WEIGHT 



6241 



WELLAND CANAL 



There is almost an infinite variety of weigh- 

 ing machines; some are so large that they will 

 correctly weigh monster locomotives, others, 

 used by scientists, are so delicately adjusted 

 that the weight of a human hair is sufficient to 

 destroy the balance. Machines for weighing 

 heavy guns in government arsenals have a ca- 

 pacity of over 300,000 pounds; spring scales 

 can be made so strong that they will register 

 in tons the pull of the most powerful locomo- 

 tive. 



A complicated balance scale is now used in 

 stores for weighing groceries and such com- 

 modities. These not only weigh the goods but 

 indicate the cost by means of automatic calcu- 

 lators. An indicator is set at the price per 

 pound at which the goods are to be staid. The 

 articles are then put on the scales; a lever in- 

 dicates the weight in the ordinary manner, and 

 the price is indicated by a hand on a clock- 

 like dial. F.ST.A. 



WEIGHT, wayt, a measure of the pull of 

 gravitation on any body. To say that a pail 

 of water weighs five pounds is to say that the 

 earth attracts it to that extent. A body at the 

 center of the earth would lack weight, because 

 of equal attraction in all directions. The 

 wi-ipht of a body above the surface of the globe 

 diminishes as it recedes from the center. This 

 fact has to be taken into account in weighing, 

 because the earth bulges at the equator and is 

 slightly flattened near the poles. Accordingly, 

 a mass of iron which weighs 1,000 pounds at 

 the equator will gain about five pounds at the 

 poles. Thus, in extremely careful weighing it 

 is important to specify the latitude and the 

 elevation. In popular usage, weight is not 

 thought of as the attraction of gravity, but 

 only as the quantity of downward pull of an 

 object compared with that of a given mass of 

 metal taken as a standard. See GRAVITATK 



WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. These are 

 the general terms used to describe the stand- 

 ards employed in measuring weights, quantities 

 and volumes. Even among peoples in the lower 

 stages of civilization, such standards are neces- 

 sary, and with the growing complexity of life 

 they become of greater and greater importance. 

 Most of the units as originally chosen arc arbi- 

 trary, and bear no share in a system; but as 

 science comes to dominate a larger part in life 

 and communication between nations increases, 

 greater accuracy and uniformity in \\ eights and 

 -ures are aimed at. To-day practically all 

 of the Western nations have standardized 

 units, and for scientific purposes a uniform sys- 

 391 



tern, the metric, has been very widely adopted. 

 These volumes contain many articles which 

 bear on general phases of the subject of meas- 

 urement or on specific units, and the reader 

 may consult the topics listed below. (In the 

 article DENOMINATE NUMBERS many tables of 

 weights and measures are given.) 



Acre 



Ampere 



Apothecaries' Weight 



Avoirdupois 



Barrel 



Bushel 



Carat 



Centimeter 



Chain 



Cubic Measure 



Denominate Numbers 



Drachma 



Farad 



Fathom 



Foot 



Furlong 



Gallon 



Gram 



Hogshead 



Kilogram 



Kilogrammeter 



Kilometer 



Kilowatt 



Knot 



League 



Liter 



Mensuration 



Meter 



Metric System 



Mile 



Ohm 



Ounce 



Pound 



Quart 



Scruple 



Ton 



Troy Weight 



Volt 



Watt 



Weighing Scale 



Consult Woolhouse's Measures, Weights and 

 Moneys of All Nations. 



WELDING. See ELECTRIC WELDING. 



WELL AND, wel'and, a town in Ontario, the 

 county town of Welland County. It lies on 

 the Welland Canal, and is served principally 

 by the Canadian Pacific, the Grand Trunk 

 Michigan Central and the Wabash railroads. 

 By rail it is seventeen miles southwest of Ni- 

 agara Falls and seven miles north of Port Col- 

 borne, the southern end of the Welland Canal. 

 There are two government docks and a turning 

 basin. It lies at the heart of the Niagara pen- 

 insula, and has become an important railroad 

 center as well as a distributing and manufactur- 

 ing community. There is abundant natural gas 

 in the vicinity, and water power is derived from 

 Niagara Falls. Especially important among its 

 products are agricultural implements and other 

 iron and steel manufactures, cordage and cot- 

 ton goods. Population in 1911, 5,318; in 1916, 

 estimated, 5,800. 



WELLAND CANAL, one of the most im- 

 portant artificial waterways in Canada. 1 

 forms a navigable link between Lake Erie and 

 Lake Ontario, whoso only natural connection, 

 the Niagara River, is interrupted by the great 

 falls and rapids. The original Welland Canal 

 was finished in 1833, a year after the comple- 

 tion of the Rideau Canal, at a cost of about 

 $7,700,000. In 1871 it was greatly enlarged, the 

 expense of the improvements being $21,749,000, 



