
362 Mr. Wilfon on afcertaining the Strength of Spirituous- Liquors. [Nov.: 
in a line with {pirit is 59,943-+-1,663= 
61,606 paris of fandard f{pint, by mea-. 
fure requifite to compound 100 parts of 
the given {pecific gravity. 
Again, the neareft. fpecific gravity in 
the tables to gooco, is in a line with 60°, 
in column 2nd, of pege 91, and is 89970, 
and below meafure, of {pirit, parts, when 
added, amounts to 71,449. 
more accuracy be required, fay as. 
gacc0o :,89970 2: 75,440: 71,4162. 
Qn a farther perufal of your Maga- 
zine, I found the queftion aniwered by 
Mr. J. F——r, according to the formuia 
of Mr. Pouget, who employed, in. his ex- 
periments, a {pint which he had rectified, 
ace ae eee) re en ee 
until ns f{pecifiic gravity at 652% of 
Farht. was, 81990, whereas: the ftandard » 
fpirit of my tabies for fame temperature, 
‘is only 82227; but when raifed to 702 
degrees of heat, it will be equivalent in 
~$pecific gravity to that of M. Pouget (fee 
tables, page 2d.) Hence I conclude, that 
a f{pirit in §. G. 920c0, at the tempera- 
ture of 79£°,by my tables, contains a-mea- 
fure of ftandard {pirit, in proportion té 
the fitrength of Mr. Pouget’s, at 653° of 
heat, and is found in column 2% and and, 
page 67, under index 18¢ S. and W. 
that is roo parts of Mr. Pouget's {pirit, 
and 89 of water, both by weight, com=- 
puted according to the tenth rule of the 
imtroduCiion, page 49, gives 59,370 parts, 
by meatfore, of his {pirit, to compound 
noe of the fpecific gravity given. Endeed 
the meafure of tandard ipirit-at 60S, 
found ‘at the bottom of thefe columns, is 
pretry near that found by computation. 
Onthe fame principles,the proportional 
meafure of Mr. Pouget’s pure fpirit, in a 
brandy-coode, m S..G. is found in page 
87, under index, 159 S. and W. the com-. 
puted meafure, by the rule, is 69,037 
parts per cent. of fpirit. ‘ 
The author of the article /pirituows liquor, 
in the a7th vol. of the Encyclopedia 
Brittanica, appears difappointed, thatthe 
fpecific gravities were -not computed, 
and given in thefe tables for integral 
parts of alcohol or ftandard fpirits, (which 
he has donefor the temperature of 60°). 
However, I preferred the feries, as efia- 
blifhed by the original and very accurate 
author above mentioned, whofe {cientific 
abilities are well. known, and highly merit 
public confidence, to which I ‘had-no 
claim; at janie time [ knew that my 
tables furniihed data for calculating in- 
termediate fpecific- gravities for any 
given proportion of ftandard {pirit per 
cent. The rules contained in the intro- 
duction, are, in my opinion, fuficiently 
However, if 
full to enable any ordinary arithmetician 
to compute tables from: nine, fuitable to 
his weighing boetle, and for any branch of 
the fpirit trade.- | . 
Should the above ax/wer, at this dif+ 
tance of time, be admiffible* into your 
riginal Publication, I alfo anxioufly hope 
that mg tables may foon meet with Te- 
f{pe€table patronage from the public, more 
particularly as they were pubdlifhed with 
the view of making the wature of that ex- 
tenfive branch ot Britifh trade and re~ 
venue, better underftood by all concerned. 
I truft. my attempt to.do a fervice to 
my coumry will meet with your indul- 
gence. I am, refpectfully, 
- Dundee, Your’s, &c. 
O@, 24th, 1797. Joun WILsoNn. 

To the Editor of tbe Monthly Magazine. 
SER, . . . 
i SHOULD be extremeiy obliged to any 
of your learned corre{pondents who will 
favour me, through the medium of your 
ufeful Repofitory, with an account of the 
ovigin‘and eftablifhment’of the weight, 
in common ufe, known by the name of 
Kvoirdiyos. Thave employed fome time 
in the inveftigation of this fabjeét: but 
my oportunities of refearch being few, E 
have not been able to fatisfy myfelf. I 
have found, however, that there 1s only 
one weight eftablifhed by law in England, 
namely, the Tray *5 but that the Avoir- 
dupois is {o far legally confirmed, that 2 
Qtandard of it is kept withthote of the other 
weights and méafures in the Eachequen 5 
but how or when, it was eitablifhed, or 
what is the precife proportion it bears, 
or ought to bear, to the pound troy, I 
have not difcovered. I know that Mr. 
Ward relates the refult of an experi- 
ment made by him about the beginning 
of this century, to have been, that the 
pound avoirdupois contains 69993 grams 
troy. - But I cannot give much credit to 
experiments, however correét, made with 
weights, the divifions of which do not — 
accurately meafure the unit, which I un- 
derftand to be the cafe with the prefent 
ftandards, and which inaccuracy has, 
dowbtlefs, arifen from the great length 
of time, upwards of two centuries, they 
have been ‘in conftant ufe. 
bam, 8c. 
Nov. 5, 1797- Ae 

* The troy weight is alfo the foundation of 
the wine meafure ; but, probably, the ale- 
meafure depends equally. on the avoirdupois 5 
what then is its proper proportion? 
3 TOUR 
i 
} 
€ 
i. 
7. 
pom 
