Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1901-12-06
STANDARDS or MEASURE.
Various Lengths OF the Cubit, root
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 OF
the Talmud being divided into digfts,
or finger breadths. palms and spans,
four diglts 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
IL 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
(ntne and one-quarter inches) from Its
present recognized value we should
not be surprised to find that the subit
varied from 1923 to PSI inches In
Egypt. The cubit OF the fourth dynasty
varied from 20.62 to POSI- inches-only
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 1872 inches; but,
according to recent writer, there is
good evidence OF another cubit, meas
uring about 1925 inches.
The cubit OF the Hebrew nation, ac-
cordlng to a number OF investigators,
seems to have been PIG inches, al
though Lieutenant TOtten insists, and
seems to have proved. that the value
OF the Jewish as well as the Egyptian
sacred cubit was exactly % inches.
There is considerable difficulty in
connecting the links between ancient
and medieval neurology, for no sharp
lines can be drawn, and there is q 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 I'm the tenth century. It's value,
as the foot now measures, was 1922
Inches; but 1t had to come i'm 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 a very small change
would have to be made to make II one
third OF n meter, the meter being about
S9.37 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 u inches, or
One-third of the legal yard, which, In
turn, was supposed to be one-half the
distance between the tips OF the fingerf
OF the outstretched arms OF King Hen
ry. In the year 1924 A. D., In the reigI
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 inch p
i believe the long measure tables nc
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 five
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 1889; the
yard and inch, or 81 inch ell, which was
abolished in 1853; the cloth ell OF Al
Inches, which was used until 1000
and the yard OF Henry VII. which had
a value OF S9963 inches, within thirty
seven-thousandths OF the value OF the
yard and handful
But the mechanic arts cried out FOL
n better standard, one that was not 81
variable as the barleycorn, or the
| length OF n mans arm, and so early a:
the beginning of the seventeenth cen
fury most accurate standards of theyard
| foot and inch had been graduated upoI
metal bars by Abraham Sharp, Rowley
| Sissons, Smeaton, Graham and 9th
ers, all OF whom contributed by theil
various methods to very high de
velOpment OF the adopted standard.
Just five hundred years after tn,
statue of Edward III. which made tn,
barleycorn the basis of the inch, it was
by an act OF George w. in 1924 that
legal definition of the yard was made
This declared that the yard bar, mad,
by Bird In 1760, should be the STANDARD
beyond question of doubt.-Cassier'
Magazine.