On the Measuitment uf Timber. WD 



of system in our national weights and measures, 1 iiovv re<|Ui'st 

 your insertion ol'tlie tbllowing, which I subniit wilii a view of 

 removing an anomaly : to ck) which, so many inell'tctual at- 

 tempts have been made by mathematical authors. 



The property to which I alhsded, s'o much depreciated by 

 the misapplication of measures, is Timber: consequently the 

 losers are all those whose estates consist in this article. 



I am aware ol'the difriculty of removing long-standing cus- 

 toms, deeply rooted by prejudice : but as it has been long 

 since made manifest by most able authors, that the established 

 practice of timber-measuring is extremely erroneous, and a 

 shield of protection to designing knavery, conniion justice de- 

 mands its abolition. 



In support of my jiosition, I shall only quote from Mr. 

 Bonnycastle's Mensuration ; because in that work, under the 

 head '• Timber-measure," there are sufficient (juotations in 

 point from the learned and ingenious Di-. Ilutton, and I think 

 more evidence unnecessary. Among many other absurdities 

 of the j>resent mode of measuring, those authoi's have shown, 

 that if the girt at the greater base of a conical log of timber 

 exceed three times the lesser girt, a part of such log may be 

 taken ofij without diminishing the ajjparent solidity; from 

 which it lollows that fraud can be practised, as by legerde- 

 main, without a probability of detection. 



This artifice can, however, be defeated bj- taking off the top, 

 where the diameter is not less than a third part of that at the 



ULTT. 



I refer the reader to Hutton's Demonstrations of these mat- 

 ters, in Bonnycastle's Mensuration. 



That some plausible argument has been brought by the 

 advocates of the present system in favour of its continuance, 

 is not to be questioned ; or certainly any thing so erroneous 

 could not have prevailed so long, where authors of so much 

 erudition and integrity have been so fruitful in their reproba- 

 tion of it; jnirticularly in a nation where timber is so valuable 

 an article, and where encouragement to tlie grower is of so 

 much national importance. 



Mr. Honnycastle observes that the only argmuent in its fa- 

 voiu" has been "its ease in practice;" and I Uicrelbre trust 

 I shall overcome tliis argument by submitting a plan scarcely 

 requiring half the time or trouble of the prevailing metiiod ; 

 and at the same time obviating a loss to the grower of above 

 20 }ur rciitum in any case. 



'I'he present })raetice is, to nudtiply the length of the log 



into the scpiare of the fointh part of the girt, taken at the half 



lengfli: but in real jiractice the sliding-rule is used ; which, in 



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