4^ Dr Skene Keith on the Final Report of' the 
in favour of the brewer. If we next compare the wine gallon 
of Excise!, which contains 231 cubic inches^ or according to the 
dimensions of the 5th of Queen Anne 230.907 inches, the pro- 
posed gallon of 277.3 inches, is almost exactly a fifth part lar- 
ger ; but that wine gallon is not used in the wine or spirit trade, 
though it was meant to give the fair trader an advantage, at a 
time when taxes were less familiarj and less strictly exacted, than 
at present. The gallon used in trade is the Guildhall gallon of 
224 inches, as measured by Mr Flamstead, Dr Halley and others^ 
in 1688. In every view, therefore, the proposed gallon is not a 
mean value between any of our legal gallon measures used in 
commerce. I would further remark, that a gallon measure fill- 
ed with ten Avoirdupois pounds, or 70,000 English Troy 
grains of distilled water at 62°, does not contain 277. 3 cubic 
inches, but only at the rate mentioned in the report, of 252.72 
grains to the inch, 276.98 inches, and if either common water of 
a moderate temperature, or distilled water at 40° of heat were 
used. Would contain only 276.48 cubic inches. There is a dis- 
crepancy between these of ^ in the first case, and of in the 
second, which would not merit any regard, if it existed between 
the proposed standard, and any of the existing national gallon 
measures, but is too much to be allowed between two standards, 
or two w^ys of making or computing the proposed standard, 
which ought exactly to agree with each other. But if it is 
wished, and it certainly is desirable, to establisli a common gal- 
lon for corn, wine, oil, malt-liquor, and ardent spirits, or for 
both liquid and dry measures, instead of adopting one from ten 
Avoirdupois pounds of water, or of 277.3 cubic inches, I hum- 
bly apprehend that this common mean gallon should contain 
270 cubic inches, the bushel derived from it 2160 inches, the 
quarter 10 cubic feet, and the last of cofn 100 such feet. As 
the near correspondence between the bushel of 2150.42 inches 
established for imposing the malt duties, and the above bushel 
of 2160 cubic inches (where the difference is only 9*58 inches 
on the bushel, or only 1.2 on the gallon, or ^l^th part), could 
be easily raised to a perfect coincidence ; as a bushel of 2160 
cubic inches would contain 1250 ounces Avoirdupois of common 
water, and a gallon of 270 inches would contain 156J ounces, 
or 9 pounds 12 ounces and 4 drams Avoirdupois of distilled 
