fl 1 3 0 50 3 7 MEN A ND M EA SU R ES A HISTORY O F W E IG H TS AND M EASU RE S ANCI ENT AND M O D ERN W CH L F SO . S . ED A RD N I O N , C . - S U RG E O N L IEU T . C OL ONE L ARM Y M E D IC AL DE PA RTM E NT A U T H O R ox? A M A NU AL or IND IA N O PH IOL OG Y “ ’ ‘ ' ' TH E ST ORY or ov a wmcur s A ND mzA suax s rno unzro DE Pnouv to Erc. LONDON S E O 1 W C . MITH, LDER , 5 ATERLOO PLACE 1 9 1 2 P R E FA C E THIS history is the development of a short story of the Imperial System of Weights and Measures pub E R RA TA . A ND EA U RE M S S. P R E FA C E THIS history is the development of a short story of the Imperial System of Weights and Measures pub lished eleven years ago , but withdrawn when this all fuller work took shape . To have made it at com plete would have required a long lifetime of research s to give and discu s every authority, to trace , even to acknowledge , every source of information would have unduly swollen the volume and slackened the interest i ts of the narrative . I offer it w th all i shortcomings as an attempt to show the metric instincts of man t everywhere and in all ime , to trace the origins and evolution of the main national systems , to explain the apparently arbitrary changes which have affected e them , to show how the anci nt system used by the - English speaking peoples of the world has been able , not only to survive dangerous perturbations in the past , but also to resist the modern revolutionary system which has destroyed so many others less s homogeneous , le s capable of adaptation to circum t s ances . E . N . Feb. 1 9 1 2 . TABL E O F CO NTE NTS CHAPTER I GENE RAL VIEW OF THE EVOLUTION OF MEASURES CHAPTER II THE STORY OF THE CUBITS I The tian comm on or Ol m ic cu it . Egyp y p b The m eri dian mile Gre e k i tin erary m easures The R oman mile The Egyptian royal cubit The greatAssyrian or Persian cubit The Beladi cubit The Bere h or equatorial lan d - mile The Black cubit Comparative len gth s of the fiv e an cien tcubits CHAPTER III THE STORY OF THE TALENTS The Alexan ri I . d an talen t Th e Medim n os N The lesser Alexan drian or Ptolemaic talen t The r 3. G ee k Asiatic talen t The Metretes viii TABLE OF CONTENTS om an w ei ts an d m easures of ca acit 4 . R gh p y The n ew Rom an poun d The l m ic tale n t 5. O y p 6 ree coin - w ei ts . G k gh The ra ic talen t 7 . A b Measures of capacity derive d from Arabic lin ear m easures CHAPTER IV THE INVOLUTION OF LINEAR MEASURES FROM WEIGHTS THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH AND OF THE RHINELAND FOOT 4 - The En glis h foot n The Rh i n elan d foot o The an of arseilles v p M The filiation of the n lis ootof the in elan ootan d of A E g h f , Rh d f , the pan of M arseilles CHAPTER V ENGLISH LINEAR MEASURES n The ar the ootthe in c y d, f , h w Stan dards of th e lin ear measures w The han d A The e ll The rod urlon mile an d lea ue “ , f g, , g CHAPTER VI LAND - MEASURES In trod uction Evolution of ge ome tric lan d - measures The story of E n glish lan d- meas ures Feu dal lan d - m easures Term s u se d in old lan d- measures The yard an d the verge H ow th e rod came to b e 5§ yards H ow the acre cam e to b e 1 60 square rods Custom s of Lancaste r See d - measures of lan d TABLE OF CONTENTS ix CHAPTER VII ENGLISH COMMERCIAL WEIGHTS I Th e stor of Av erde ois . y p P The Impe rial poun d J i n h f Scie n tific an d me icin al i is o s of te pou n ‘ d d v d h The lon un re w ei t - g h d d gh l w e i U Wool an d lead ght Q Trade - un its of weight CHAPTER VIII ENGLISH MEASURES OF CAPACITY Th e old win e - measures The ale - gallon Corn - mea sure The quarter an d the chaldron Coal- m ea