Rules for assizing of bread viz. by troy-weight, or sterling, and by avoirdupoids weights : together with the rule of coequality of both weights, and the assize by a standard-weight for white, wheaten, and household loaves, assized by a certain price, rising and lowering, as the price of wheat rises and falls in the market : all three calculated exactly according to the statute Assiza panis 51.H.3. now in force in Ireland.

AN ANSWER TO A PETITION of the Corporation of BAKERS. Presented to the LORD MAYOR, SHERIFFS, COMMONS, and CITIZENS, of the City of Dublin, at Easter Assembly, 1699.

THE Allegations in the said Petition being all imagina∣ry Suppositions needs no Answer. All what they seem to request is, that the City would be pleased to revoke their late grant to Unfree-Bakers, and to allow the Corporation such Pri∣ledges in every respect, as all other Corporations have.

As for the revoking the Act past for the Encouraging the Un∣free Bakers (which they call Foreiners) it cannot consist with the Honour of the City at this juncture of time, that they have been at vast charges to take Houses, and build Ovens, and buy all Utencils, wherein they have spent their Stock; and by their generous care suplied the City with good and wholsom Bread, and prevented the Famishing of many poor People. Had the Cor∣poration

prevented that by Petitioning in time, before the former had set up by virtue of that Act, they had no doubt received all the favour they could justly expect. And if they do Bake, as they say, all good and wholsom Bread, and the Unfree all Currupt, Unsound, and unwholsom Bread, as the former alledges in their Petition, the latter need not be destroyed by Act of Assembly, for they'll de∣stroy themselves, for no body will leave off buying good Bread from the skilful Free Baker, to go to the unskilful Unfree Baker for Cor∣rupt, Unsound and Unwholsom Bread.

They have joyned to their Petition a Paper, the Copy of which followeth.

An exact account of two Barrels of Wheat, Bak't into Houshold Bread, according to the Lord Mayors Assize, by the Grand Jury of the County of the City of Dublin, February the 10th. 1698.

	l.	s.	d.
Two Barrels of Wheat cost 25 s. 6 d. per Barrel	2	11	00
Barm	0	01	00
Baking	0	01	00
Furrs	0	00	10
Salt and Candels	0	00	11
	2	14	9

	l.	s.	d.
Product 46½ Twelve Penny Loaves according to Assize	2	6	6
To ½ Bushel of Bran	0	2	0
	2	8	6
To Loss in Baking	0	6	3
	2	14	9

	C	Q	lb
The Wheat Weigh'd gross	4	1	5
Tole taken out	0	1	4
	4	0	1
Bran weighed	0	2	22
Neat Meal	3	1	7

The above Tryal being made by the Order of the said Grand Jury, by me the day above said.

Vin. Bradston.

Several days before this Tryal, the Exceptions made against it were Printed, and delivered to Sir Michael Mitchel Foreman of that Grand Jury, and to Mr. Thwaits (one of them) who have not Signed the Report, by reasons best known to themselves; and every body who will read the Exceptions against that Tryal, will easily judge of the Fallacy of it, and the Disingenuity of the Bakers.

This Book explains all the Rules for Baking according to the Statute of exactly, that I refer the Reader to it. I shall only an∣swer the Tryers by their very Assize, taking all for granted as to the price, charge, weight of Corn, Bran, &c. and quantity of Bread made of it according to Assize; which was that day 12 Ounces & the Penny Houshold by Avoir-du-poids, the rule of their Assize in this Tryal. According to which the Twelve Penny Loaf ought to weigh 150 Ounces, & the 46 ½ Twelve Penny Loafs 6975 Ounces, or 435 Pound 15 Ounces, by which I must observe first of all, that their Meal being by their Tryal 3 Quintals a Quarter and 7 Pound makes only 371 Pounds, so that it appears that in Barm, Water, and Salt, the weight of the Bread encreases 64 Pound 15 Ounces, which is a great advantage to the Baker.

Should I enlarge on this matter, it would require as many Sheets as are already Printed; and whats done answers them sufficiently. I shall only say that at the same time this Tryal was made, an Un∣free Baker made another after the same manner, and got above 7 s. profit, and would have got much more, had he followed the Rules of Baking according to Assize, that is by first laying apart ⅓ part of best Flower for White, 3 for Wheaten, •• for Houshold, as appears by the following Try••••••.

Example.

They own that their Neat Meal and Barm, &c. produced 46 ½ times 150 Ounces, which is the rule of Assize that day for the Twelve Penny Loaf, and the whole 6975 Ounces. Therefore had they Divided their Meal in Three parts, viz. 2325 Ounces for White, as much for Wheaten, and as much for Houshold, it would have produced as follows.

	l.	s.	d.
2325 Ounces Houshold Bread at 150 Ounces for a Twelve Penny Loaf 15 Loaves ½	0	15	6
2325 Ounces Wheaten, at•• 12 ½ Ounces for a Twelve Penny Loaf 23 ¼ Loaves or	1	3	3
2325 Ounces White, at 75 Ounces for a Twelve Penny Loaf 31 Loaves or	1	11	0
And this had produced in all	3	9	9
And all their Ezpences amounting but to	2	14	9
They had Gained	0	15	0

This is my Private Answer, having received no order about it, their Petition being Rejected.

FINIS.