,,standard ,,measures ,,of ,,united ,,states1 ,,great ,,britain1 ,,and ,,france4 ,,history ,,and ,,actual ,,comparisons4 ,,with ,,appendix ,,on ,,introduction ,,of ,,the ,m,,tre4 ,,by ,,arthur ,s4 ,c4 ,,wurtele1 ,,ass',t ,,eng41 ,n4 ,y4 ,c4 ,h4 ,r4 ,r4 ,illustration ,e4 ,f4 ,n4 ,,spon1 ,,new ,,york3 #dd ,,murray ,,street4 ,,london3 #af ,,charing ,,cross4 #ahhb4 ,,copyright1 #ahhb1 ,,by ,,arthur ,s4 ,c4 ,,wurtele4 ,,introduction4 ,during the preparation of this investigation of ,standard ,measures a large number of authorities were examined1 including the following3 ,kelly's 8,universal ,cambist10 ,maunder's 8,weights and ,measures10 8,encyclopdia ,britannica10 8,chambers' ,encyclopdia10 ,williams' 8,geodesy10 ,hymer's works1 8,smithsonian ,reports10 8,coast ,survey ,reports10 ,herschel's 8,astronomy10 etc4 ,the only concise and clear statement ,i found was ,j4 ,e4 ,hilgard's report to the ,coast ,survey on standards in #ahgf1 which ,i was gratified to find coincides with my deductions4 ,,arthur ,s4 ,c4 ,,wurtele4 ,,albany1 ,november #bf1 #ahha4 ,,standard ,,measures4 ,a standard measure of length at first sight appears to be very simple--merely a bar of metal of any length1 according to the unit of any country2 and comparisons of different standards do not seem to present any difficulty4 ,but on looking further into the thing1 we find that standards are referred to some natural invariable length1 and we are at once confronted with a mass of scientific reductions giving different values to the same thing1 according to successively improved means of observation4 ,we find1 also1 that comparisons of one standard with another differ1 as given by reductions carried to great apparent exactness4 ,every author appears to assume the right of using his own judgment as to what reduction is to be considered the most exact1 and the result is a very confusing difference in apparently exact figures1 with nothing to show how these differences arise4 ,i have endeavored to indicate what may be the cause of this confusion by giving the figures of actually observed comparisons and reductions2 in a manner1 the roots of the figures used as statements of length4 ,sir ,joseph ,whitworth gives #a_/djjjj of an inch as the smallest length that can be measured with certainty1 with an ultimate possibility of #a_/ajjjjjj of an inch2 but imperceptible variations of temperature affect these infinitesimal lengths to such an extent that he believes the limit can only be reached at a standard temperature of #he ,f41 to avoid the effect of heat of the body4 ,it appears to me that comparisons should be made of double yards and mtres with the old ,french toise1 as the limit of exactness would be thereby doubled4 ,another great defect in statements of relative values is the omission of necessary facts--the material of which the bars or standards are made1 the temperature at which comparison was made1 and the standard temperatures used as to the final reduction1 with the coefficient of expansion adopted4 ,again1 bars of different metals appear in time to sensibly change their relative length4 ,,english ,,standards ,,of ,,length4 ,the first establishment of a uniform standard appears to have been made in #aaja by ,henry ,i41 who is said to have fixed the ulna 7now the yard7 at the length of his arm2 but nothing definite was done till #agcf1 when the ,royal ,society took steps toward securing a general standard1 and in #agdb they had a standard yard made by ,graham from a comparison of various yards and ells of ,henry ,,vii4 and ,elizabeth1 that were kept in the ,exchequer4 ,two copies of the ,royal ,society standard yard were made by ,bird in #ageh for a committee of ,parliament1 one of which was marked 8standard of #ageh10 and the other #agfj4 ,but no exact legal standard was yet established1 as shown by comparisons in #ahjb of the various standard measures in use which ,pictet1 of ,geneva1 made with an accurate scale by ,troughton1 using means exact to the ten thousandth part of an inch1 with the following results at the temperature of #fb ,f43 ,troughton ,scale #cfjjjjj inches4 ,parliamentary ,standard 7#ageh1 ,bird7 #cfjjjbc 8 ,royal ,society 8 7#agfj1 8 7 #ceiiiee 8 8 8 7,graham7 #cfjjacj 8 ,exchequer 8 #ceiiccj 8 ,tower 8 #cfjjdjj 8 ,gen4 ,roy 8 7,trig4 ,survey7 #cfjjjcf 8 ,parliament finally undertook to reform the measures of ,england1 and appointed a commission in #ahah1 under whose authority ,capt4 ,kater compared the standard yards then in use with the following results1 as referred to the ,indian ,survey standard3 ,col4 ,lambton ,standard 7,indian ,survey7 #cfjjjjjj inches4 ,bird's ,standard 7#agfj7 #cfjjjfei 8 ,sir ,geo4 ,schuckburgh's ,standard #cfjjjfdb 8 ,ramsden's ,bar4 ,ordnance ,survey #cfjjcadg 8 ,gen4 ,roy's ,scale #cfjjaecg 8 ,royal ,society ,standard #cfjjbjjg 8 ,the commission reported in favor of adopting ,bird's standard of #agfj1 as it differed so slightly from ,sir ,george ,schuckburgh's standard 7which had been used in deducing the value of the ,french mtre7 that those values could be assumed as correct4 ,they also established the length of the seconds pendulum at level of sea in ,london and in vacuo as #ciacibi inches4 ,the seconds pendulum had been previously fixed by ,wollaston and ,playfair in #ahad as #ciacjdg inches4 ,on this report1 an ,act of ,parliament in #ahbc declared the only standard measure of length for the ,united ,kingdom to be the yard as given by the distance at #cb ,f4 between two points in gold studs on the brass bar1 made by ,bird1 and marked 8,standard of #agfj10 and in the keeping of the ,clerk of the ,house of ,commons2 also it referred this standard yard to the natural standard of a pendulum vibrating seconds of mean solar time at the level of the sea1 in vacuo at ,london and temperature of #cb ,f41 as in the proportion of #cf to #ciacibi2 so that a pendulum #cf inches long ought to make #ijjhhdb vibrations in #bd hours4 ,the ,royal ,society had a copy of the legal standard made by ,bailey in #ahcd2 and in the same year the ,parliamentary standard was destroyed by fire at the burning of the ,houses of ,parliament1 leaving the kingdom again without a legal standard4 ,all attempts made by a commission consisting of ,airy1 ,bailey1 ,herschel1 ,lubbock1 and ,sheepshanks1 to restore the standard by means of the seconds pendulum failed in exactness1 on account of the many conditions of a vibrating pendulum1 and recourse was had to the ,royal ,society standard1 which had been carefully compared by ,captain ,kater in #ahah1 and from this in #ahch ,bailey and ,sheepshanks made six bronze bars1 one inch square1 and #ch inches long1 which in #ahee were legalized by ,act of ,parliament1 and the ,english standard of length defined as follows3 8,that the straight line on distance between the centres of the transverse lines in the two gold plugs on the bronze bar deposited in the ,exchequer shall be the genuine standard yard at the temperature of #fb ,fahrenheit2 and if lost1 it shall be replaced by means of its copies40 ,the ,french metrical system was made legal permissively in #ahfd1 at the length established by ,captain ,kater1 referred to in ,act of ,parliament of #ahbc1 of #a mtre equal to #cicgjgi inches1 or #cbhjhiiaf feet4 ,these are the standards now in use in the ,united ,kingdom4 ,,united ,,states4 ,by the ,constitution of the ,united ,states ,congress is charged with fixing the standard of measures 7,art4 #a1 sec4 #h72 but as no enactment has been made by ,congress1 the standard yard in ,england1 which was legal previous to #aggf in the ,colonies1 is the standard yard of the ,united ,states1 and does not differ with the ,english standard yard4 ,under resolution of ,congress in #ahcj1 ,mr4 ,hassler was employed to examine the standards in use4 ,considerable discrepancies were found1 but the mean of all examined corresponded very nearly with the ,english standard1 and in #ahcb the recommendation of ,mr4 ,hassler was adopted1 and the standard yard defined as the distance between the #bgth and #fc;d inch marks1 at the temperature of #fb ,f41 on the brass scale #hb inches long1 being an exact copy of ,sir ,george ,schuckburgh's standard1 made by ,troughton1 of ,london1 for the ,coast ,survey1 and deposited in the ,office of ,weights and ,measures at ,washington4 ,in #ahcf an ,act of ,congress ordered standards to be sent to each ,governor of a ,state1 and the work was done under direction of ,mr4 ,hassler4 ,in #ahef1 two copies of the ,english standard yard1 as restored after destruction of the original standard by fire in #ahcd1 ,no4 #aa of bronze1 and ,no4 #eg of ,low ,moor wrought iron1 were presented to the ,united ,states by ,airy4 ,the ,united ,states ,troughton standard bar being compared with ,no4 #aa was found to be longer by #jjjjhe inch1 or in proportion of #a to #ajjjjbcgbaf1 about #a inches in a mile1 according to ,report of ,secretary of ,treasury in #aheg4 ,later comparisons made by ,j4 ,e4 ,hilgard1 of the ,coast ,survey1 at the ,british ,standards ,office1 between ,no4 #aa and the standard imperial yard1 give ,no4 #aa as #jjjjjhh inch shorter1 or it would be of standard length at temperature of #fbbe ,f4 ,we may infer that the ,troughton standard is too long by #jjjjgfb inch1 or would be standard length at temperature #eigg ,f4 instead of at #fb by making expansion reduction with ,airy's coefficient for the bronze of the imperial standards1 #jjjjcdb inch per yard for #a ,f4 ,the mtre was made a legal standard permissively in #ahff2 the ,united ,states mtre standard being one of the #ab iron mtre bars made and verified for the ,french ,government in #agii on the adoption of the metrical system1 and brought to ,america by ,mr4 ,hassler in #ahjj1 the relative value being fixed by ,act of ,congress at #cicg inches4 ,the relative value of #cicfhejaed ,united ,states inches1 as obtained by ,mr4 ,hassler1 corrected to #fb ,f41 was used by the ,coast ,survey till #ahfh1 when it was found advisable to use the relative value of #cicgjd as deduced by ,clarke4 ,since #ahjj several standard mtre bars were sent to the ,united ,states by the ,french ,government1 and on comparison1 there appearing to be a slight discrepancy1 the original iron standard mtre bar was sent to ,dr4 ,f4 ,a4 ,p4 ,barnard in ,paris1 and in #ahfg it was compared with the ,french platinum standard1 which is only used once in ten years to verify other standards4 ,a difference was found by this comparison of only #jjjag millimtre or #a_/afjjjj inch1 which being only #a_/ajj of an inch in a mile is inappreciable4 ,,france4 ,the standard of length of the systme ancient was the toise of #f pieds1 divided into #ab pouces of #ab lignes each4 ,the origin of the toise is not known1 but it was probably legally established by ,philip ,le ,bel1 about #acjj1 as he first appears to have taken steps toward a uniform system of measures in ,france4 ,in the #acth century the toise is mentioned by ,ch4 ,le ,rains4 ,in the #adth century ,menongier writes that1 in marching1 the sight should strike the ground #d toises in front4 ,in the fifteenth century ,pereforest brings in the toise1 and in the sixteenth century the ,contume de ,berry says1 8,we use in this country two toises2 one for carpenters of #e pieds and a half1 the other for masons of #f pieds40 ,picard used the toise in his measurement of an arc of meridian from ,malvoisin to ,london in #affi4 ,the meridians measured by the ,academy in #agce to settle the question of the figure of the earth were made by means of two standard toises1 known as the 8,toise du ,nord10 and the 8,toise du ,sud40 ,the first1 used by ,maupertuis1 ,clairault1 and ,le ,monnier1 in ,lapland1 was destroyed by immersion in sea-water1 when their ship was wrecked on the return voyage4 ,the second1 with which ,la ,condamine1 ,bourgner1 and ,godin operated in ,peru1 was the original of the toise ,canivet made in #agfh1 and of the standards used in determining the mtre4 ,the commencement of the move for a scientific standard of length in ,france which resulted in the mtre was in #agij1 when the revolutionary government proposed to ,england the formation of a commission of equal numbers from the ,english ,royal ,society and the ,french ,academy1 for the purpose of fixing the length of the seconds pendulum at latitude #de as the basis of a new system of measures4 ,this proposal was not favorably received1 and the ,academy1 at the request of government1 appointed as a commission ,borda1 ,lagrange1 ,laplace1 ,monge1 and ,condorcet1 to decide whether the seconds pendulum1 the quarter of the equator1 or the quarter of a meridian1 should be used as the natural standard for the new system of measures4 ,they settled on the last as best for the purpose1 and resolved that the ten millionth of the meridian quadrant1 or distance from equator to pole1 measured at sea