French Measures

As the French system of weights and measures is the most scientific plan known, and as the commercial connexions of the United States with France are daily increasing, it has been thought proper here to give a short account of that system. weichts and measures are formed, is called the métre, a word derived from the Greek, which signifies measure. It is a lineal measure is equal to 3 feet, 0 inches, 11,44, lines, Paris measure, or 3 feet, 3 inches, 7) English. This unit is divided into ten parts; each tenth, in ten hundreths; each hundreth, in ten thousandths, dc. These divisions, as well as those of all other measures, are infinite. As the standard is to be invariable, something has been sought, from which to make it, which is not variable or subject to any change. The fundamental base of the metre is the quarter of the terrestrial meridian, or the distance from the pole to the equator, which has been divided into ten millions of equal parts, one of which is the length of the metre. All the other measures are formed rom the metre as follows: 2. MEASURE OF CAPACITY. The litre. ‘This is the décimétre, or one-tenth part of a cubic métre; that is, if a vase be made of a cubic form, of a décimétre every way, it would be of the capacity of a litre. This is divided by tenths as the métre. The measures which amount to more than a_ single litre are counted by tens, hundreds, thousands, &c. of litres. 3. MEASURES OF WEIGHTS. The gramme. This is the weight of a cubic centimétre of distilled water at the temperature of zero; that is, if a vase be made of a cubic form, of a hundredth part of a métre every way, and it be filled with distilled water, the weight of that water will be that of the gramme. 4. MEASURES OF SURFACES. The are, used in surveying. This is equal to one hundred square métres. Its divisions are the same as in the preceding measures. 5. MEASURES OF SOLIDITY. The stere used in measuring fire wood. Itis a cubic metre. Its subdivisions are similar to the preceding. The term is used only for measuring fire-wood. For the measure of other things, the term cube métre,; or cubic meétre is used, or the tenth, hundredth, &c. of such a cube. 6. MONEY. The franc. It weighs five grammes. It is made of nine-tenths of silver, and one-tenth of copper. Its tenth part is called a dectme, and its hundredth part a centime. One measure being thus made the standard of all the rest, they must be all equally invariable; but in order to make this certainty perfectly sure, the following precautions have been adopted. As the temperature was found to have an influence on bodies, the term zero, or melting ice, has been selected in making the models or standard of the metre. Distilled water has been chosen to make the standard of the gramme, as being purer and less encumbered with foreign matter, than common water. The temperature having also an influence on a determinate volume of water, that with which the experiments were made, was of the temait of zero, or melting ice. he air, more or less charged with humidity, causes the weight of bodies to vary, the models which represent the weight of the gramme, have therefore been taken in a vacuum. It has already been stated, that the divisions of these measures are all uniform, namely by tens, or decimal fractions, they may therefore be written assuch. Instead of writing, 2 métre and 8 tenths,—2 m. 8. 10 métre and 4 bundredths,—10 m. 04. 7 litres, 1 tenth, and 2 hundredths, —7 lit. 12, &c. Names have been given to each of these divisions of the principal unit; but these names always indicate the value of the fraction, and the unit from which it is derived. To the name of the unit have been prefixed the particles déci, for tenth, centt, for hundredth, and mtlli, for thousandth. ‘They are thus expressed, a décimétre, a décilitre, a decigramme, a décistére, a déciare, a centimetre, a centilitre, a centi-. gramme, &c. The facility with which the divisions of the unit are reduced to’ the same expression, is very apparent; this cannot be done with-any other kind of measures. As it may sometimes be necessary to express great quantities of units, collections have been made of them in tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, &c., to which names, derived from the Greek, have been given; namely, déca, for tens; hecto, for hundreds; kilo, for thousands, and myria, for tens of thousands; they are thus expressed;.a décameétre,a déecalitre, &c.; a hectometre, a hectogramme, &c.; a kilometre, a kilogramme, &c. The following table will facilitate the reduction of these weights and measures into our own. The Metre, is 3.28 feet, or 39.371 in. Are, 1s 1076.441 square feet. Litre, is 61.028 cubic inches. Stéere, 1s 35.317 cubic feet. Gramme, is 15.4441 grains troy, or 5.6481 drams, avoirdupois.