MKTKIC SNSTKM oi' Wl.U.IITS AMI M KASURES. .^I^ 



A ])inl of \\atcr wcii^lis a jxnuid and a quarter, 

 and 



A cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 lbs. 

 llere are the metric relations — 



. A loo-nn'llinietre ctibe of water contains one litre and weighs 

 one kilogram. 



The s\'steni is so sini])k' lliat once one lias handled and 

 studied a cubic litre, these simple relations can never be forgotten. 

 Colonel Watson believes that if England adopted the metric 

 measiires of length, it would be to Germany's benefit, but 1 can- 

 not lollow his reasoning. J'\)rmerly Germany did emplov^ 

 measures of length corresponding to om- inches and feet, and n 

 deliberately abandoned them for those of the metric system. 

 None of us will be so foolish as to assert that in the race for 

 commercial supremacy German\- would deliberately handicaj) 

 Germans b}- adopting a second-rate system of weights and 

 measm^es. 



1 shall, however, offer an entirely different argument in favour 

 of the adoi)tion of the metric system. In these days of truly inter- 

 national trade and exchange, the advantage of one uniform 

 system is self evident. The question is which system is it to be? 

 At the beginning of last century there were the metric system 

 and the English system — one legal in France, the other in British 

 possessions and the United States. Which has made progress? 

 The metric system alone ! It has been adopted by one countrv 

 after another until the only outstanding countries of any import- 

 ance are Russia, Japan, and the United States, but these countries 

 have systems based upon metric standard and mainly decimal in 

 character 



In the United Kingdom the metric system is permissive. 

 Holland, Portugal, and South America use solely the metric 

 System. 



Hence it has made great strides, and no nation having once 

 ado])ted it has ever abandoned it. It must, therefore, be accepted 

 that it is a good system. 



On the contrary, the luiglish system has continuouslv been 

 losing ground — some British possessions, such as Malta. Mauri- 

 tius, and the Seychelles have made the metric system compul- 

 sory — not. ])erhaps. very important possessions in themselves. 

 but they indicate the direction of change. 



As t(j the English-s])eaking peoples themselves: In schools 

 pu])ils are taught both, and if they progress to science classes, 

 they are taught to use almost exclusively the metric system. 

 Thus they are in an uu fortunate position. They have to remem- 

 ber best as they can two .systems. At least it is a handicap, which 

 Germans and others avoid. But in pharmacy, both in the United 

 Kingdom and in the United States, the metric sy.stem is now 

 alone used, and in the diamond trade the metric carat has been 

 universally adopted. 



