APPENDIX. 589 



to two justices of the peace, who will grant their warrant for that purpose upon 

 proof that notice of the application has been affixed upon the gate of the pre- 

 mises. — 57 Geo. III., c. 52. 



No sheriff or other officer taking/rtrw//;o- stock in execution of judgment for 

 debt is authorized in carrying off any straw, manure, or crops of hay or grass, 

 whether natural or artificial, turnips or other roots, which, by the covenants 

 between the landlord and the tenant, are to be consumed upon the ground. But 

 the sheriff may dispose of the above to any person who shall agree in writing 

 to use the same on the land in such manner as accords with the custom of the 

 country ; and, after such sale, he may assign to such purchaser the use of all 

 such buildings as may be necessary for the consumption of such crops during 

 the requisite time— 56 Geo. III., c. 50, s. 1. i This permission does not, however, 

 extend to crops which the tenant is not bound to consume upon the ground. 

 Ibid., s. 8. 



No. III. 

 ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 



The want of a general uniformity in weights and measures was formerly so 

 great that in many parts of the kingdom those in common use were unknown 

 in other districts. Thus the boll, which is the invariable denomination of the 

 measure employed in Scotland, differs in its contents in almost all the counties ; 

 and wheat is sold by one bull, oats by another, and meal by a third. Corn is, in 

 many parts of England, measured by the Imperial as well as by the Winchester 

 bushel, which in some counties — as in Cornwall — consists in one place of the 

 double Winchester of sixteen gallons, and in another of the treble Winchester 

 of twenty-four ; v.'hile in some markets it is sold by weight, and the quarter 

 sometimes consists of nine, instead of eight bushels. Potatoes are subject to 

 three different weights — 120 lbs., 12G lbs., and 132 lbs. — each called a hundred ; 

 and the sack, when measured by the farmer, holds three heaped bushels, 

 weighing upwards of 200 lbs., while in the markets it only contains 1^ cwt. 

 Butter is in some towns sold by the pound of eighteen ounces, and at others it 

 is measured by the yard ; and in many cases the long and the short hundred 

 are universally employed. 



These variations have been long complained of, as being snares to the igno- 

 rant, and equally injurious to the individual as well as the community. The 

 grievance will now, it is however hoped, be gradually remedied, when the pre- 

 judices derived from old habits give way to common sense and law, as an Act 

 — the 5 and 6 Will. IV., c. 63 — has been passed by which all local and cus- 

 tomary weights and measures are abolished, and none but those hereafter 

 described can now be considered legal, or enforced in any contract for sale or 

 purchase. 



The ?re(§-A^ of all articles sold — except the precious metals or jewels, and 

 drugs, for which Troy weight may be still used— must be that known as " Avoir- 

 dupois;'' the pound of which containing 7000 grains, while that called "Troy " 

 contains only 5760 grains, is comparatively equal to 1 lb. 2ozs. 11 dwts. 16 grs. 

 AvoiKDUPOis Weight. 



27iJ Grains are 1 Drachrn ((/;•.) 

 16 Drachms ,. 1 Ounce (os.) 

 16 Ounces ,, 1 Pound (/i.) 



28 Pounds are 1 Quarter (q>'-) 

 4 Qrs. ,, 1 Hundred Weight (cMi/.) 

 20 Cwt. , , 1 Ton {r.) 



The stone weight must in all cases consist of 14 lbs., — thus doing away with 

 the several stones in local use ; but, although the weight of the pound and the 

 stone must be accurately stated in all agreements, yet the stone of meat is still 

 distinguished by English salesmen and butchers as consisting of 14 lbs. live, 

 and 8 lbs. dead-weight.* Among several of the country trades, also, different 

 quantities of various goods are technically held to constitute a certain fixed 

 amount, as among — 



Wool Staplers. Flovr Factors. 



1 Peck {Pk.) 

 1 Bushel (B/j.) 

 1 Sack {SkA 

 1 Barrel (£/.) 



* See Vol, ii, p. 392 ; and ou the mode of ascertaiujjig the weight by rneasuremeut^ 

 see p. 3'J3. 



