REFORM  IN  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 
37 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  reduction  of  the  attenuations  of  the 
standard  weight  into  the  grain-unit  scale  is  unattended  with  the 
inconvenient  fractions  which  accompany  that  of  the  pound-unit 
scale. 
Moreover,  if  any  quantity  of  Avoirdupois,  Troy  or  Apothe- 
caries' weight  be  reduced  to  grains,  the  figures  which  express 
that  number  of  grains  show  the  number  of  any  denomination  of 
the  grain-unit  standard  contained  in  that  quantity.  Thus,  37 
pounds,  11  ounces,  7  drachms,  2  scruples  and  14  grains  (Apoth.) 
is  equivalent  to  218,874  grains,  either  of  the  Troy,  Apothe- 
caries, Avoirdupois  or  grain-unit  standard.  Now,  this  can  be 
read,  by  the  decimal  arrangement  of  the  grain-unit  scale  : — 2 
stones,  1  pound,  8  ounces,  8  drams,  7.4  scruples ;  or  21  pounds, 
8  ounces,  8  drams,  7.4  scruples ;  or  218  ounces,  8  drams,  7.4 
scruples  ;  or  2,188  drams,  7,4  scruples ;  or  21,887.4  scruples. 
In  order  to  reduce,  as  above,  the  standards  now  employed  to 
the  pound-unit  scale,  when  the  numbers  indicate  a  quantity  of  a 
division  less  than  the  pound  Avoirdupois,  that  quantity  must 
first  be  reduced  to  grains,  and  then  be  converted  into  grains 
of  the  pound-unit  scale,  by  adding  to  each  3-10  of  a  standard 
grain. 
It  is  evident  that,  in  employing  a  decimal  arrangement  of  the 
scale,  the  reduction  of  a  quantity  of  one  division  to  that  of 
another  becomes  a  nullity,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  -figures 
used  to  express  any  quantity  shoiv  the  number  of  any  denomina- 
tion contained  in  that  quantity,  as  shown  by  the  example  given 
above.  • 
Having  shown  why  it  appears  to  me  that  Mr.  Felton  has  over- 
looked the  importance  of  the  standard  grain,  in  pharmacy  and 
medicine,  in  his  desire  not  to  disturb  the  current  of  commercial 
transactions,  and  considered  the  advantages  afforded  by  the 
grain-unit  decimal  scale,  let  us  look  at  the  system  of  Measure 
of  Capacity,  in  his  plan. 
He  takes  one-eighth  of  the  New  York  dry  bushel  for  the  unit 
of  measure ;  this  contains  ten  pounds,  Avoirdupois,  of  distilled 
water  at  60°  F.  This  unit  he  terms  a  gallon — corresponding 
with  the  "stone"  of  the  pound-unit  scale  of  weight.  The  divi- 
sions and  names  in  the  scale  are  as  follows  : 
