The Story of Our Weights and Measures. By Edward Nicholson,
(D. Fraser, Liverpool )—This little book is an earnest of a more important work to come, and a very promising earnest too. We have seldom seen so much interesting matter put into so small a compass. And, indeed, the subject abounds with curious facts, bringing its back, by a very short cut, to Nature. All measures, we might say, recall natural objects and actions. Take the word nide. Obviously it is mule (1,000). A thousand what ? Paces, of course, paces being the double step, or eve Roman feet, a Roman foot being 11.649 ire; 1,000 x 5 x 11.619 = 1,618 yards. But what is a 'yard? Probably the average walking-stiek, the handiest measure that could be. Supposing that all the yard measures in the world (including that which-may be seen on the' north wall of Trafalgar tiptoe) we teleet howaeuld it be recovered P " A clock pendulum beating seconds in London, at sea-level, and at the standard temperature, measures 39.1393 from its point of suspension to the centre of gravity of its weight." What is an et/ ? The measure from the el-bow to the finger tip (the same as a cubit, which is that part of the arm on which one reclines). (The Greek nixos is connected with the Sanscrit for arm.") A " carat" is the seed of a locust-pod = 3- i7 grains; the grain (of wheat or barley) being the smallest entity in common use. We must own to a certain satisfaction in finding that Mr. Nicholson does not advocate the introduction of the decimal system. Our own system has its weak point in the hundredweight. We should follow the.example of the Colonies and go back to the 100 lb, a weight still used in some articles, some kinds of fruit, for instance.
Previous page
