AGRICULTURAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 



Kilogram. 



2 Stone 1 tod 12-G992 



61 tods 1 wey 82543 



2 weys 1 sack 165-087 



12 sacks 1 last 1981044 



LONG MEASURE. 



Fr. metres. 



3 barleycorns 1 inch 0-0254 



12 inches 1 foot 0-3048 



3 feet 1 yard 0-9144 



5f yards 1 pole or rod 5*0291 



40 poles 1 furlong 201-1632 



8 furlongs 1 mile 16093059 



3 miles 1 league 4827-9179 



60 geographical, 1 



or e^Eng. j-1 degree 11120.7442 



lish miles... J 

 Besides the above, there are the palm, which 

 equals 3 inches ; the hand, 4 inches ; the span, 9 

 inches ; and the fathom, 6 feet. 



SQUARE MEASURE. 



Fr. sq. metres. 

 144 inches 1 square foot 0-0929 



9 square feet 1 square yard 08361 



30^ square yards... 1 square pole 25-2916 



40 square poles ... 1 rood 1011-6662 



4 roods 1 acre 4064-6648 



The inch is generally divided, on scales, into 

 tenths, or decimal parts ; but in squaring the di- 

 mensions of artificer's work, the duodecimal system 

 is adopted ; thus, the inch is divided into 12 parts 

 or lines, each part into 12 seconds, and each second 

 into 12 thirds. 



In land measure there are (besides the above pole 

 of 16| feet, which is called statute measure) the 

 woodland pole of 18 feet, the plantation pole of 21 feet, 

 the Cheshire pole of 24 feet, and the Sherwood Fo- 

 rest pole of 25 feet. A rope in some kinds of mea- 

 surement is reckoned 20 feet, 30 acres is called a 

 yard of land, 100 acres a hide of land, and 640 acres 

 a mile of land. 



Land is usually measured by a chain of 4 poles, or 

 22 yards, which is divided into 100 links. 10 chains 

 in length and 1 in breadth make an acre, which 

 equals 160 square perches, or 4840 square yards. 



CUBIC OR SOLID MEASURE. 



Fr. cubic metres. 



1728 cubic inches 1 cubic foot -0283 



27 cubic feet 1 cubic yard -7645 



40 ft. of rough timber 7 i load or ton f ^ " ' ^'"^^ 



or 50ft hewn ditto] ^ '"^"^ '^^" U-4157 



42 cubic feet 1 ton of shipping 11892 



By cubic measure marble, stone, timber, mason ry, 

 and all artificers' works of length, breadth, and 

 thickness, are measured, and also the contents of 

 all measures of capacity, both liquid and dry. 



DRY MEASURE. 



4 gills ... 



2 pints... 



2 quarts.. 



2 pottles 



2 gallons... 



cub. in. Fr 



1 pint 33.6 



1 quart 67.2 1 



1 pottle ... 134.4 2 



1 gallon ... 268.8 4 



1 peck 537.6 8 



4 pecks 1 bushel. ..2150.42 35 



4 bushs 1 coom 4.977 feet 140 



2 cooms .... 1 quarter.. 9.954 ditto .... 281 



5 qrs [\7!ld ] 49.770 ditto .... 1409 



2 weys 1 last 99.540 ditto 2818 



litres. 

 55053 

 10107 

 20214 

 40428 

 808.56 

 23430 

 93721 

 87443 

 37216 

 74432 



The "Winchester bushel, which is the legal mea- 

 sure for corn and seeds, should be 18^ inches wide, 

 and 8 inches deep. Its contents are therefore, as 

 above, 215042 inches. Corn and seeds are measured 

 in the port of London by striking the bushel from 

 the brim, with a round piece of light wood, about 2 

 inches in diameter and of equal thickness from one 

 end to the other. All other dry goods are heaped. 



There are two other bushels of different shapes, 

 but containing the same quantity ; the one, called 

 the drum bushel, generally used for the London 

 granaries, is 13 inches in diameter, and 16.2 inches 

 in depth ; and the other, called the farmer's bushel, 

 is chiefly used in the country, its diameter is 15.375, 

 and depth 11-589 inches. These shapes are chosen 

 for the convenience of working and loading ; but 

 the shallow vessel or standard, to avoid the effects 

 of pressure in filling, which depth might cause. 



