Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1901-12-05
STANDARDS OF MEASURE.
Various Lengths OF the Cubif. Foot
and Inch.

Various Lengths OF the Cubit. Foot
and Inch.
SO far as we know at present, the
standard measuring instrument for
linear measure in Egypt, Persia, Ba-
bylonia, Greece and, in fact, all the
eastern countries, was the cubit, which
was divided in various ways, that or
the Talmud being divided into digits,
or finger breadths, palms and spans,
four digits being equal to one palm or
hand breadth, three palms to one span
and two spans to one cubit.
A great deal of valuable research has
been made by eminent metrologists to
ascertain the length OF the cubit as
used by the various nations who made
1t their standard. We would naturally
imagine that all Cubits were OF one
length, but when we consider that our
own foot measure has varied so much
(nine and one-quarter inches) from Its
present recognized value we should
not be surprised to find that the cubit
varied from 1923 to 25.1 inches In
Egypt. The cubit OF the fourth dynasty
varied from 20.62 to POSI- inches-onIy
about one-tenth of an inch. The divid-
ed plotting scales lying on the drawing
board of the statue OF Gudea equaled
20.S9 inches. The Babylonian cubit
was almost exactly OF the same length
as the Egyptian cubit of the fourth
dynasty, viz, 20.6 and 20.5 inches. The
Persian cubit seems to have been rath-
er short, measuring 1912 inches; but,
according to a recent writer, there is
good evidence of another cubit meas
uring about 25.25 inches.
The cubit Of the Hebrew nation, ac-
cording to a number of investigators,
seems to have been 216 inches, al
though Lieutenant Totten insists, and
Of the Jewish as we'll as the Egyptian
sacred cubit was exactly 25 inches.
There is considerable difficulty in
connecting the links between ancient
and medieval neurology. for no sharp
lines can be drawn. and there Is a Pc
riod OF more than a thousand years
over which the connection Of units OF
measure Is very uncertain. The Belgic
foot was probably carried over to Great
Britain In the tenth century. Its value,
as the foot now measures, was 1922
inches; but it had to come In contact
with the legal foot. which was enforc-
ed by the law as early as the year $50.
Had the Belgic foot Of 1922 inches
been adopted instead Of the legal foot
OF II inches only very small change
would have TO be made to make II one
third OF meter. the meter being about
39.37 inches, and three times the value
of the Belgic foot would be only 90
OF an inch longer than the meter. But
the edict Of King Henry |. had placed
the value OF the foot at II inches, or
one-third Of the legal yard, which, In
turn, was supposed 10 be one-half the
distance between thc tips of the fingers
OF the outstretchcI arms of King Hen.
ry. In the year 1924 \. D., in the reign
OF Edward H., statute was enacted
that made the standard inch equal to
three barleycorns round and dry"
and twelve such inches made one foot.
Who Of us that have lived out our half
century do not remember the old long
measure table which begins with
Three barleycorns make one inchT
/ believe the long measure tables no
more contain this familiar sentence.
There were several values Of the
yard In the interval between King
Henry's time and that of the final
value which was established just Eve
hundred years after what may be call
ed the "barleycorn" statute. There
was the yard and handful, or 40 inch
ell, which was abolished in 1439; the
yard and inch, or 81 inch ell, which was
abolished In 1858: the cloth ell Of IS
inches, which was used until 1900,
and the yard Of Henry VII, which had
q value OF S9.9G3 inches, within thirty
even-thousandths OF the value of the
yard and handful.
But the mechanic arts cried out for
O better standard, one that was not so
variable as the barleycoru, or the
length Of mans arm, and 90 early as
the beginning of the seventeenth CEN
tury most accurate standards Uf the yard,
foot and inch had been graduated upon
metal bars by Abraham Sharp, Rowley.
Sissons. Smeaton. Graham and 9th
ers, all Of whom contributed by their
various methods to very high de-
velopment OF the adopted standard.
Just five hundred years after the
statue Of Edward H. which made the
barleycorn the basis of the ipcb, II was,
by an act OF George ". In 1924 that
legal definition OF the yard was made.
This declared that the yard bar. made
By Bird In 1760. should be the STANDARD
beyond question of doubt -Cassier's
Magazine.