satisfaction. How are we to 

 account for this ? J3efore any legislation was attempted on 

 tlie subject, there was as great a variety of weights and 

 measures as there were petty principalities, of which tlie 

 present kingdoms are made up: the inliabitants of each 

 petty state were as wedded to tlieir own weights and mea- 

 sures, as if upon their existence depended their own liberty. 

 The certain elfect of any compulsory measure under such 

 circumstauces would, we believe, have been rebellion and 

 revolution ; and the real consequence of a permissive mea- 

 sure has been, as we see every day around us, an inter- 

 minable confusion— a perfect Babel of weights and mea- 

 sures. But other circumstances have tended to produce 

 dissatisfaction. Often those who ventured to legislate on 

 the subject were little practically acquainted with it, and 

 did not consult practical men as widely as they ought to 

 have done ; and hence inadvertencies were made, which, 

 though slight in tlienisclves, became most serious when, on 

 being attempted to be carried into practice, they were found 

 at every hour and transaction to be grating on the conve- 

 nience of the public. In former times the necessity of legis- 

 lation on this subject was little experienced from the want of 

 communication between different parts of the country, by 

 means of trade and otherwise ; hence the annoyances now 

 felt at such a variety of weights and measures were scarcely 

 experienced then ; and hence also the difficulty found in sub- 

 stituting the imperial for the local measures and weights ; 

 they both became jumbled together, and new standards 

 were actually made out of the mixture. Now, however, the 

 country appears to be ripe for legislation again, if we may 

 judge from the meetings which are constantly being he'd, 

 .-jud from the deputations which are being appointed by dif- 

 ferent mercantile communities to represent their case to 

 Government. In the sale of corn, more than in anything else, 

 there is greatroom for improvement in weights and measures. 

 The presoit method of transacting business by means of the 

 imperial quarter is found to be cumbersome, and liable to 

 lead to disputes, and is, in fact, in every way unfitted for 

 affording those facilities so necessary in great mercantile 

 transactions. 



We are not going to trace the history of the dif- 

 ferent standards that were used for the sale of grain 

 from the earliest periods up to the present day. We 

 will refer the reader for this information to the discus- 

 sion which took place at the monthly meeting of the 

 Highland Society in March 1857, and which was reported 

 in all the agricultural periodicals of the time. We will 

 begin with the ye.ar 1824, in which a great attempt 

 was made by the Legislature to " ascertain and establish 

 uniformity of weights and measures," by passing an Act. 



Previous to the passing of this Act, every county had its 

 own standards of weight and measure by which the grain 

 was sold ; aud the Act passing into law did little to remedy 

 this evil, though its avowed object was to produce uniform- 

 ity. We quote from the paper of JNIr. M'Lagan, read at the 

 meeting of the Highland Society referred to above : "There 

 were several defects in the Act: — 1. None but scientific men 

 were examined by the commissioners previous to the framing 

 of the Act. The advice of practical men, or men engaged 

 in trade, would certainly have been of use in the composing 

 of any measure on the uniformity of weights and measures. 



2. Two pounds were retained— the troy and the avoirdupois. 



3. Heaped measure was also retained. 4. Existing weights 

 and measures were allowed to be used, provided they were 

 marked so as to show the proportion they bore to the stan- 

 dard weights and measures. The effect of this measure was 

 the introduction into Scotland of new weights and measures 

 which were never contemplated bj' the Act." The weak 

 point in this Act was what is noted as the fourth defect 

 above. It prevented being done all that the Act contem- 

 plated to do. It is clause 16th, and enacts " That it shall 

 and may be lawful for any person or persons to buy and sell 

 goods and merchandise by any weights or measures estab- 

 lished either by local custom or founded on special agree- 

 ment : Provided always that in order that the ratio or pro- 

 portion which all such measures and weights shall bear to 

 the standard weights and measures established by this Act 

 shall be and become a matter of common notoriety; the 

 ratio or proportion which all such customary measures and 

 weights shall bear to the said standard weights and 

 measures shall be painted or marked upon all such custom- 

 ary weights and measures respectively." The framers 

 of the Act must have been shortsighted indeed if they ever 

 expected to abolish all old and local weights and measures, 

 and introduce uniformity with such a permissive clause in 

 the Act. The consequence was what was foreseen by all 

 capable of judging in the matter; the confusion became 

 greater than ever, and the Legislature was obliged to inter- 

 fere again. Accordingly, in 1835 an Act was passed, 

 repealing the said clause of the Act of 1824 in the following 

 words: — "So much of the said recited Acts as allow the 

 use of weights and measures not in conformity with the 

 imperial standard weights and measures established by the 

 said Acts, or allow goods and merchandise to be bought or 

 sold by any weights or measures cstablislied by local custom 

 or founded on special agreement, shall be and the same are 

 hereby repealed." Again: "All local or customary mea- 

 sures shall be .abolished ; and every person who shall sell 

 by any denomination of meaMire other than one of the 

 imperial measures, or some multiple, or some aliquot part, 

 &c., shall, on conviction, be liable to a penalty not exceed- 

 ing the sum of forty shillings for every such sale." Again : 

 " Every person who shall use any weight or measure other 

 hnn those authorised, by this Act, or some aliquot par 



