242 



CANADIAN FARM YEAR BOOK. 



Weigh Scales Tips. 



iScales are of many types and 

 makes, and, as we miffht expect, 

 some offer a greater opportunity of 

 •being falsified by xmscruipulous deal- 

 ers than others. iSince the Weights 

 and Measures Act was adopted the 

 use of many of these scales has been 

 made unlawful. The Rofberval Bal- 

 ance is an Instance of a good scale 

 which has ibeen eliminated because 

 of the ease with which the dishonest 

 dealer could make it serve his own 

 ends. This scale could, in one minute, 

 with a common screwdriver, be so 

 altered that it would weigh heavy or 

 light to the extent of one ounce in the 

 ipound according as the weights were 

 placed on one side or the other of the 

 pan, or if the weights were placed in 

 the centre of the pan it would weigh 

 accurately. 



Platform Scales. 



At the present time there is per- 

 haps no type of scale that offers great- 

 er opportunity to the dishonest dealer 

 than the platform scale. Such scales 

 as a general rule, are installed by rail- 

 roads, produce dealers, and municipal- 

 ities, and are used by stock buyers 

 and others. The fact that the scale 

 is used by several individuals makes 

 it extremely difficult to discover the 

 party who has "doctored" the- scale. 

 This being the case, it Is all important 

 that the scales be constructed in such 

 a manner as to make it extremely dif- 

 ficult for unscrupulous buyers to 

 manipulate the same so as to give a 

 false weight. Aside from inaccura- 

 cies in such scales resulting through 

 failure on the part of the railroads or 

 those responsible to keep the scales 

 in iproper repair there are many ways 

 in which stock buyers can juggle the 

 scale to their own advantage. 



One of the simplest methods is by 

 "loading" the sliding poise. A poise 

 may be loaded by dropping a lead slug 

 into the opening beneath the beam or 

 by inserting the same into "holes drill- 

 ed In the bottom of the poise. 



Scales with a beam that tapers to- 

 ward the trig loop are very readily 

 susceptible to this treatment. As the 

 poise Is moved toward the end of the 

 'beam the opening gradually increases 

 so tlhat a lead slug can readily be In- 

 serted, thus making the scale easily 



weigh from 25 to '50 pounds heavy 

 when loaded to 1000 pounds. The slid- 

 ing poise on many stock scales has 

 one or more holes in the bottom of 

 the poise- into which an unscrupulous 

 buyer can readily insert a lead .plug. 

 The type of 'beams and poises men- 

 tioned above should not .be permitted 

 on stock scales where there has been 

 any evidence of dishonest work. Such 

 scales should be provided with beams 

 of uniform thickness and with sliding 

 poises that contain no opening be- 

 neath the beam or holes in the bottom 

 of the poise. Only beams and poises 

 of modem design should ibe used on 

 such scales. 



Farmers selling stock or produce In 

 localities where buyers have been sus- 

 pected of taking excessive weight 

 should closely examine the scales and 

 be present when the stock is weighed. 

 A dishonest buyer can readily read 

 a scale that weighs correctly to his 

 own advantage. Suoh ibuyers have 

 been known to slip a small coin be- 

 tween two of the counterpoise 

 weights. In such a case they would 

 *be defrauding the seller. Again dis- 

 honest dealers have been known to ' 

 stick a piece of chewing gum on the 

 bottom of the poise to their own gain. 



At Maximum Capacity. 



These scales should be sensitive, 

 that is, a small load should produce 

 an appreciable movement of the beam. 

 When a scale is acting properly the 

 beam should 'Tbreak" with a load of 

 2 pounds. The sluggish action of a 

 scale usually increases with the load. 

 Scales should therefore be tested for 

 sensibility at somewhere near the 

 maximum, capacity. It is not neces- 

 sary to carry a sealer's equipment in 

 order to determine the sensitiveness 

 of a scale. This test, as given Ijy F. 

 P. Downing, of Wisconsin, can be de- 

 termined by any one simply by plac- 

 ing a heavy load on the scale and slid- 

 ing the poise forward on the beam un- 

 til the scale balances near the top of 

 the trig loop. The reading on the 

 'beam should then 'be taken and the 

 poise moved forward until the scale 

 comes to a balance near the bottom 

 of the trig loop. If the difference in 

 the two readings is in excess of 10 

 pounds the scale is unfit for the 

 weighing of stock. In buying stock a 

 dealer can balance a scale 'low," 