level1 be taken for basis of the new system1 and be called a mtre4 ,delambre and ,mechin were at once charged with re-measurement of the meridian surveyed in #agci by ,la ,caille and ,cassini1 from ,dunkirk to ,perpignan1 and its extension to ,barcelona4 ,operations were commenced in #agib1 and carried on with great accuracy to completion in #agii2 ,delambre working between ,dunkirk and ,paris1 and ,mechin between ,paris and ,barcelona4 ,the distance measured from ,dunkirk to ,barcelona was #i #dj #bdbd of arc1 or #a1jge1jei mtres1 as reduced to the new standard4 ,the 8toise de ,peru0 was the standard used in the work at a temperature of #ac ,r4 ,two base-lines were measured with ,borda's compensating bars of brass and platinum2 one at ,melun1 near ,paris1 #fjgf toises long1 and the second at ,perpignan1 #fjbh toises long1 and though over #ijj1jjj mtres apart1 the calculated length differed by only #aj pouces4 ,this meridian was afterward1 in #ahjf1 extended by ,gen4 ,roy to ,greenwich1 on the north1 and by ,biot and ,arago to ,formentera1 on the south4 ,the results1 as given by ,laplace in centesimal degrees and mtres1 are as follows3 ,greenwich #egaigec #j mtres4 ,pantheon1 ,paris #edbgdca #bib1gaic 8 ,formentera #dbifagh #a1dbc1fcfa 8 ,the middle of the arc being #ejjgifee ,cent41 or #de #d #ahjhbb ,sexa41 and the middle degree centesimal being very nearly #ajj1jjj mtres4 ,the determination of the final result of these geodetic measurements was referred to a committee of #bj members2 #i named by the ,french ,government1 and the others by the governments of ,holland1 ,savoy1 ,denmark1 ,spain1 ,tuscany1 and of the ,cisalpine1 ,ligurian1 and ,swiss republics1 on the invitation of ,france4 ,this committee established the meridian quadrant at #e1acj1gdj toises2 making the mtre #jeacjgd of the toise1 or #cfidac pouces1 or #ddcbif lignes1 and the toise #aidijcfei mtres4 ,iron standard mtre bars1 #ab in number were made by ,borda1 also #b of platinum and #d standard toise bars4 ,the #ab standard iron mtre bars were sent to different countries1 after being verified by the ,french ,government1 and on the #b;d of ,november1 #ahja1 the mtrical systme was legalized by ,france1 and the standard unit of length declared to be the ten millionth part of a meridian quadrant of the earth1 as defined by the distance at a temperature of #j ,centigrade 7#cb ,f47 between two points on a platinum bar in the keeping of the ,academy of ,science at ,paris4 ,this standard bar is used only once every ten years for exact comparisons1 as stated by ,dr4 ,f4 ,a4 ,p4 ,barnard4 ,about #ahcg ,bessel1 by a combination of #aa measured arcs of meridian1 deduced the quadrant of meridian as #e1aca1agiha toises instead of #e1acj1gdj toises1 as fixed by law4 ,this would make to quadrant #aj1jjj1efebgh legal mtres1 or would increase the mtre length from #ddcbif lignes to #ddcccd lignes1 agreeing very nearly with result obtained by ,airy in #ahcj1 from a combination of #ac measured arcs4 ,the following are the measured arcs used by ,bessel and ,airy2 the combinations being indicated by initial letters1 ,a and ,b4 ,measurer4 ,mid4 ,lat4 ,arc4 ,length4 ,b4--,svanberg1 ,sweden #ff #bj #ajj #a #cg #aif #eic1bgg feet ,a4--,maupertuis1 ,sweden #ff #ai #cgj #j #eg #cjd #cea1hcb 8 ,a4--,struve1 ,russia #eh #ag #cgj #c #ce #eb #a1cji1gdb 8 ,b4--,struve and ,tenner1 ,russia #ef #c #eee #h #b #bhi #b1icg1dci 8 ,b4--,bessel and ,bayer1 ,prussia #ed #eh #bfj #a #cj #bij #eea1jgc 8 ,b4--,schumacher1 ,denmark #ed #h #acg #a #ca #ecc #eei1aba 8 ,a1 ,b4--,ganss1 ,hanover #eb #cb #aff #b #j #egd #gcf1dbe 8 ,a4--,roy and ,kater1 ,england #eb #ce #dej #c #eg #aca #a1ddb1iec 8 ,b4-- 8 8 8 #eb #b #aij #b #ej #bce #a1jcf1dji 8 ,a4--,lacaille and ,cassini1 ,france #df #eb #bj #h #bj #jc #c1jdj1fje 8 ,a1 ,b4--,delambre and ,mechin1 ,france #dd #ea #be #ab #bb #abg #d1eji1hcb 8 ,a4--,boscovich1 ,rome #db #ei #j #b #i #dgj #ghg1iai 8 ,a4--,mason and ,dixon1 ,america #ci #ab #j #a #bh #dej #ech1ajj 8 ,a1 ,b4--,lambton1 ,india #af #h #bae #ae #eg #djg #e1gid1eih 8 ,a1 ,b4--,lambton and ,everest1 ,india #ab #cb #bjh #a #cd #efd #egd1cah 8 ,a1 ,b4--,lacondamine1 ,peru - #a #ca #jd #c #g #ce #a1aca1jej 8 ,a4--,lacaille1 ,cape ,good ,hope -#cc #ah #cjj #a #ac #age #dde1ejf 8 ,b4--,maclear1 8 8 -#ce #dc #bjj #c #cd #cdg #a1cja1iic 8 ,a4--,plana and ,cartessi1 ,piedmont -------------- #a #g #caa ------------ ,the following different lengths of the mtre have been obtained3 ,as adopted by ,france1 #ahja #ddcbif lignes4 ,according to ,delambre #ddcbfd 8 8 ,bessel #ddccccid 8 8 ,airy #ddccbchg 8 8 ,clarke #ddccfadf 8 ,from ,peru ,meridian #ddcddj 8 ,the length of a pendulum vibrating #ajj1jjj times in a mean solar day was determined in numerous careful experiments by ,biot1 ,arago1 and ,mathieu1 in mtres of #ddcbif lignes1 as follows3 ,dunkirk #effg lat4 ,cent4 #j above sea #jgdaijgf mtres4 ,paris #edbf 8 #fe 8 #jgdahhgj 8 8 by ,borda #edbf 8 #j 8 #jgdafbgd 8 ,bordeau #dihb 8 #j 8 #jgdabfae 8 ,formentera #dbif 8 #aif 8 #jgdabjfa 8 ,borda also determined the length of the seconds pendulum at ,paris1 in vacuo3 ,first result #ddjeeie lignes #jiichbfg mtre4 ,second result 8 8 #jiichdfj 8 ,as given by ,ganot 8 8 #jiice 8 ,in #ahab the systme usuelle was established1 of which the unit was one third of the mtre1 with the old name of pied1 and duodecimally divided into pouces and lignes4 ,this system continued in use till #ahdj1 when it was abolished by law1 and the names of pied1 pouce1 and ligne forbidden under penalties4 ,so the mtre1 decimally divided1 remains the only legal measure of length in ,france4 ,,comparisons ,,of ,,united ,,states ,,and ,,english ,,standards4 ,in #ahcb1 under resolution of ,congress1 ,mr4 ,hassler compared the different standard yards in ,america1 with the following results1 using the yard between the twenty-seventh and sixty-third inches on the scale made of bronze by ,troughton1 of ,london1 for the ,united ,states ,coast ,survey1 as the reference1 that being identical with ,sir ,george ,schuckburg's standard3 ,troughton ,scale1 mid4 yard #cfjjjjjjj inches4 8 8 between platinum points #ceiihigeh 8 ,jones yard in ,state ,department #ceiiijbhe 8 ,iron yard in ,engineer ,department #ceiihggfj 8 ,brass yard1 ,albany1 ,sec4 of ,state #cfjjjbdfe 8 ,gilbert yard1 ,university of ,virginia #ceiiebcah 8 ,in #ahef the ,troughton standard bronze scale was compared with the bronze standard yard ,no4 #aa1 which was sent over by ,airy as a copy of the ,english imperial standard1 as restored after destruction of the original standard by fire in #ahcd1 and the ,united ,states standard was found to be longer by #jjjjhe inch4 ,later comparisons by ,j4 ,e4 ,hilgard1 of the ,coast ,survey1 of the bronze standard ,no4 #aa with the imperial standard yard1 at the ,british ,standards ,office1 gave ,no4 #aa as #jjjjjhh shorter than the imperial standard4 ,hassler's reduction of the mtre1 as deduced by ,beach at #fb ,f41 #cicfhejaed1 compared with the ,english reduction of the mtre1 #cicgjgi inches1 gives an excess to the ,united ,states ,standard of #jjjbjbi inch4 ,the following reductions have been given for the ,united ,states yard in ,english inches3 ,report of ,sec4 of ,treas41 #aheg #cfjjjhg #ajjjjbdaf ,chambers' ,encyclopdia1 #ahgb #cfjjjhg 8 8 8 #cfjjbjhib #ajjjjehjccd ,trautwine #cfjjbjhid #ajjjjehjch ,mathewson1 ,u4 ,s4 surveyor #cfjjbjhidd #ajjjjehjd ,hassler and ,beach #cfjjbjib #ajjjjehaa ,j4 ,e4 ,hilgard1 ,coast ,survey #cfjjjgf #ajjjjba ,to ,mr4 ,hassler's reduction the name of ,united ,states inch has been applied2 but his reduction is not correct1 as he used a rate of expansion for brass deduced by himself of #jjjjcghc inch in one yard for #a ,f41 and later experiments show that the smaller rate of #jjjjcdb1 deduced by ,airy1 is more correct4 ,by correcting ,hassler's reduction with the later rate of expansion1 ,j4 ,e4 ,hilgard shows that the difference would be very small1 or only #cfjjjbbhf #ajjjjjfce1 or about of an inch in a mile4 ,in ,coast ,survey report for #ahgf1 ,j4 ,e4 ,hilgard calls attention to another difficulty in the matter of extreme accuracy1 in the uncertainty with regard to the permanence in the length of a bar1 and states that the bronze standard bar ,no4 #aa and the ,low ,moor iron standard bar ,no4 #eg1 presented to the ,united ,states by ,great ,britain1 are found to have changed their relative length by #jjjjbe inch in #be years2 the bronze bar being now relatively shorter by that amount4 ,this subject1 he states1 is undergoing further investigation4 ,,comparison ,,of ,,united ,,states ,,and ,,french ,,standards4 ,in #ahag ,mr4 ,hassler examined the ,french standards in ,america1 for the ,coast ,survey1 using the ,troughton bronze standard scale1 which is identical with ,sir ,george ,schuckburg's standard1 as the reference1 with the following results1 all being reduced to temperature of #cb ,f4 ,original ,iron ,mtre1 #agii #cichajbbgjh inches4 ,lenoir ,iron ,mtre1 ,coast ,survey #cicgigbjae 8 8 ,brass 8 8 #cichjbdgigb 8 8 8 8 ,eng4 ,dept4 #cichjebgci 8 ,canivet ,iron ,toise1 #agfh #gfgdccddgb 8 ,lenoir 8 8 #gfgdaibgaj 8 ,in #ahad ,troughton had compared with his own scale in ,london two of the above4 ,lenoir ,iron ,mtre1 ,c4 ,s4 #cichjbejf inches4 8 ,brass 8 8 #cichjcccc 8 ,in #ahcb1 under resolution of ,congress1 ,hassler again compared the ,french standards in the ,united ,states1 using as before the ,troughton scale1 and reducing all to temperature of #cb ,f4 as follows3 ,original ,iron ,mtre1 #agii #cichjhfdc inches4 ,lenoir 8 8 ,c4 ,s4 #cicgiiabj 8 8 ,brass ,mtre ,c4 ,s4 #cichjddg 8 8 8 ,eng4 ,dept4 #cichjagad 8 8 8 8 in #ahbi #cichjgjie 8 ,fortin 8 ,state ,dept4 #cicgifjhd 8 8 ,treas4 8 #cicgieihc 8 ,iron ,mtre 8 8 #cichjghbg 8 ,gilbert 8 ,univ4 of ,virg4 #cicfedjh 8 ,platinum ,mtre #cichjcbgh 8 8 7,nicollet7 #cichjeaa 8 ,canivet ,iron ,toise1 #agfh #gfgdbijeaa 8 ,lenoir 8 #agii #gfgdjdgeii 8 ,from the mean of his comparisons between the ,united ,states brass ,troughton standard yard and the authentic ,french standard mtres used by the ,coast ,survey1 ,hassler1 in #ahcb1 deduced the value of the mtre at #cichjiagb inches1 at #cb ,f41 and by correction for expansion to ,united ,states standard temperature of #fb ,f41 he made the mtre at #cb equal to #cicfhejaed inches at #fb ,f4 ,the ,british imperial standard and the ,united ,states ,troughton standard differ by only #jjjjgfb inch1 which applied to the ,english reduction of #cicgjgi1 would give #cicfiif as the relative value according to ,troughton standard4 ,the difference between these reductions is probably to be attributed to the use of different rates of expansion1 in correcting for standard temperatures1 which vary considerably1 according to high authority as follows for brass at #a ,f4 ,whitworth1 #ahgf #jjjjjjief #jjjjcddaf in4 per yard4 ,borda1 #agii #jjjjjjiiac #jjjjcefhg 8 ,smeaton1 #agej #jjjjjajdag #jjjjcgeja 8 ,hassler #jjjjjajejh #jjjjcghc 8 ,ramsden1 #agfj #jjjjjajeaf #jjjjcghf 8 ,faraday1 #ahcj #jjjjjajei #jjjjchabd 8 ,and for the bronze of which the ,british imperial standards are made3 ,airy and ,sheepshanks #jjjjjjie #jjjjcdb in4 per yard4 ,fizeau #jjjjjjige #jjjjcea 8 ,the correction at ,ramsden's rate is nearly identical with ,hassler's1 and gives #cicfhdicc2 at ,whitworth's rate it would give #cicfifb1 very nearly the same as deduced from the difference between the ,british ,imperial standard and the ,united ,states ,troughton standard4 ,the results of ,sir ,joseph ,whitworth were obtained by use of all late improvements for scientific precision1 and they must be accepted as most reliable4 ,it would appear preferable to give comparisons at the same temperature in connection with the corrected result1 so that international comparisons of scientific measurements may not be vitiated by accidental variations4 ,,comparison ,,of ,,english ,,and ,,french ,,standards4 ,when the mtre standard was established in ,france1 #agii1 it was compared with ,sir ,george ,schuckburg's standard yard by ,captain ,kater4 ,the quadrant of #aj1jjj1jjj mtres1 or #e1acj1gdj toises1 was determined to be #cb1hjh1iib ,english feet1 giving the mtre equal to #cbhjhiib ,english feet1 or #cicgjgi inches1 and the toise equal to #fcideibeiba ,english feet4 ,in #ahad ,wollaston and ,playfair1 by comparison with the platinum mtre standard at #ee ,f41 deduced the mtre as equal to #cichbh ,english inches4 ,during the geodetic operations of ,general ,roy in #ahjb1 who used #fj ,f4 as standard temperature1 ,pictet's comparisons1 using means capable of measuring the #aj1jjjth part of an inch1 gave the mtre standard1 which is used at #cb ,f4 as standard temperature1 at #cichbh ,english inches2 this corrected for temperature by ,dr4 ,young1 gave #cicga ,english inches at #fb ,f42 which result was confirmed by ,bird1 ,maskelyne and ,laudale4 ,in #ahbc1 by ,act of ,parliament on report of committee1 the mtre is fixed as #cicgjgi ,english inches4 ,in #ahjj the ,royal ,society1 by comparison with two toise standards sent by ,lalande to ,maskelyne1 deduced the mtre as #cicgjb ,english inches4 ,later comparisons by ,clarke in the ,ordnance ,survey ,office at ,southampton1 in #ahff1 give the mtre as #cicgjdc inches4 ,the ,french ,academy of ,sciences by comparison with ,sir ,george ,schuckburg's standard at temperature of #cb ,f41 deduced the mtre as #cichbd ,english inches1 which reduced to standard temperature of #fb ,f41 would be #cicgaa1 or slightly in excess of the value deduced by ,dr4 ,young from ,pictet's comparisons4 ,the legal value in ,england is one mtre equal to #cicgjgi1 and the latest reduction is #cicgjdc inches by ,clarke in #ahff1 which is probably the most exact reduction4 ,,different ,,reductions ,,of ,,the ,,french ,,toise ,,into ,,english ,,feet4 ,captain ,kater1 #agii #fcideibeiba feet4 ,hassler1 #ahcb #fcieadji 8 ,chambers' ,encyclopdia #fcidef 8 8 ,mathematics #fcidffb 8 ,wallace #fcidfb 8 ,nystrom #fcifbe 8 ,alexander #fcidce 8 ,dana #fcidf 8 ,the following table of reductions as used shows clearly how great a confusion exists in the matter of comparisons3 ,m,,tre ,,in ,,inches4 ,phnixville ,hand-book #cicfh inches4 ,hassler #cicfhejaed 8 8 #cicgjghh 8 8 #cichjiagb 8 ,trautwine #cicfheje 8 8 #cicgjgi 8 ,silliman #cicfheje 8 8 #cicgjgi 8 ,chambers' ,encyclopdia #cicfhejece 8 8 8 #cicgjgijd 8 ,act of ,united ,states ,congress1 #ahff #cicg 8 ,smithsonian ,report #cicg 8 ,youmans #cicg 8 ,davies #cicg 8 ,homan's ,encyclopdia #cicgjjh 8 ,weale #cicgjb 8 ,ordnance ,survey 7,england1 #ahff7 #cicgjdc 8 ,clerk ,maxwell #cicgjdc 8 ,capt4 ,clarke #cicgjdcaf 8 ,j4 ,m4 ,rankine 7#ahgj7 #cicgjdcaf 8 8 7#ahff7 #cicgjgijd 8 ,alexander 7weights and measures7 #cicgjfh 8 ,ganot #cicgjghh 8 ,vose #cicgjghh 8 ,act of ,british ,parliament1 #ahbc #cicgjgi 8 ,encyclopdia ,britannica #cicgjgi 8 ,hymer #cicgjgi 8 ,davies and ,peck #cicgjgi 8 ,j4 ,w4 ,clarke #cicgjgi 8 ,dana #cicgjgi 8 ,whittaker #cicgjgi 8 ,sommerville #cicgjgijd 8 ,chambers' ,mathematics #cicgjgijd 8 ,gwilt's ,encyclopdia #cicgjgijd 8 ,gillespie #cicgjgijd 8 ,capt4 ,kater #cicgjh 8 ,appleton's ,encyclopdia #cicgjgi 8 ,van ,nostrand #cicgjh 8 ,d',aubuisson #cicgjh 8 ,johnson 7draftsman7 #cicgjh 8 ,encyclopdia ,americana #cicga 8 ,jameson's ,dictionary #cicga 8 ,herbert's ,encyclopdia #cicga 8 ,popular 8 #cicga 8 ,molesworth #cicga 8 ,dr4 ,young 7#ahjb7 #cicga 8 ,wallace 7engineer7 #cicga 8 ,nystrom #cichjia 8 ,hencke #cichjiagb 8 ,act of ,canadian ,parliament1 #ahgc #cichai 8 ,paris ,academy #cichbd 8 ,,length ,,of ,,the ,,seconds ,,pendulum ,,as ,,given ,,by ,,different ,,writers4 ,,new ,,york4--,hencke #ciajab inches4 ,bartlet #ciaabef 8 ,nystrom #ciajag 8 ,ganot #ciajab 8 ,byrne #ciajaec 8 ,wallace #ciajaec 8 ,,london4--,hencke #ciacijh 8 ,gillespie #ciacibi 8 ,chambers' ,encyclopdia #ciacibi 8 ,williams' ,geodesy #ciacibi 8 ,act of ,parliament1 #ahbc #ciacibi 8 ,wallace 7engineer7 #ciacic 8 ,chambers' ,mathematics #ciacic 8 ,hymer ,astronomy #ciacgcd 8 ,bartlet #ciacijh 8 ,vose #ciacic 8 ,sommerville #ciacic 8 ,nystrom #ciacic 8 ,davies and ,peck #ciacijh 8 ,ganot #ciacih 8 ,wollaston 7#ahad7 #ciacjdg 8 ,galbraith #ciaci 8 ,byrne #ciacic 8 ,capt4 ,kater #ciachbi 8 ,,paris4--,hencke #ciabhdc 8 ,ganot #ciabhe 8 ,galbraith #ciabh 8 ,byrne #ciabhdc 8 ,wallace #ciabhdc 8 ,,appendix4 ,having shown in the preceding pages that in the point of view of scientific accuracy the yard1 mtre1 and toise standards are on a common level1 and that in the matter of comparisons there is no extreme accuracy1 ,i will now refer to the proposed change of our standard from the yard to the mtre4 ,theoretically the mtre is the #aj1jjj1jjjth part of the earth's quadrant1 and the yard the #cf_/ciacibith part of a seconds pendulum at ,london4 ,practically1 neither the mtre nor yard could be recovered with exactness from their natural basis4 ,the legal ,french mtre differs from the latest reduction enough to give an excess of over three miles to the circumference of the earth4 ,in fact1 the mtre and yard are only the lengths of bars of metal kept in certain offices1 from which copies are made4 ,decimally considered1 it is as easy to