THE length of the Spanish Vara, and of the Spanish or Castilian foot, used in the 

 late Spanish Colonies of Mexico and South America, owing, no doubt, to the imper- 

 fection of the local standards, shows considerable variations from the value on which 

 the preceding tables are based. 



A careful comparison of the standard Vara, brought from Mexico by Major Turn- 

 bull, and deposited in the United States Office of Weights and Measures, (see above 

 p. 113,) gave for its length 32.9682 American inches = 2.7473333 American feet 

 2.7474928 English feet = 0.8374206 metre. 



From a series of altitudes published in Mexico, by Cortina, in Castilian feet, and 

 by Orbegozo in metres and Castilian feet, Jul. Schmidt derives the following value of 

 the Vara and of the Castilian foot, used by these authors (see Petermann's Mittheil. 

 1857, p. 371) : One Vara = 2.573296 Paris feet = 0.8358065 metre ; and one 

 Castilian foot = 0.857764 Paris foot = 0.91417 English foot. 



According to Colonel J. Ondarza, one of the authors of the new official Map of 

 Bolivia, the Bolivian government has declared the legal value of the Spanish Vara 

 to be in the ratio of 100 metres =118 Varas = 354 Spanish feet, which value has 

 been adopted by him in publishing his measured altitudes. 



XXXVIIl' MEXICO. CONVERSION OF CASTILIAN FEET INTO METRES, PARIS AND 



ENGLISH FEET. 



D 



148 



