on Weights and Meastires. 175 



in a whole number of pounds avoirdupois, and such also as would 

 admit of the quart and pint containing integer numbers of 

 ounces, without any fractional parts. 



If the gallon is made to contain 10 pounds of water, the 

 quart will contain 40 ounces, and the pint 20. 



^This gallon recommended by your committee, will contain 

 276-48 cubical inches, being nearly 3 per cent, larger than the 

 gallon or Sth part of the Winchester bushel as fixed bv the act 

 of the I3th and 14th of William and Mary, cap. 5, which con- 

 tains 26S-803 cubical inches, and the bushel will contain 221 1'84 

 cubical inches, instead of 21 50' 12. 



Your committee are of opinion, that this departure from the 

 corn measure, which is employed in the collection of the malt 

 tax, and is supposed to be most generally used throughout the 

 kingdom, is justified by the advantages which they anticipate 

 from the change. 



General uniformity cannot be expected, unless some simple 

 and accurate method of checking the standard measures is 

 adopted ; and as the weight of water appears to be the best and 

 most simple method of checking measures of capacity, it is de- 

 sirable that all minute fractions of weight should be avoided. 

 There will be much less chance of error in weighing the water 

 contained in any measure, if only one or two weights are to be 

 employed, than if a greater number were necessary, which would 

 be the case if fractional parts were rcfjuired. 



The ditHculty of remembering long fractions is also an im- 

 portant consideration, and would very materially impede the 

 attainment of that general uniformity which is "so much de- 

 sired. 



If this gallon is adopted, the bushel will contain 80 lbs. of wa- 

 ter, or 2211-84 cubical inches ; the quart 69-12 cubical inches 

 or 40 ounces of water; the pint 34-56 cubical inches or 20 

 ounces of water: the half pint will contain 17-28 cubical inches 

 (whiv-h is exactly ^^ih part of a cubical foot) or 10 ounces of 

 water. Any smaller measures might with great propriety be de- 

 scribed, according to the number of ounces of water they con- 

 tained. 



Your committee are of opinion, that the simple connection 

 wjnch will in this manner be est-iblished between the standard 

 of weight and measures of capacity, will greatly tend to pre- 

 serve the un!f.)imity of those measures which are found to be 

 most liable to error. They have, besides, been induced to se- 

 lect this size of measure as a standard, both because it very 

 nearly coincides with one of the standard com measures pre- 

 served in the Exchequer, namely the standard pint marked 1602, 

 which contains 34-8 cubical inches i and also because it possesse. 



the 



