APPENDIX MEASURES 1. A Measure is a standard unit, established by law or custom, by which quantity, as extent, dimension, capacity, amount, or value is measured or estimated. Thus, the standard unit of Measures of Extension is the yard; of Liquid Measure, the wine gallon; of Dry Measure, the Winchester bushel; of Weight, the Troy pound, etc. Hence the length of a piece of cloth is ascertained by applying the yard measure; the capacity of a cask, by the use of the gallon measure; of a bin, by the use of the bushel measure; the weight of a body, by the pound weight, etc. 2. Measures may be classified into six kinds : 1. Extension. 2. Capacity. 3. Weight. 4. Time. 5. Angles or Arcs. MEASURES OF EXTENSION. 3. Extension has length, breadth, and thickness. 4. A Line has length only. 5. A Surface or Area has length and breadth. 6. A Solid has length, breadth, and thickness. 7. Linear Measure, also called Long Measure is used in measuring lines and distances. 8. Cloth Measure is practically out of use. In measuring goods sold by the yard, the yard is divided into halves, fourths, eighths, and sixteenths. At U. S. Custom-Houses, in estimating duties, the yard is divided 1. The nautical mile (or knot) is the same as the geographical mile, and is used in measuring the speed of vessels. 2. The geographical mile is of or of the distance round the center of the earth. It is a small fraction more than 1.15 statute miles. 3. The length of a degree of latitude varies, being 68.72 miles at the equator, 68.9 to 69.05 miles in middle latitudes, and 69.30 to 69.34 miles in the polar regions. The mean or average length, 69.16, is the standard recently adopted by the U. S. Coast Survey. A degree of longitude is greatest at the equator, where it is 69.16 miles, and it gradually decreases toward the poles, where it is 0. 12. Surveyors' Linear Measure is used by land surveyors in measuring roads and boundaries of land. 1. A Gunter's Chain is the unit of measure, and is 4 rods, or 66 feet long, and consists of 100 links. 2. Engineers commonly use a chain or measuring tape, 100 feet long, each foot divided into tenths. 3. Measurements are recorded in chains and hundrediḥs. SURFACE OR SQUARE MEASURE. 14. Surface or Square Measure is used in computing areas or surfaces; as of land, boards, painting, plastering, paving, etc. TABLE. 144 Square Inches (sq. in.) = 1 Square Foot sq. ft. sq. yd. = 1 Square Yard = 1 Acre. = 1 Square Mile sq. yd. 8q. ft. sq. rd.; P. sq. mi. sq. in. 4014489600 8q. rd. 3097600 = 27878400 160 = 6272640 15. Artificers estimate their work as follows: By the square foot; as in glazing, stone-cutting, etc. By the square yard, or by the square of 100 square feet; as in plastering, flooring, roofing, paving, etc. One thousand shingles, averaging 4 in. wide, and laid 5 in. to the weather, are estimated to be a square. 16. Surveyors' Square Measure is used by surveyors in computing the area or contents of land. 2. Government lands are divided into Townships, by parallels and meridians, each containing 36 square miles or Sections. Each section contains 640 acres (1 sq. mile), and is subdivided into half-sections, quarter-sections, etc. 3. Measurements of land are commonly recorded in square miles, acres, and hundredths of an acre, The rood is no longer used. CUBIC OR SOLID MEASURE. 17. Cubic or Solid Measure is used in computing the contents of solids; as timber, wood, stone, boxes of goods, the capacity of rooms, etc. TABLE. 1728 Cubic In. (cu. in.)=1 Cubic Ft., cu. ft. 1 cu. yd.= {46656 cu. in. 27 cu.ft. 27 Cubic Ft. =1 Cubic Yd., cu. yd. 1. A Register Ton, used in measuring the entire internal capacity or tonnage of vessels, is 100 cubic feet. 2. A Shipping Ton, used in measuring cargoes, is 40 cubic feet in the U. S., and in England 42 cubic feet. |