No. 43. — 1892.] WEIGHTS AND measures. 



195 



always of the same weight, and thus in very remote times it was used in 

 Shangallas, the chief market of Africa, as a standard weight for gold. The 

 beans were afterwards imported into India, and were used for weighing 

 the diamond. The carat is not of the same weight in all countries, for 

 instance : — 



One carat in England and her colonies = 205*4090 milligrams 



Do. 



France 





205-5000 



do. 



Do. 



Vienna 





206-1300 



do. 



Do. 



Berlin 





205-4400 



do. 



Do. 



Frankfort- on-Maine 





205-7700 



do. 



Do. 



Liepzig 





205-0000 



do. 



Do. 



Amsterdam 





205-7000 



do. 



Do. 



Lisbon 





205-7500 



do. 



Do. 



Leghorn 





215-9900 



do. 



Do. 



Florence 





195-2000 



do. 



Do. 



Spain 





205-3930 



do. 



Do. 



Borneo 





105-0000 



do. 



Do. 



Madras 





207-3533 



do. 



72 carats make ... One Cologne oz. 



151 \ carats make ... One English oz. 



The ounce weight is used for weighing small and baroque pearls, coral, 

 peridots, and rough garnets. (Streeter's Precious Stones and Gems, 

 Appendix.) 



6 The following particulars are gleaned from an interesting judgment 

 of Berwick, D. J., in which the judicial value of a kalafiji of gold in the 

 currency of the Island was determined : — 



A kalafiji of gold is an expression commonly used in dowry contracts 

 among Moormen, the term itself being a denomination of weight imported 

 from India. The kalafiji originally represented 72 average grains of wheat. 

 On weighing a sample the 72 grains were ascertained to be 71*5 grains 

 troy. Fixing the weight of a gold sovereign at 123*274 grains and its 

 value at Rs. 10, one kalafiji was found to be worthRs. 5*80. A kalafijiheing 

 equal to 71 -5 grains troy, it follows that there are six seven-tenths (6*713 

 exactly) kalanjis in an ounce troy. In Winslow's Dictionary a kalafiji is 

 stated to be a " jeweller's weight of 12 panavidies. and a panavidie to be 

 a small weight of gold, the ninth of & pagoda" consequently a kalafiji is 

 H pagoda. According to the Times of India Almanac for 1872, p. 83, the 

 pagoda weight is given as 52*56 grains troy. Then the value of a 

 pagoda of gold in Ceylon currency, according to the above computation, 

 would be Rs. 4*26. The difference between the result of reckoning the 

 kalafiji with reference to the pagoda weight and with reference to the 

 weight of so many grains of wheat is only 2 per cent. There is a wonderful 

 approximation between a grain of wheat and a grain troy, the experiment 

 showing them to be practically identical. (D. C. Colombo, 62.515. 

 Vanderstraateri's Reports, 1869-71, appendix C, pp. 36-38.) 



7 Cf . Tamil dry measure : — 



5 sevidu = alakku 

 2 alakku = ulakku 

 4 ulakku = nali 



4 nali = kuruni 

 4 kuruni = tuni 

 3 tuni = kulam 



