1821.] Scientific Intelligence. 153 



legal standards, which we apprehend to be in a great measure attain- 

 able by the means that we have recommended ; it would also, in all 

 probability, be of advantage to give a greater degree of publicity to 

 the Appendix of our last Report, containing a comparison of the cus- 

 tomary measures employed throughout the country. 



5. We are not aware that any further services remain for us to 

 perform in the execution of the commands laid upon us by your 

 Majesty's commission ; but if any superintendence of the regulations 

 to be adopted were thought necessary, we should still be ready to 

 undertake such inspections and examinations as might be required for 

 the complete attainment of the objects in question. 



(Signed) George Clerk. 



London, Da vies Gilbert. 



March 31, 1821. W. H. Wollaston. 



Thomas Young. 

 Henry Kater. 



APPENDIX. 



The commissioners having been furnished, by the kindness of the 

 Hon. Charles C. C. Jenkinson, with the apparatus employed by the 

 late Sir George Shuckburgh Evelyn, in the determination of the mag- 

 nitude of the standard weights, and there being some doubt of the per- 

 fect accuracy of his method of measuring the capacity of the bodies 

 employed, it was judged necessary to repeat that measurement with 

 greater precautions ; and the results of Capt. Kater's experiments have 

 afforded some slight corrections of the capacities in question. 



The sides of Sir George Shuckburgh's cube were found by Captain 

 Kater equal to 498911, 4-98934, and 4-98935 inches; the diameter 

 of the cylinder 3*99713, and its length .599600 inches; and the diame- 

 ter of the sphere 6 00759 inches. Hence the content of the cube 

 appears to be 124-1969 inches ; that of the cylinder 75-2398 ; and that 

 of the sphere 113"5264 inches of Bird's parliamentary standard of 

 1760, recommended in the last Report of the commissioners, or of the 

 standard made by Troughton for Sir George Shuckburgh. 



The difference of the weight of the cube in air at 62°, with the baro- 

 meter at 290, and in water at 60*2°, was 31381-79 grs. ; and adding 

 to this the weight of an equal bulk of the air at 62°, which is -H-Jr^-tr 0I " 

 that of the water, or 36-26 grs. and subtracting from it -^v of this, or 

 4-26 grs. the buoyancy of the brass weights, we obtain 31413*79 grs. 

 for the weight of the cube of water in a vacuum at 602°. Now this 

 cube is less than the supposed measure at the standard temperature of 

 62°, in the ratio of 1 to 1-0000567, on account of the contraction of the 

 brass ; and the water is denser than at the standard temperature, 

 according to Mr. Gilpin's experiments, in the ratio of -99998 to -999S1, 

 or of 100017 to 1, the whole correction, for the difference of 1-8°, 

 being 0001133, or 3*55 grains, making 31110-24 for the weight of the 

 cube of water in a vacuum at 62°; which, divided by 124-1969, gives 

 2.52-907 for the weight of a cubic inch in Sir George Shuckburgh's 

 grains. 



In the same manner, we obtain for the cylinder, which was weighed 

 in air under the same circumstances, and in water at 60-5°, the differ- 

 ence being 19006-S3 grs. the correction j-J .,. !£.'£| for the effect of 



