The Potter journal and news item. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1872-1874, 1873-05-02
" eights and Measures.


raj standards by which to find them.
If found would they be the same as
now"
"The original standards weights
and measures were not formed from
one bash, neither were they all mac e
at one time. Formerly every pro-
vince, and nearly every place of i'm
portance, had its own measures. Few
of these were governed by fixed nat
ural laws; some Of them came into
existence by mere accident or caprice
and could never be recovered with
certainty if lost, while others will be
the same while materials exist and
the laws of nature remain in force.
The troy weight appears to be
the ancient weight of England, hav-
ing existed in the same state from
the time of Edward the Confessor
and avoirdnpois was used then and
for long time before.
by an act Of Parliament in June.
1924, the standard London measures
and weights were declared to be the
standard throughout the realm. This
act, called the act of uniformity, took
effect January /, 1926.
6 The standard brass weight of one
pound troy made in 1853, and in til
custody of the Clerk of the House of
, Commons, should be the genuine
e.andard, GenOminated the imperial
standard troy pound containing $3.50
grains and that 1000 such grains
I should be pound avolrdupois, (mak-
ing $50 grains to the ounce of troy
and 1873 grains to the ounce avoir-
dupois.)
"By comparing the number of
grains it appears that the troy pound
Is less than the avoirdupois in the
proportion of IA to II nearly, but
the troy ounce is greater than the
avoirdupois i'll the proportion of 70
to 72snelrly.
! "The English system Of weights
and measures has been followed in
the United States. The original
1 standards are evidently deemed of
small Importance. An act Of Con-
gress regulating and establishing the
weight Of one pound troy merely
fixed it to be the same as a brass
pound troy weight brought from
London by government minister
in the year 1927.
+ If the standard pound shall be
lost, destroyed or defaced the act
directs that it shall be recovered by
reference to the weight Of a cubic
inch Of water; it having been ascer-
| tanned that a cubic inch Of distilled
water weighed in air by brass weights
at the temperature of $50 (Fahren-
heit) and the barometer at 80 inches,
is equal to 252.458 grains. As the
standard troy pound contains $3.50
such grains, it it therefore established
that the original standard pound may
be at any time recovered by making
another weight to bear the proper
ton just mentioned, to a cubic inch
of water.
The English yard is determined
by the oscillations of a pendulum
at London. The rationale is as fol-
lows: Take n pendulum which will
vibrate once in a second of time in
London on level with the sea, in
vacuum; divide all that part there
of which lies between the axis of
suspension and the centre of oscilla-
ton into 39l.393 equal parts; then
will 10000 of those parts be an i'm
perial inch, twelve whereof make a
foot and thirty six make a yard.
"The standard yard is that dis
tance between the centres of the two
points, the gold studs in the straight
brass rod, now in the charge of the
of the clerk of the House of Com
mons, whereon the words and figures
STANDARD yard, 1860 are engraved ,
which is declared to be the genuine
stand ard, I'd and as expansibility of the
metal would cause some variation in
the length of the rod in different de-
grees Of temperature the Act deter
mines that the brass rod shall be of
the temperature of 62', Fahrenheit.
This measure is to be the only stand
ard whereby all the lineal measures
shall be computed. Thus the foot,