sure The Imperial gallon Me dicin al fluid - measures CHAPTER IX THE MINT- POUNDS Th e Sax on or Tower poun d The Troy poun d H ow the av erdepois poun d was of 700 0 grain s The pride an d fall of Troy The assize of bread The disappearan ce of the Troy poun d CHAPTER X THE CUBIC FOOT AND THE TON REGISTER on cor an ce of ca acit w ei tan d measuremen t C d p y , gh , Volume an d weightof water atdifieren ttemperatu res TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER XI SC S AND AND OT , IRISH , WELSH MEASURES WEIGHTS CHAPTER XII MEASURES AND WEIGHTS OF SOME BRITISH DOMINIONS 1 The an n el islan ds . Ch 2 Sout rica a e olon . h Af (C p C y) n ia 3 . I d urm a an d the Straits 4 . B Can a a an d auriti u s 5. d M CHAPTER XIII MEASURES OF VAL UE 1 En lis mon e . g h y uernse curren c 2 . G y y n ian m on e 3. I d y al rr n 4 . Decim cu e cy CHAPTER XIV MEASURES OF TIME The lunar year The compass- card CHAPTER XV MEASURES OF HEAT AND OF DENSITY TABLE OF CONTENTS X1 CHAPTER XVI P AG E THE ELLS CHAPTER XVII FOREIGN LINEAR MEASURES ”Teutonic coun tries n Latin coun tri es u R ussia an d th e East h it s The H ashimi cu - b t i The ale i ik or ars in t H b p h CHAPTER XVIII FOREIGN WEIGHTS Te uton ic systems N East- E uropean systems M editerran ean system s Summ ary Original w eights of the dirhems CHAPTER XIX FOREIGN MEASURES OF CAP ACITY The Teutonic system N The Mediterran ean system Hebrew w eights an d measures of capacity CHAPTER XX THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEANING IN THE NAMES OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Gen eral remarks The nail an d th e clove ; the in ch an d the oun ce Th e caratan d the grain The tun an d the {other TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER XXI THE OLD MEASURE S AND WEIGHTS OF FRANCE The Soutern s stem 1 . h y The Nortern s stem 2 . h y CHAPTER XXII THE METRIC SYSTEM CHAPTER XXIII HOW THE METRIC SYSTEM WORK S IN FRANCE CHAPTER XXIV THE CONFLICT OF THE IMPERIAL AND METRIC SYSTE MS I e n eral iew of th e m rial s t . G v I pe ys em The ro n f 2 . p paga da o th e M e tri c s ystem Th r 3. e eform of th e Metri c system CONVERSION - TABLES OF METRIC AND IMPERIAL MEASURES INDEX M E N A ND M EAS U RES CHAPTER I G ENERAL V I EW THE earliest measures were those of length , and they were derived from the rough - and - ready standard l afforded by the imbs of man . The readiest of these measures were those offered by the length of the forearm , and by parts of the hand ; these formed a natural series of far - reaching importance . These arm - measures were I . The Cubit , the length of the bent forearm from - i fin er- 1 8 1 elbow po nt to g tip , about to 9 inches . 2 . The Span , the length that can be spanned between the thumb - tip and little finger- tip of the outstretched hand . It is nearly half of the cubit , about 9 inches . al 3. The P m , the breadth of the four fingers , one - third of the span , one sixth of the cubit , about 3 inches . fin er- 4 . The Digit or g breadth at about the middle ' oi - f S the middle finger , one twel th of the pan , one - twenty fourth of the cubit inch . 2 MEN AND MEASURES From this division of the cubit into 6 palms and 2 1 2 4 digits , and of its half, the span , into digits , came the division of the day into watches and hours , of the year into months ; came also the consecration 1 2 in stitu of the number in legend , history , and social tions— came in short duodecimalism wherever we fin d it . Add to the above measures the outstretch of the fiv e arms , the fathom , we have the primitive limb lengths . A time came when civilisation required the fixing of a standard cubit .