EBERLY'S LIST OF 1877 UNIT MEASURESExtracted from Robinson's Progressive Practical Arithmetic for Common Schools and Academies by Daniel W. Fish, A.M., Ivison, Blakeman & Company, NY, (1877), an old math book which gives these units of measure.
Surveyors Square Measure
625 Square Links = 1 Pole abv P.
16 Poles = Square Chain " sq. ch.
10 Square Chains = 1 Acre " A.
640 Acres = 1 Square Mile " sq. mi.
36 Square Miles = 1 Township " Tp.
A square mile of land may also be called a section.
Engineers commonly use a chain, or measuring tape 100 feet long, each
foot divided into tenths. The contents of land are commonly estimated in
square miles, acres, and hundredths; the denomination, rood, is no longer
used.
Surveyor's Long Measure
A Gunter's Chain, used by land surveyors, is 4 rods or 66 feet long, and
consists of 100 links.
7.92 Inches = 1 Link l.
25 Links = 1 Rod rd.
4 Rods, or 66 feet, = 1 Chain ch.
80 Chains = 1 Mile mi.
Rods are seldom used in chain measure, distances being taken in chains
and hundredths.
Coinage (by the Coinage act of 1873)
The Coin of the United States consists of gold, silver, nickel, and bronze.
The Gold Coins are the double-eagle, eagle, half-eagle, quarter-eagle,
three-dollar and one-dollar pieces.
The Silver Coins are the dollar, half-dollar, quarter-dollar, and
twenty-cent, and ten-cent pieces.
The Nickel Coins are the five-cent and three-cent pieces.
The Bronze Coins are the one-cent pieces.
10 Mills (m.) = 1 Cent ct.
10 Cents = 1 Dime d.
10 Dimes = 1 Dollar $.
10 Dollars = 1 Eagle E.
The mill is a denomination used only in computations: it is not a coin.
The trade-dollar is designed solely for commerce and not for currency.
Its weight is 420 grains. The weight of the currency dollar of 1878 is 412
1/2 grains. The character $ is supposed to be a contraction of U. S.
(United States), the U being placed upon the S.
Currency - English
appx. US value
4 Farthings (far.) = 1 Penny d. .0202
12 Pence = 1 Shilling s. .2433
20 Shillings = 1 Pound or Sovereign $4.8665
Currency - Canada
Currency of the whole Dominion of Canada was made uniform July 1, 1871.
Before the adoption of the decimal system, pounds, shillings, and pence
were used.
Weights
Troy Weight is used in weighing gold, silver, and jewels, and in
philosophical experiments.
24 Grains (gr.) = 1 Pennyweight pwt.
20 Pennyweights = 1 Ounce oz.
12 Ounces = 1 Pound lb.
Apothecaries Weights
Used by Apothecaries and physicians in compounding dry medicines; but
medicines are bought and sold by Avoirdupois Weight.
20 Grains (gr. xx) = 1 Scruple sc.
3 Scruples = 1 Dram dr.
8 Drams = 1 Ounce oz.
12 Ounces = 1 Pound lb.
Avoirdupois Weight
Avoirdupois Weight is used for all the ordinary purposes of weighing.
16 Ounces = 1 Pound lb.
100 Pounds = 1 Hundred-weight cwt.
20 Cwt. or 2000 lbs. = 1 Ton T.
The long or gross ton, hundred-weight, and quarter were formerly in
common use; but they are now seldom used except in estimating English
goods at the U. S. custom-houses, and in freighting and wholesaling coal
at the mines.
Long Ton Table
16 Ounces = 1 Pound
28 Pounds = 1 Quarter qr.
4 Quarters = 1 Hundred-weight, cwt.
20 Cwt,=2240 lbs= 1 Ton T.
The following denominations are also in use:
100 Pounds of Grain or Flour = 1 Cental
100 " Dry Fish = 1 Quintal
100 " Nails = 1 Keg
196 " Flour = 1 Barrel
200 " Pork or Beef = 1 Barrel
280 " Salt at N.Y.S. = 1 Barrel
56 " Salt at N.Y.S. = 1 Bushel
240 " Lime = 1 Cask
32 " Oats = 1 Bushel
56 " Corn = 1 Bushel
60 " Wheat = 1 Bushel
Linear Measure or Long Measure is used in measuring lines and distances.
