New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-04-04
WEIGHTS, MEASURES AND COINS
No. IL.


EoIL
u hos been already remarked that although for the
vwposes Of common he for the use of The mechanic
sad the bsdesms the greatett convenience Is STAINED
by usIng biOsry numbers for the rsa)s between differ
eat eepomipsrObs Of the Same kind Of measure yet
Or the purposes Of computation, 1t has been found
more copvt ni.Dt 70 other rati 3; sod It may be
fsftber tmsk I'd that such variations have obtained
pbsre The particular kind OF measurement involved
ejaculation rather than the direct application of
te,isl measure.
Ahw instances viii sufice In !and.measure, say the
SAblts 40 percbes make rood and roOds aere and
cor vsu. AID legal proposition il simply, 100 peroher
s<ae But though the statute makes the side OF q
square perch TO be ,6i fs+t the eide of square is
Rot 61ed because it equal III feet to the square root
Of - $50, which is sud quantity and cannot be 40
s,rsiely stated in numbers Honce aodsurveyoe
twho use great deal Of computation aud compare
t,v.l, htle acrual measurement 10 their work. have
hing, employed act Of aud ratios Of their
own, easil reduclbIe to the legal measures,
aud very easy and onvenient in calcula
tjop Their uit Of length is the cham, equal
10 kt al ,olct or 81 feet, which N divided into
lOO .aaI p,r,s called i,,ks Of With very little
regard to the pa divisions Of feet and inches As no
eu,c, number 1T CHAINS and Inks make the side of
Azure ,cre the m-asur ement 10 really BY parslelo
srsms, = lepsto Of ten chains and breadth If enc
chain being .qual To a Legal Also, one square
chain ir l-l0tb OF acre; one chain long and ten
hsks wide lis llt0th of acre, and one square link s
l-l00 t00tb Of al And Since the traverse tables
% much used oy surveyorr are calculated, tsone ~D
shmk amOst ctssany to) for distances from to 100
spo N ,iiudes and departures TO Tooth parts of the
nit it is easy TO that compu atoms are much fa
sl,taieo by these ratios.
Another iostance: Civil engineers and suyhtsmer
use the foot very much q uring unit and then
,ssl are eli her tie fovt divided uto tentos huu.
dIedths go or, m. rs commonly, they use the NICK
ss,vio. into entbs hundred BIS for dra wings aid
The ,oot similarly divided for taking dimensions, level
ing &c. Where the inch is used at al it ls mostly az
Me- representative Of the foot In reduced scales o.
Srswingr; the leg ratio Of to II is other~ise smos
asss.d Where earth and stone are measured by en-
su.ers N. content il usually given in cubic yards OF
"a cubic feet psrebes of 2i3 cubic feet hut tnts
h purely result of computation and made to conform
~ popuaJ legal p'escripti. 1.-THE dime, siDns
b,pg alws,s taken aud the computations made in fee,
end tenths. Working mechanics often furnish certain
measures and dimen,ions to draugotsmen or ens
H3e and If course, in feet nobes and eighhs These
mart be reduced by the latter to eet hupdredtbs
N oder 10 be applied 10 their ecales and used theI
compats tions ana wher engineers furnish mechanics
with dms psonr they first reduce them from their
70 mechanics measures These Reductions so
houbleeome that the director Of q very extensive
ment mas been beard to remark that be xas
L. sirous of furnishing al the WITH foot rules d.
vded INTO tenbs and hundrecths inetesd of inches and
ti,bs al excluding rules oivided in the latter mode
altogether rom the premises. He probably thought
tbe pvovdce, Of the men the only bar 10 the ionova
hoD. He sas mst~ken The true of the
OF these divisions rather than teuos IS tOat they
WI adapted 10 the purpose while 1t would be utterly
impossible Tor a NO king mechanic to use tenths with
aay toleIanle facility Inc engineers of tue
foo. ar. sdapteo hi, use, ana the mechanics
tshh, uxb perhaps the adaptation is uo. quite perfect
either easel aud the prescott uouble-one reductions
are less evil, under existing circumstances, than
would be the OF the eng neers DIVISIONS b. the
mesbsIi nc, az rice
One more iIstsrce: Since the beautiful geBeraliys-
ton, or rather discovery Of D,ltcn and lts con6r
melton by the researches of Davy. Berzetus, Dlmss,
L&bg- Farsday and others, chemistry has taken its
place among the exact scieooes, aud consequence
needs the so Of MAJ hsns ics To exp,in its pnocples
a. direct their application. This requires tnat the
quaptai*s with which chemists have to do should be
espresss 10 such form admits Of computation win
hChty, and beoce 10 tneu "eAsuS' NSncn 10 tneu
pnbeapal nooe Of determining quantity, all the do
examinations Of POUNDS. ounces and pennyweighs are
dsisgsroeo; and h Great Britain and the Uoted
S,ai.s The tro, gra,s ine, with Divisions into
tsn,hs and bundredies is used for the purpose Of
sDsyss and l.per weights are chiefly multipes %
Ne grain By Ewes and tens. In Frsoce aud m,st
ctbsI esunee the continent Of Ear pc, and IN the
Ustsd States also to come extent chemists use the
French g,a~s<, with its nuiiples and Subdivisions
D tIa
Theet Instances need but little comment They shsw
plshly enough hat men Of science, and al pefsons
Vie make nsaA sss Il computation prefer and indeed
rsgirs, spsh divisions Of weights and msasu'os %
sss.Spp 10 the basS Of the eompoo anthuetioA note