1868. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
30? 
Useful Rules for Measurement. 
I submit for the benefit of readers of the 
American Agriculturist a few rules for ascertaining 
the capacity of vessels, and for the measurement 
of solids of the descriptions named. It is un- 
necessary to state their importance to all who 
tiavc to measure grain and other produce, and 
the necessity of being able to estimate accu- 
rately the capacity of vessels temporarily made, 
as well as those permanently used ; and as it 
is well known that very many of those who are 
passing large quantities of goods of all sorts 
through their hands daily, do not know how to 
ascertain the correctness of the capacity of the 
vessels they are in the habit of using, and may 
therefore unknowingly cheat or be cheated, 
Hie necessity of such a knowledge is evident. 
1— To find the cubical contents of rectangular vessels. 
Rule.— Multiply the length by the width and height. 
Example. — What is the cubical contents of a vessel 30 
inches long, 30 inches wide, and 60 inches high ? 
30X30=900X60=54,000 cubic inches, answer. 
2 — To find the cubical contents of cylindrical vessels. 
Rule. — Multiply the square of the diameter by .7854, 
and the product by the height. 
Example. — What is the cubical contents of a vessel 30 
inches diameter and 60 inches high ? lanswer. 
30X30=900X. "854=706. 86x60=42,411. 6 cubic inches. 
3 — To find the cubical contents of rectangular tapered 
vessels, mathematically called prismoids and frustrnms 
of a pyramid: used for agricultural purposes in weigh- 
hoppers, etc. 
Rule. — To the sum of the area of the two ends add 
four times the area of the middle in a line parallel to the 
ase, and multiply this sum by one-sixth of the perpen- 
dicular height. 
Kxair.ple. — What is the cubical contents of a vessel 60 
inches high, 21 inches square at the top, and 40 inches 
square at the bottom ? 
'20x20= 400, area of top. 
40x40=1000, area of bottom. 
-3X30X30=3600, four times area of middle. lanswer. 
5000x10, (one-sixth of the height,)=56,000, 
4— To find the cubical contents of round tapered ves- 
sels, (fiuslrums of cones.) 
Rule. — To the sum of the square of the diameter of the 
two ends add four times the square of the diameter of the 
middle: multiply this sum by .1309, and the product by 
Hie perpendicular height. 
Example. — What is the cubical contents of a vessel 20 
finches diameter at the top, 40 inches diameter at bottom, 
and 00 inches perpendicular height ? 
20x20= 400, square of top diameter. 
40X40=1600, square of bottom diameter. 
4X30X30X3600, four limes square of middle diameter. 
5600 X .1309=733 . 04x60=43,982. 4, answer. 
In the 3rd and 4th examples, the middle 
diameter or distance across is obtained by add- 
ing the diameter of the top and bottom to- 
gether, and dividing the amount by 2. 
A bushel contains 2150.43 cubic inches, 
1.344 or nearly 14 cubic feet, or 9.31 gallons. 
A gallon contains 231 cubic inches, and there is 
therefore 7.48 or nearly 7* gallons in a cubic 
foot. Hence, dividing the number of cubic 
inches contained in a vessel by 231, we find the 
number of gallons; or, dividing by 2150.42, we 
have the number of bushels it contains. Or if 
the contents of the vessel is given in cubic feet, 
then, by multiplying them by 7.48, (or 7j,) we 
find the number of gallons; dividing by 1.244, 
(or 14,) gives the number of bushels it contains. 
As, however, there are many men who can 
easily do the first four rules in arithmetic, but 
are puzzled at, or altogether unable to work out 
decimals, I subjoin the two following rules by 
which they may find out the number of gallon' , 
ir bushels a vessel contains, without the v 
e of 
decimals. These rules, it will be obsor -, 
only for the calculation of gallons mv' , , ', ■ 
round vessels; for their actual CV>' oical contenls 
they must be worked out by t' ae first fom . ^ 
5 — To find the number of ,, , . , , . 
cylindrical vessel with par' ,, f a, .'° ns and bushels in a 
bushel measure. ' - llel sldes - as - for example, a 
VLB.— p y e S(luare of tne ( i; ame [ er j n inches 
by the height in inches, and divide tlie product by 294 for 
gallons, or by 273$ for bushels. 
Example. — What is the number of gallons and bushels 
contained in a vessel 30 inches diameter and 60 inch, high ? 
30x30=900X60=n4.000H- 294=183=3 gallons, and 
54,000-^2733=19 5-7 bushels, answer. 
6— To find the number of gallons and bushels contained 
in round taper vessels. 
Rule. — To the sum of the square of the diameter of 
the two ends^dd four times the square of the diameter of 
the middle:' multiply this sum by the height, (all in 
inches.) and divide the product by 1704 for gallons, or by 
16,428 for bushels. 
Example.— How many gallons and bushels are con- 
tained in a vessel 20 inches diameter at top, 40 inches 
diameter at bottom, and 60 inches perpendicular height ? 
20X20= 400, square of the top diameter. 
40X40=1600, square of bottom diameter. 
4x30x30=3600, four times square of middle diameter. 
5600x60=33B.OOO— 1764=190i a - gallons, and 
336,000=16428=20 4-9 bushels, answer. 
Although as has been remarked, the 5th 
and 6th rules are to facilitate the calculations 
of Ihe description of vessels named, by those 
who do not understand decimals, it will be ap- 
parent at a glance that they are simple, and use- 
ful to all who have such calculations to make. 