12 Inches = 1 Foot
3 Feet = 1 Yard
5 1/2 Yd. or 16 1/2 feet = 1 Rod
320 Rods = 1 Statute Mile
The following denominations are also in use:
3 Barleycorns = 1 Inch -- Used by shoemakers
4 Inches = 1 Hand -- Used to measure horses at the shoulder
6 Feet = 1 Fathom -- Used to measure depths at sea
1.152 2/3 Statute Mi. = 1 Geog. mile -- Used to measure distance at sea
3 Geographic Mi. = 1 League = 3.458 st. mi.
60 Geographic Mi. = 1 Degree -- of latitude or longitude on the equator
360 Degrees = Circumference of the Earth
Cubic Measure, also called Solid Measure, is used in estimating the
contents of solids, or bodies; as timber, wood, stone, etc.
1728 Cubic Inches make 1 Cubic Foot
27 Cubic Feet make 1 Cubic Yard
16 Cubic feet make 1 Cord Foot
8 Cord Feet make 1 Cord of Wood (Cd.)
128 Cubic Feet make 1 Cord of Wood
24 3/4 cubic Feet make 1 Perch of Stone or Masonry (Pch.)
A cubic yard of earth is called a load.
A pile of wood 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high contains 1 cord;
and a cord foot is 1 foot in length of such a pile.
A perch of stone or masonry is 16 1/2 feet long, 1 1/2 feet wide, and
1 foot high.
Liquid Measure, also called Wine Measure is used in measuring liquids; as
liquors, molasses, water, etc.
4 Gills (gi.) = 1 Pint pt.
2 Pints = 1 Quart qt.
4 Quarts = 1 Gallon gal.
31 1/2 Gallons = 1 Barrel bbl.
2 Barrels, or 63 gal. = 1 Hogshead hhd.
The following denominations are also in use:
36 Gallons = 1 Barrel of beer.
54 Gallons or 1 1/2 bbl. = 1 Hogshead of beer.
42 Gallons = 1 Tierce
2 Hogsheads or 120 Gallons = 1 Pipe or Butt
2 Pipes or 4 Hogsheads = 1 Tun
The denominations barrel and hogshead are used in estimating the capacity
of cisterns, reservoirs, vats, etc.
The tierce, hogshead, pipe, butt, and tun are the names of casks and do
not express any fixed or definite measures. They are usually gauged and
have their capacities in gallons marked on them.
Ale or beer measure, formerly used in measuring beer, ale, and milk is
almost entirely discarded.
The U. S. standard unit of liquid measure is the old English wine gallon,
of 231 cubic inches, which is equal to 8.33888 pounds avoirdupois of
distilled water at its maximum density, that is, at the temperature of 39.83
degrees Fahrenheit, the barometer at 30 inches.
The U. S. standard unit of dry measure is the British Winchester bushel,
which is 18 1/2 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep, and contains 2150.42
cubic inches, equal to 77.6274 pounds avoirdupois of distilled water, at
its maximum density. A gallon, dry measure, contains 268.8 cubic inches.
The wine and dry measures of the same denomination are of different
capacities. The exact and the relative size of each may be readily seen by
the following comparative table of measure of capacity.
Cu. in. in Cu. in. in Cu. in. in
one gallon One quart One pint
Wine measure 231 57 3/4 28 7/8
Dry measure 268 4/5 67 1/5 33 3/5
The beer gallon of 282 inches is retained in use only by custom.
A bushel is commonly estimated at 2150.4 cubic inches.
Source: Robinson's Progressive Practical Arithmetic; containing The Theory of Numbers, in connection with concise analytic and synthetic methods of solution, and designed as a complete text-book on this science, for Common Schools and Academies by Daniel W. Fish, A. M. Author of the Table-book, primary and intellectual arithmetic, rudiments, and the "Shorter Course."; Ivison, Blakeman & Company, New York and Chicago; copyright, 1877 by Daniel W. Fish. Incidentally, for those of you among us concerned with the decline in education and its causes, this book consists almost entirely of word problems of a practical nature. For instance, following the above information are these problems:
Barbara Eberly |