(b) Miscellaneous.

50 cu. ft. square timber make 1 ton,

40 cu. ft. space

66

1 ton, ship's capacity.

(In China and India 50 cu. ft. In Portugal,

73.3 cu. ft. In France, 50.84

cu. ft. In Hamburg,

The U. S. unit is the gallon wine measure, holding 231 cu. in., equal to the volume of about 8 lbs. of water. The Imperial Standard Gallon of England holds 277.274 cu. in., equal to the volume of 10 lbs. of water. To reduce English gallons, etc., to the U. S. standard, multiply by 1.2. To reduce U. S. gallons to the English standard, divide by 1.2.

Other denominations employed are the barrel (bbl.), varying from 31 to 36 gals.; the hogshead (hhd.), varying from 50 gals. to more than 100 gals.; the pipe or butt, which is 2 hhds.; and the tun, which is 2 butts. The tierce contains 42 gals. of ale, beer, or milk. 36 gals. make 1 bbl., and 54 gals. make 1 hhd. Usually these terms are nanes of casks and express no definite measure. They are gauged and have their capacities in gals. marked upon them.

As the gallon contains 231 in., the factors of which are 3, 7, and 11, a box 3 in. long, 7 in. wide, and 11 in. high will contain a gallon. To multiply or divide any of these dimensions will multiply or divide the capacity. A box 1 ft. long, 7 in. wide, and 11 in. high will contain 4 gals. A box 3 in. wide, 7 in. long, and 51⁄2 in. high will contain 2 qts.

(d) Apothecaries' Measure.

Here the assumed unit is the minim, a drop of pure water, weighing .95 grain.

TABLE.

60 minims (1) make 1 fluid drachm.. f. 3.

8 f. 3

16 f. 3

80

66

1 fluid ounce...

66

66

.f. 3.

1 pint.... ...O (octarius).

1 gallon...Cong. (Congius).

(e) Dry Measure.

The U. S. unit is the bushel, containing 2150.42 cu. in., known as the British Winchester Bushel. It is a hollow cylinder, 18 in. diameter and 8 in. deep, and contains 77.6274 lbs. of distilled water at maximum density. Grain is sold by "stricken measure (the measure stricken with a round roller, straight, and of the same diameter from end to end). But coal, ashes, marl, corn in the ear, fruit, etc., are sold by "heap measure," forming a cone above the measure which must, in the bushel, be 6 in. high. This adds about 9 qts. to the bushel.

For most purposes, the bushel heap measure may be reckoned at 14 bushels stricken measure.

The Imperial Standard Bushel contains 8 Imperial Gallons or 80 lbs. of water, and its capacity is 2218.192 cu. in. To reduce English bushels, etc., to U. S. standard, multiply by 1.0315. To reduce U.S. bushels to English standard, divide by 1.0315.

The chaldron, a heaped measure of coals, contains 36 bu.

2150.4 = .2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 7, hence any combinations of these factors into three will give the dimensions of a box holding a bushel. A few dimensions are appended, with the capacity of each.

"1 pk.

4 × 4 × 4.2 in. 1 qt. 4 × 4 × 2.1 ❝ 1 pt. 4 x 2 x 2.1 ❝pt. 2 × 2 × 2.1 " 1 gi.

8 x 8 x 8.4 It will be noted that the liquid and the dry measures of the same denomination differ in capacity. The number of cu. in. in each is given in the following table:

4. WEIGHT MEASURE.

Long, square, and cubic measures apply only to extension, without regard to the nature of the object whose dimensions are measured. Weight depends upon two conditions; (1) the dimensions of the object, (2) its specific gravity.

Heretofore, our units have been determined by the number of inches (each of the standard yard) which measured them, and the relations of the units of liquid and of dry measure to masses of water of a certain weight were given only as facts worthy of note, but by no means essential.

Our unit of weight must be not only of definite dimensions, but also of definite gravity. If the standard pound were simply a cubic foot, merchants would use a cubic foot of lead in purchasing, and a cubic foot of cork in selling. Consequently the unit should be of some substance, a certain volume of which, under certain conditions, will always have a certain weight. Moreover, the substance should be common, and the conditions easily complied with.

For this purpose, distilled water was chosen, and Parliament determined (see page 67) that the weight of one cubic inch of pure water, weighed in vacuo, with thermometer at 62° Fahrenheit, and barometer at 30°, should be 252.458 grains, of which 5760 should make the Imperial Pound Troy. This is also the U. S. standard of weight.

Troy Weight.

Used to weigh Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones.

The Pearl Carat weighs 8 gr.; the Diamond Carat 3 gr.; the Gold Carat 240 gr., or 4 of a pound. Hence gold 16 carats fine is, or, pure metal.

Technical Variations.

(a) Avoirdupois Weight.

Used to weigh everything but Gold, Silver, and

Ton is sometimes spelled tun, though the latter is properly a liquid measure of about 252 gallons. The ton of 2000 lbs. given above is sometimes called a Short Ton to distinguish it from the Long Ton of 2240 lbs., used in U. S. Customs, in England, and in selling and transporting large quantities of coal.

The Ton of shipping is in the United States estimated at 40 cu. ft. (See page 71.)