A similarity in the whole of the examples 
given will be observed. This is done to enable 
a comparison to be made in the contents of 
vessels of similar sizes, but of different shapes. 
Schenectady Co., N. Y. Wm. TOSUACH. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
A Clay Soil no Curse. 
How often do farmers whose lands are clayey, 
complain of their hard, stiff soils, so inclined to 
be cold and wet in Spring, baked hard in Sum- 
mer, and tedious to work at all times ! Very 
well, these are bugbears to shiftless farmers, 
but not so to enterprising men. Wet and cold 
in Spring ? Shows they need draining. Baked 
stiff in Summer ? Shows they need manuring 
and diligent working. Tedious to till at all 
times? Yes, very likely, more toilsome than 
sandy land ; but then how much more produc- 
tive and durable. In his " Principles of Agri- 
culture," Thaer says : " Land should be chiefly 
valued according to its consistence ; the greater 
the degree of this quality which it possesses, 
the nearer does it approach to first class laud ; 
but the smaller the proportion of clay, and the 
larger the quantity of sand which enters into 
its composition, the more rapidly does it fall iu 
value." What say Jersey and Long Island 
farmers to that ? What say the Arab farmers 
to the value of their shifting sands ? Are not 
the clay lands of old England the most pro- 
ductive that the world has ever seen ? Clay, if 
not mixed with foreign and noxious ingredients, 
contains in itself elements of fertility. It holds 
the rich deposits of many ages, which only need 
bringing to the influence of air and tillage to 
make them yield their riches to the cultivator. 
Moreover, clay is very retentive of all ma- 
nures applied to it, while saud soon leaches them 
away. How often do we hear the owners of 
sandy farms complain in this wise : " Oh ! it's 
just like putting water into a sieve!" Sandy 
soils are Easier to work, but in the long run 
the cliTyg are usually most productive. Some 
ve, "y interesting results have been achieved by 
dressing sandy soils with clay, the clay seeming 
to add positive fertility, as well as to increase 
its consistency. But iu the question between 
clay and sandy laud, probably all will agree 
that the best soil lies between the two extremes, 
a clayey loam being better for all ordinary pur- 
poses than either pure clay or pure sand. Z. 
[There is no doubt that clay lands, if rightly 
treated, are the best, unless entirely made up of 
tough brick clay. Plants ueed a. bed of fine 
earth for their delicate roots to flourish in. A 
clay soil, well drained and deeply broken, fur- 
nishes this bed. Remove all surplus moisture 
by thorough drainage, then turn up the soil deep 
ly for the action of air and frost, and you havo 
just the kind of land that will bear good crops, 
and last forever. If devoid of sand enough to 
make it friable, a good mixture of muck', ma- 
nure, sod turned under, or other vegetable mat- 
ter, will help to ameliorate it. Were we hunt- 
ing a farm to-day, we should chose a stiff soil, 
investing only a part of the capital iu the soil, 
and using the rest to put it into good condition 
— for the same reason that we would buy one 
good machine rather than two poor ones. — Ed.] 
Pedigree in Plants. 
The general superiority of blooded animals, 
that is, those whose pedigree can be traced 
through families possessing marked and fixed 
points of excellence, is now generally conceded. 
It is acknowledged that an equal number of the 
Durhams, Devons, and Herefords, among cat- 
tle, of Merinoes, Southdowns, and Cotswolds, 
among sheep, etc., will, as a class, show supe- 
rior qualities to the miscellaneous stock known 
as natives. But the same principle of superi- 
ority from breeding among plants, has not yet 
been as fully recognized. Yet there is abundant 
reason for supposing that the same law is equal- 
ly prevalent in the vegetable as in the animal 
kingdom ; that " like begets like," and that ob- 
servance of this law may be turned to most 
profitable account by cultivators. To some ex- 
tent this is acted upon, in saving the best seeds 
of grain and other products, but it is only re- 
cently that definite experiments have indicated 
how great improvement can be realized by 
proper and continued selection of seed. The 
experimental researches and success of Mr. F. 
F. Hallett, of Brighton, England, have already 
been noticed in the Agriculturist. ' New in- 
terest has been excited in this subject recently 
by a meeting of a large number of the lead- 
ing farmers of England, to inspect his farm 
and witness the progress of his operations. 
From year to year this gentleman has selected, 
not only the best heads of wheat, but the best 
kernels of the finest ears, and used them for 
seed. One of the visitors says, " two or three 
features in the appearance of the wheat fields 
forcibly struck us, namely, the extraordinary 
strength of the stems which enabled them to 
withstand a very severe storm occurring July 
21st, and maintain their upright position ; the 
uniform size of the ear, and the absence of ' uti- 
der-corn' (dwarfed wheat). We counted on 
one stool 42 ears, all of which were of the same 
size and as near as possible, of equal hight." 
In reply to the question, " What was the aver- 
age product of his wheat crop last year ?" Mr. 
Hallett said he should keep far within the lim- 
its of truth in stating that the maximum was 
six quarters (48 bushels per acre), and the mini- 
mum four and-a-half quarters (36 bushels) per 
acre. He also gave three instances which had 
come to his knowledge, of large productiveness 
of the improved wheat, which yielded respec- 
tively, 72 bushels, 62 bushels, and 00 bushels 
per acre.— Now what has been done in Eng- 
land, can be repeated here. No one can fix 
the limits to which productiveness may be 
carried by following out similar experiments. 
May we not hope in a few years to find im- 
proved " breeds " of wheat, of corn, and other 
cereals in this country, as well marked, as are 
the established strains of horses and cattle? 