The dimensions of the imperial standard bushel 

 are as follows : The outer diameter 19| inches, and 

 the inner diameter 18^. The depth is 8^, and the 

 height of the cone, for heaped measure, is 6 inches. 

 Hence the contents of the stricken imperial bushel 

 are 2218192 cubic inches, and it is to weigh 801b. 

 avoirdupois of water. The contents of the imperial 

 heaped bushel are 2815-4887 cubic inches. The 

 subdivisions and multiples of this measure are of 

 course in the same proportion. 



In some markets corn is sold by weight, which is 

 the fairest mode of dealing, but not the most conve- 

 nient in practice. Even where measures are used, 

 it is customary to weigh certain quantities or pro- 

 portions, and to regulate the prices accordingly. 

 The average bushel of wheat is generally reckoned 

 at 60 lb. of barley 49 lb. of oats 38 lb. peas 64, 

 beans 63, clover 68, rye and canary 53, and rape 

 48 lb. In some places a load of corn, for a man, is 

 reckoned five bushels, and a cart load 40 bushels. 



COAL MEASURE. 



Coals are generally sold by the chaldron, which 

 bears a certain proportion to Winchester measure. 



; 4 pecks 1 bushel 



3 bushels 1 sack. 



3 sacks 1 vat 



4 vats 1 chaldron. 



21 chaldron 1 score. 



The coal bushel holds one Winchester quart more 

 than the Winchester bushel ; it therefore contains 

 221762 cubic inches. This bushel must be 19| inches 

 wide from outside to outside, and 8 inches deep. In 

 measuring coals, it is to be heaped up in the form 

 of a cone, at the height of at least 6 inches above 

 the brim (according to a regulation passed at Guild- 

 hall in 1806). The outside of the bushel must be 

 the extremity of the cone, and thus the bushel 

 should contain at least 2814-9 cubic inches, which is 

 nearly equal to the imperial heaped bushel. Hence 

 the chaldron should measure 58.64 cubic feet. 



The chaldron of cOals at Newcastle is not a mea 

 sure, but a weight of 53 cwt., which is found some- 

 times to equal two London chaldrons ; but the 

 common reckoning is, that the keel, which is S 

 Newcastle chaldrons, equals 15| London chaldrons. 

 In such comparisons, however, there can be no cer. 

 tainty, as coals not only differ in their specific gra- 

 vity, but even those of the same quality weigh more, 

 measure for measure, when large, than when 

 broken into smaller parts. (Mortimer's Cofnmer- 

 cial Dictionary, art. Weights and Measures.) 



UNIFORMITY OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES IN BRITAIN. 



The act for this purpose, which came into force in 1826, contains the following clauses which more 

 immediately concern the agriculturist : 



Standard yard defined as the measure of length. The straight line or distance between the centres of 

 the two points in the gold studs in the straight brass rod, now in the custody of the clerk of the House of 

 Commons, whereon the words and figures " Standard Yard, 1760," are engraved, shall be the original 

 and genuine standard of that measure of length or lineal extension called a yard ; and the sam.e straight 

 line or distance between the centres of the said two points in the said gold studs in the said brass rod, the 

 brass being of the temperature of sixty-two degrees by Fahrenheit's thermometer, shall be and is hereby 

 denominated the " Imperial Standard Yard," and shall be the unit or only standard measure of exten- 

 sion, wherefromor whereby all other measures of extension whatsoever, whether the same be lineal, su- 

 perficial, or solid, shall be derived, computed, and ascertained, s. 1. 



Standard pound defined weight. The standard brass weight of one pound troy weight, made in the 

 year 1758, now in the custody of the clerk of the House of Commons, shall be declared to be the oiiginal 

 and genuine standard measure of weight, and such brass weight shall be denominated the imperial stand, 

 ard troy pound, and shall be the unit or only stardard measure of weight from which all other weights sliall 

 be derived, computed, or ascertained, s. 4. 



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