Polytechnic Association. 933 



two different systems of measures — dry measure and liquid measure. 

 John Quincy Adams, many years ago, very highly commended our 

 present system, because it had two different measures proportionate 

 to the specific gravity of wine and wheat, and two weights propor- 

 tioned in like manner. But it so happened, at that very time, the 

 British Parliament came to the conclusion that they would establish 

 uniform measures of capacity, and they adopted the imperial measures 

 which differed both from the old wine and the old grain measures, 

 and which made no distinction between wine and grain, the imperial 

 bushel being a multiple of the imperial gallon. 



There is also a great confusion in the manner of the. derivation 

 from the unit base, of the higher and lower denominations. In our 

 lineal measures there are five or six different ratios. There are twelve 

 inches in a foot, three feet in a yard, five and a half yards in a rod, 

 forty rods in a furlong, eight furlongs in a mile. In our surface 

 measures the relations are even more cumbrous. There are 144 

 square inches to the foot, nine square feet to the yard, thirty and a 

 quarter square yards to the rod, etc. The measures of solidity are 

 still more irregular. There are 1,T2S cubic inches to the foot ; there 

 are twenty-seven cubic feet to the yard, and there are 166f cubic 

 yards to the cubic perch. This makes the labor of the computer 

 immense. It is so burdensome that a great many of our artisans 

 have, for their own purposes, abolished these inconvenient ratios. 

 They use inches not divided into eighths nor into twelfths, but into 

 tenths. The civil engineer uses the foot as his unit, and divides that 

 decimally. The land surveyor rejects both the inch and the foot, and 

 makes the chain his unit, and divides that decimally into 100 links, 

 each of which is 7.92 inches. At the United States mint, although 

 in determining the weight of single coins it is necessary to use the 

 grain, because the law provides for their weight in grains; yet, in 

 weighing bullion, they use only the ounce and decimals of the ounce. 



The diversity of ratios is not confined to measures of length and 

 capacity, but extends also to weights, as seen in the last, example. 

 The Troy pound is divided into twelve ounces, of twenty pennyweights 

 each ; and these are subdivided into grains. But the apothecaries' 

 pound is divided into twelve ounces of eight drams each, and each 

 dram is subdivided into three scruples, each containing twenty grains. 



Comparing our condition to-day with .that of a century ago, this 

 difference is manifest, viz., that we are now all earnestly endeavoring 

 to find some way to get out of the confusion. On the continent of 

 Europe, many nations have already succeeded in this struggle. We 



