METRIC SYSTEM. 315 
METRIC SYSTEM.* 
METRIC SYSTEM OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES AND TABLES 
FOR THE CONVERSION OF METRIC WEIGHTS AND MEAS- 
URES INTO CUSTOMARY UNITED STATES EQUIVALENTS 
AND THE REVERSE. 
In the metric system the meter is the base of all the weights 
and measures which it employs. 
The meter was intended to be, and is very nearly, one ten- 
millionth part of the distance measured on a meridian of the 
earth from the equator to the pole, and equals about 39.37 
inches or nearly 3 feet 32 inches. 
The meter is the primary unit of length. 
Upon the meter are based the following primary units: the 
square meter, the are, the cubic meter or stere, the liter, and 
the gram. 
The square meter is the unit of measure for small surfaces; 
as the surface of a floor, table, etc. 
The are is the unit of land measure; this is a square whose 
side is 10 meters in length, and which contains 100 square 
meters. 
The cubic meter or stere is the unit of volume; this is a 
cube whose edge is 1 meter in length. 
The liter is the unit of capacity; this is the capacity of a 
cube whose edge is one-tenth of a meter in length. 
The gram is the unit of weight; this is the weight of dis- 
tilled water contained in a cube whose edge is the one-hundredth 
part of a meter; a gram is therefore the one-thousandth part 
of a kilogram, and the one-millionth part of a metric ton. 
* From The American Chamber of Commerce. 
