Elementary arithmetic, with brief notices of its history... by Robert Potts.

WEIGIITS AND MEASURES.

9

testing wheat and wine. A measure which would contain as much
wheat as would be equal in weight to eight gallons of wine, must
contain ten gallons, or be one-fourth larger than the wine measure.v
The London bushel containing 64 pounds of wheat would hold 80
pounds of water. The law of only one measure for wheat and for ale
will require that eight gallons of ale must weigh one-fourth more than
eight gallons of wheat.
In the year 1306 a statute of 33 Edward I. ordains that a foot
shall contain 12 inQhes, and an inch 3 barley-corns t placed end to end,
taken out of the midst of the ear of barley. By another ordinance for
the measure of land, the acre is also declared to contain 160 square
perches, or 16 in length and 10 in breadth, and another statute names
other lengths and breadths of an acre.
In the year 1324, the 17 Edward II., the statute of Edward I. was.
more fully described, in the ordinance for the determination of
measures of length and surface. It was ordained that three barleycorns round and dry, make an inch, twelve inches a foot, three feet
a yard, five yards and a-half a perch, and forty perches in length ancL
four in breadth an acre.
14 Edw. III., 1340, in pursuance of the intent of Magna Charta,
the King's treasurer was directed to cause standards to be made~
and sent into all the counties which were not already provided witlh
them. And in 1350 an order was issued recognising the laws of theGreat Charter, and declaring that every measure of corn shall be,
stricken without heap.
If the measure of wheat was st ruck off level with the rim of the.
measure, the weight became ruled by the measure of capacity; whereas,
before that time the measure of capacity was governed by the weight.
Hence, as the strike bushel contained only 62 pounds, while the oldc
heaped bushel contained 64 pounds, this reduction of the bushel would
reduce the gallon from 280 to 272 cubic inches. And the wine gallon
was increased from 224 to 231 cubic inches.
By the statute 25 Edw. III., on account of great damage and deceit.,
done to the people by a weight called " unceel," an order was issuedthat auncel weight should not be used, but the weights used shouldi
be according to the standard of the Exchequer, and that the beam of
the balance bow not more to one part than to the other. And two.
years after, another statute (after noting that some merchants do buy,.
"avoir de pois,"2 wools and other merchandises by one weight and sell!
1 It is a curious coincidence to find in the Lilavati, the barley-corn employed as a
primary unit of length. " Eight breadths of a barleycorn, or three grains of rice in.
length, make a finger; four times six fingers a forearm or cubit; and other measures
of length are formed from these." The Italians, who received their knowledge ofthe Indian arithmetic from the Arabians, take the origin of their measures from the
barley-corn (grano di orgio), and take four to make a dedo (digitus) or finger; four
dedi a palmo, &c.
2 The first notice of Avoirdupois with merchandise in the English laws, occurs iiI
1335, the 9 Edwd. III., 1 stat., c. 1:-".... ordine est et establi qe touz marchantz alienz et denzeins et touz autres et chescuns de eux de quel estat ou condition
qils soient qi achatre ou vendre voillent blez, vins avoir de pois chares pesson et touzn
autres vivres et vitailles laines drapz mercez marchandises et tote manere dautre.s
choses vendables....." In other statutes, the expression is written aver dz poisand avoir deu pois. The expression avoir du pois may have reference to the weighlt.
by which the mercantile pound exceeded the moneyers' pound, and was never employed in weighing the precious metals, but only in estimating the weight of coarse
and heavy wares and articles of merchandise. In the Latin Commentary on the