divide one as the other into tenths1 hundredths1 etc41 and the yard standard is often so divided4 ,as to nomenclature1 the metrical system is overloaded with ,greek and ,latin prefixes1 which are in no way so easy and convenient in expression as the short1 sharp ,anglo-,saxon words yard1 foot1 inch4 ,in all sciences ,latin and ,greek names are given for easier purposes of classification2 but the different peoples invariably keep their own household names for daily purposes1 leaving prefix and affix to specialists1 probably with advantage to both parties4 ,the units used for different purposes are entirely distinct from the base of any system1 and though always referable to such base1 are not practically so referred4 ,it therefore seems useless to burden the people with long scientific names in the ordinary transactions of daily life4 ,for long distances the units in the yard and metrical systems are respectively the mile and the kilomtre4 ,the mile has a definite meaning in our minds1 being associated1 from the days of youth1 with the measured distances in race-courses1 speed in walking1 railway and steamer travel1 length of surveyed lots--the same being in use among about #ajj1jjj1jjj people4 ,for mechanical structures1 the units are respectively the foot and the mtre4 ,the foot is used instead of the yard1 as being the most convenient in practice1 and is fixed in the minds of the people by constant association with length of foot-rules1 size of buildings1 doors1 windows1 etc41 all of which are always before us4 ,for commercial purposes the units are respectively the yard and the mtre4 ,the yard is associated with length of yard-sticks1 distance between brass nails on counters1 so many finger-lengths by ladies4 ,probably three fourths of the business of the world is conducted on the yard standard4 ,for machine and shop work the ,english unit is the inch and fractions1 and countries having the metrical standard have universally adopted the millimtre4 ,the inch is well fixed in the minds of all mechanics by constant use1 and the ease with which the fractions are had by halving only renders the system very convenient4 ,as more figures must be used to indicate a size by millimtres than by inches and fractions1 it appears that the metrical system cannot shorten the work of arithmetical computation in shop work1 and is therefore of no advantage to the mechanic or draftsman1 but rather the reverse4 ,this is the opinion of ,coleman ,sellers1 the distinguished ,philadelphia engineer and manufacturer1 who1 after a trial of the millimtre in his shops for some years1 returned to the use of the inch1 and writes in ,engineering ,news3 8,the loss from the use of a small unit requiring many figures to express what is needed1 takes away from the other advantages of the system when considered from a labor-saving point of view40 ,in ,france itself the metrical system is not wholly decimal in actual practice1 as we find the following measures in use in addition to the decimal divisions3 double decamtre1 demi-decamtre1 double mtre1 demi-mtre1 and double decimtre4 ,the metrical system has been adopted in the following countries3 ,france and colonies1 ,holland and colonies1 ,belgium1 ,spain and colonies1 ,portugal1 ,italy1 ,germany1 ,greece1 ,roumania1 ,british ,india1 ,mexico1 ,new ,granada1 ,ecuador1 ,peru1 ,brazil1 ,uruguay1 ,argentine ,confederacy1 ,chili1 ,venezuela2 and partially in ,wurtemburg1 ,bavaria1 ,baden1 ,hesse1 ,switzerland1 ,denmark1 ,austria1 and ,turkey4 ,in the past centuries all the work and records of ,english-speaking peoples--now numbering about #ajj1jjj1jjj1 and increasing and progressing faster than all other nationalities1 as well as being closely connected by descent and business--have been done and recorded under the yard standard1 and any change now would inevitably render necessary continual reductions1 to the great detriment and inconvenience of the mass of our people1 and with little or no practical benefit1 except perhaps to a small class of scientific and pseudo-scientific men1 who can and do amuse themselves with the fancied uniformity of the mtre4 ,all our numerous text-books and tables1 mechanical and scientific1 would be rendered entirely useless by the change1 and this is a serious final consideration4