1853] STANDARDS OF LENGTH AND WEIGHT— THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. M 



about t\,— exclusive of Indian corn about one-sixth. Of rice. The lever frame, with the bar resting upon it, is placed hi a box 



Canada has none, neither has Ohio, — the whole Union produces of mahogany wood. The bar is prevented from moving end- 



215,312,710 lbs., which at three pence per pound would be ways by weak brass springs attached inside to'the ends of the 



.£2,691,408 in favour of the Union. box, and is prevented from moving upwards by wedges of paper 



Even at present, Canada compares most favourably in propor- P la& e d under three inverted stirrups. Near to eacli end of the 



tion to her population with the States, and when the railroads ba,- > a cylindrical hole is sunk from the upper surface of the bar 



now fa course of formation shall have: united the whole British to the de P tb - ° f lia]f an mcn . and at the bottom of each cylihdri- 



possessions in North America, the increased facilities and aroused cal hole is a gold pin, upon which are cut three fine lines in the 



and invigorated energies, and improving climate and more rapidly direction transversal to the bar, and two fine lines parallel to the 



increasing population, and interminable water- communication, axis of the bar. The limiting points of the yard neasure are those 



and extensis^e fisheries will, in a few years, enable the British P olnts of tlle middle transversal lines which are midway between 



Forth American possessions to make no unfavourable comparison the longitudinal lines. On the upper surface of the bar, the fol- 



with the Union, flourish as she may- lowln g inscription is engraved — 



The whole area of the United States and territories is 3,230,572 _ °?P P er l<^oss. 



square miles which multiplied by 640 gives the number of acres 2inc '. I '.'.'. '.'. '.V. . '.'. !*"?!"!!!!!""!!!"'!! ". * '. ~.~i 1 



2,057,566,030, eertainly a prodigious territory, but the British Mr. Baily's metal. 



possessions in North America far exceed this. Standard Yard at 62. 10," Fahrenheit, cast in 1845, 



_,, ,. ,,. ., „„„„ Trough ton it Simrns, London, 



lne exact amount according to Alnson, is 4,109,6.30 square T . . , ,, , ,,, , ., , . 



, ■ ■ .. , ., ,° ■ t, u . , ', '■' • . mrtnnn — It is neeessary to observe that, although the bar was cast so 



geographical miles, and the water in British America is 1,340,000 , , „ ;,. ,i j- i j S i i ± j i 



5 ° r -, rni 11 i- i i i .i long; a.rro as 1845, the standard yard has been completed only 



square miles. The whole terrestial globe embraces about • ]>j 



37,000,000 square miles, so that British America contains nearly ■ ■ 



a ninth part of the whole terrestrial surface of the globe— die The standard pound weight is made of platinum, representing, 



number of acres is 2,630,163,200. Allison remarks that a very wllsn weighed in vacuo against the last Troy pound, 6,999-9975 



large portion is, perhaps, doomed to everlasting sterility, owing to grams,— of which the last standard contained 5,700 grams. The 



the severity of the climate— such is no doubt the case; but it form of th « wei g ht ls a cylinder, with a groove surrounding it a 



should be recollected that as ihe country becomes cleared up, llttle above the. middle of its height for the insertion of the fork 



the climate improves, and that there are at present twenty or wlllch ls » sed m hftl "g ]t - °" th « u PP er end of the cylinder is 



thirty millions of acres, to the successful .cultivation of which the engraved the following inscription :— 



<3imate presents no insuperable barrier. p c .*°' ,0,4 



Two or three centuries ago the Rhine used to be frozen, and 1 lb. 



the animals, the natives of the northern regions, were abundant — -The boi containing the weight is mahogany, — and when it* 



on its banks— how different is the case now? It will , be so in portions are screwed together, the weight is fixed immovably. 



British North America, with this difference, that the improving This mahogany box is placed in a second mahogany box, the lid 



dimate will keep pace with the vastly accelerated movements, of which bears the inscription — 



&nd more rapidly increasing numbers of the New World settlers. Standard Pound, 1853. 



— The mahogany boxes of the yard and the pound are inclosed 



Standards of L"mgth and Weight. j n aQ oa]c j^. U p 0n wnose \[ c \ j s eut an <j painted the inscription — 



It will be remembered that the destruction of the Houses of British Standards of Length and Weight, 1853. 



Parliament by fire, in 1834, proved fatal to the standard Yard • This means Parliamentary Copy. 



and Pound. A commission was subsequently appointed to con- ■== — ■ ■ 



.eider the steps to be taken for the restoration of those standards, »5? 



-~the members of which were all Fellows of the Royal Society. '?? S ^J I 7"\ 



The late Mr. Baily took an active part in the preparation of a h Js§k\ -^ 



standard yard; which, however, though constructed most care- ^^ M^ V^xk A^ 



fully, deteriorated in such a manner as to be altogether unworthy ^sS^-^^^^T^^^Sftk 



.of confidence. Since Mr. Baily's death, the Rev. Mr. Sheepshanks ^SP^^^-^ >^I8» 



has been eno-ao-cd in the very difficult and delicate task of con- )ly OVo»2f fM^/vll 



structing a standard yard, — while Professor Miller, of Cambridge, tiW^-AW (L»? ■"&. n&\C^«% 



.undertook to make a standard avoirdupois pound. The liberal- vvrmk " t ?P' f J St 1 iSx-"^ 



Jty of Government placed at Mr. Sheepshanks command appara- 8 (j ppS ,■'-, Afy^ !jt ftSi* 1 ' | 



tus for his purpose far superior to that possessed by his predeces- 1 \f$U !: . "■ ,'JSM f 



sors. His labours were carried on in the lower tiers of cellars in \ §$/>';■'' '■•> . -; ■- :^XM *. I 



Somerset House, — -which are very favourable to the work, on \ f\ */^ ':■ ' ',-'■.- '""'.'■'■-.^^M'm. / 



ascouot of their slow-changing temperature. \vJ* \ , - * ' ) i-'-i-lyQ) f 



After an infinite number of experiments and comparisons, two \^ ^^sg^gip-^ J' 



standards have been constructed. The originals have been in- ^* 5tt5s ^'?Ji^* iii ^'^ 

 .close 1 in one of the walls of the New Houses of Parliament ; and 



perfectly accurate copies were placed by Mr. Airy in the custody INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHASTER. 



of the Royal Society on Thursday last. 



The standard yard measure is defined by the interval between The Caoadiara * a ±™ ai C' 



two lines upon a bar of gun metal. The bar is about 3S inches _,, .. ... „ . »,, T .... , c ,, 



,,"'.. s ... . , , . , • . , ... The proceedings of tne Session of the Institute for the year 



long and 1 inch square; it is supported in a horizontal position .,, , , , ,. , • * , -^ , 



upon eight brass rollers, which are carried by levers so arranged 1853-4, will have commenced before the issue of the December 



that the pressure upon the eight rollers are necessarily equal, number of the Canadian Journal. We therefore proceed to 

 I 



