or made agreeable wth the aforesajd standards; and the pœnalty of such as neglect or act contrary to this order shall be the same, and disposed of according to the order of this Court made in May, 1680, title Measures. THE PUBLIC STATUTES OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, ENACTED NOVEMBER 19, 1881, TO TAKE EFFECT FEBRUARY 1, 1882. CHAPTER 65 OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. SECTION I. The weights, measures and balances received from the United States and now in the treasury of the Commonwealth, to wit, one-half bushel, one wine gallon, one wine quart, one wine pint, one wine half pint, one yard measure; a set of avoirdupois weights consisting of fifty, twenty-five, twenty, ten, five, four, three, two and one pounds, and from eight ounces down to one drachm; one set of troy weights, from five thousand pennyweights down to half a grain, and from one pound down to the ten-thousandth part of an ounce; and three sets of balances; also the measures caused to be made by the treasurer and now in the treasury, to wit, one of eight quarts, one of four quarts, one of two quarts, and one of one quart, dry measure, shall, except as provided in chapter sixty-six, be the sole authorized public standards of weights and measures. CHAPTER 66 OF THE METRIC SYSTEM Of Weights AND MEASURES. SECTION I. The weights and measures of the metric system. may be employed and used in this Commonwealth, etc., etc. LETTERS. SHARON, PA., February 7, 1885. Dear Sir:-There appears to be a remarkably close relationship between Anglo-Saxon, ancient Hebrew, old Egyptian and Pyramid metrology. The fountain of ancient measures was probably the cubit AMMAH-" mother"-derived from the circumference 1,296,000, of which the radius is 2,062,648. One ten-thousandth of this radius is 20.62648, and one ten-thousandth of one-fourth of the inscribed square is .7292. An old Egyptian cubit in the museum at Turin is 20.611 inches. It is divided into twenty-eight digits; three of them at one end (for some special purpose, probably to indicate the quadrature of the circle) are longer by three inches than any three of the others, which measure .729 inch each. The ancient digit is thus identified with one ten-thousandth of one-fourth of the side of a square inscribed in a circumference of 1,296,000. The Hebrew gold talent was equal to 10,000 Persian darics, and the daric was the thirty-six-hundredth part of the Babylonian talent. A half talent Babylonian, discovered by Mr. Layard at Nineveh, and well preserved, weighs 233,300 grains, giving 466,600 grains for a talent. One thirty-six-hundredth of this is 129.6100 grains, or one daric, equal to a Hebrew shekel. Dr. William Smith says the daric was about 129 grains. I think, therefore, we may safely assume that the standard Hebrew gold talent of 10,000 shekels contained 1,296,000 grains. ' It was a custom of the Hebrews to call their measures by descriptive names. Thus "talent" meant circle, and "gerah" meant a grain. It appears also to have been their custom to express the relative numerical value of a measure by its name, thus sheah, which means a third part, was the name of a measure equal to one-third of the bath. The smallest of Hebrew measures of liquids or grain was the log, about an English half pint. The bath contained seventy-two logs. Other measures were derived from the log or the bath by multiplication or division, thus: A similar division by tenths, halves, thirds and half-thirds, obtained in Hebrew coins. If the exact capacity of the log or the bath were known, the other measures could be determined. The numerical expression for the word BaTh, is B 2, and Th 400, or 2 X 400; omitting the ciphers it becomes 2 X 4 = 8. The numerical expression for the word log is 30 X 3; omitting the cipher it becomes 3 X 3 = 9. But the bath equals 9 X 8 logs. If nine logs equal a standard of reference, the bath must be eight times that standard. According to the Rabbinists and Dr. William Smith's computation, the log contained .c615 imperial gallons (10 pounds or 70,000 grains of water being the capacity of one such gallon) equal to 4,305 grains. Now, a digit being .7292 inch, 10,000 cubic digits are 38,783 inches, and of this is 4,309, which, taken in grains weight of water, is but four grains in excess of the weight of the log as computed by Dr. Smith. I think, therefore, we may reasonably assume that the Hebrews used 10,000 cubic digits, equal to 38,783 cubic inches, as a basal number or standard of reference for their measures of capacity, taking one-ninth of this standard in grains for the log and eight times the standard for the bath. Another method, however, may have been adopted which would give results but slightly different. The coffer in the Great Pyramid contains, below the ledge, 40 cubic feet. Let = 4,000 logs. coffer logs I cubic foot. I 100 I 17.28 inches = .0625 imperial gallons. This is not quite so close to Dr. Smith's computation as we come by means of the digit. The following are the comparative results of the three standards when applied to the cor or homer, which is the largest of Hebrew measures: " " = 44.286 gallons, Rabbinist standard. The difference is so little that it might be difficult to substantiate an indisputable preference for one above the others, nevertheless the comparison affords strong ground for the belief that ancient Hebrew weights and measures not only stood in close mathematical relation to one another, but were coincident with Pyramid metrology. Now, "cor " means 'round," and homer," which is another name for the same measure, means "heap," that is, the two names together signify a round heap. A cone of wheat corn equal to the measure of the cor, has a base diameter of 50+.1 inches, the angle of rest being 37° according to Haswell. If we take as the unit of measure in. sts of the length of a second's pendulum at the Pyramid, the base of the cone is 800, the height is 300 and the sloping side is 500 sixteenths. The proportions of the height, slope and halfbase, 3, 5 and 4 will be recognized as the sides of a commensurable right angle triangle. Grain could be bought and sold by the cor with practical accuracy without a balance or measuring basket, = The facts have been noted touching the numerical relation of Hebrew weights and measures, and the numerical signification of their names may give the key to the entire construction of ancient Hebrew metrology. A thorough investigation of these aspects of the subject by some capable Hebrew scholar would be likely to lead to exceedingly interesting and valuable results. H. G. WOOD. LETTER FROM HON. FREDERICK T. FRELINGHUYSEN. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, January 29, 1885. TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR PRESERVING WEIGHTS AND MEASURes, ClevelaND, OHIO: Sir:-I herewith transmit the enclosed extract from a dispatch from Mr. N. D. Comanos, United States vice consul general at Cairo, No. 2, of the fifth instant, showing the conditions upon which the government of Egypt will grant you authority to explore the pyramids of Ghizeh and the Sphinx. I am, sir, your obedient servant, Enclosure-Extract of dispatch mentioned: FRED'K T. FRELINGHUYSEN. AGENCY AND C. G. OF THE U. S. OF AMERICA, CAIRO, January 5, 1885. HON. F. T. FRELINGHUYSEN: Sir:-It is to be understood that all the objects discovered by the explorer in the course of his excavations should be given up to the Boulac museum; it is further indispensable that he should come to an understanding with the administration of antiquities for the object of deciding upon the limits of ground upon which he desires to dig. The same condition also applies to a depot to be fixed upon, for the purpose of accumulating upon the same the sands and the earth resulting from such excavations, the mass of which will evidently be considerable, for, it is feared, that, unless the advice of the antiquarians be not previously secured, the 'debris" may cover some tomb or important monument. The same necessity is also imposed in leaving intact any portion of ruins, or any part of a wall, even insignificant, which might, notwithstanding its small importance; be the result of the disappearance of ruins belonging to the Greek, Roman and Byzantine epochs. It would, hence, be desirable that the service of antiquities be duly advised and consulted. The Egyptian government trusts that the explorers will thoroughly understand the motives of such reserves, and will, consequently, appreciate their importance so far as the science is concerned, and under these conditions it grants, with great pleasure, the authorization solicited. The minister further adds, in one of his dispatches, under date of twenty-fifth December, 1884, that a decree or a firman is not necessary to permit the gentleman named to start upon the studies which he purports carrying out in Egypt. A simple authorization of the council of ministers will suffice in order to facilitate him in the accomplishment of the mission with which he has been entrusted. And, as soon as this agency will announce to the Egyptian ministry the arrival here of the exploring party, the necessary authorization will duly be transmitted to this office. I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, N. D. COMANOS, U. S. Acting Consul General. LETTER FROM COL. S. M. CHESTER. ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, February 19, 1885. Dear Sir:-In the January number of your excellent magazine I observe that my name is honored by being added to the list of members of the "committee on weights and measures," and from Mr. Clark I learn that the several members of the committee are each assigned to a special department, and that I will probably be expected, at some future time, to report upon units of electric measurement." While I accept with pleasure the appointment, and with full determination to grapple with the duties zealously, I may be permitted to suggest that I conceive that serious practical objections exist to the independent, separate action of several persons, each in a separate department, entrusted with the arrangement and preparation of units of measurement, and terms of expressing the value of many different modes of action, all of which have in fact exact correlations, although the scientific (?) nomenclature of the day affords no sufficient or appropriate terms by which such correlative values can be expressed. The inconvenient, perplexing and illogical nomenclaturę alluded to, has doubtless come into existence by reason of such separate and independent action of scientists in separate departments. The electricians of France, with an amount of self-complacency and assurance equally displayed in the efforts of their compatriots to force upon the world French conceptions of the measurement of physical matter, have invented a system of quite arbitrary terms for expressing the value and condition of electric action. But, it is to be observed, that the several units herein employed have no relation to, nor connection with any of the units employed by themselves or by any other nation in measuring. I desire to explain as clearly as I can my reasons for believing that it is of paramount importance that the members of the committee should work conjointly and not independently in separate paths. Permit me, then, to make a brief resume of what I have before on diverse occasions expressed more fully. I submit the following propositions, which I conceive to be self-evident truths: First-"Different forms of force," is but an expression denoting different "modes of action," or different ways of exhibiting, employing, or utilizing "force," which is the perfected condition of action. Second-One kind of action, or use of "force," has an exact equivalent in another kind. of action or other way of exhibiting force. Or, "there is correlation between forces." Third-An action cannot be even described in the abstract, but only can it be made: apparent, and its value estimated, by estimating and describing its effects upon visible,. measurable, physical matter. It cannot Fourth-The description of such effect is insufficient if made in one term. be measured by the application of one unit. Motive action cannot be completely described by saying a pound is moved. Fifth-At least three classes of measurement, each employing a unit of different character, must be employed to estimate such effect, namely: quantity of matter affected, extent of effect, energy of effect. In movement, we state the amount of matter moved, first unit; the distance moved, second unit; the velocity or energy of movement, third unit. ་་ Sixth-As three terms must be used to express value of one action, its exact correlative in another action must correspond in each of these terms. Let "a" represent quantity of affected material, "b" extent, etc., "c" energy or velocity, and let an electric or heat force be thus described: 4a, 2b, 1c. Motion, 2a, 4b, Ic, is not its exact correlative, although in expressing two conditions of the same action, 44, 2b, 1c, is the exact equivalent in value to 2a, 4b, ic. Seventh-In expressing a degree of motive force we do not express each of the several conditions in direct terms. For instance : Energy," or velocity, is expressed by a double measurement, 'so many feet moved in a minute." Exactly similar terms may not be used to describe heat, or electric energy, though we may very clearly express an amount of heat force by describing the amount of material affected, extent of effect (to what degree), time in producing such effect. Eighth-It is desirable that we should be able to exactly express, in similar terms, the amount of material affected, extent of effect, energy of effect, whatever kind of force acts upon it. Excuse my long letter-not long enough perhaps to clearly enunciate the several points I have attempted to call your attention to, but my purpose will be served if you agree with me that we cannot labor independently. I am yours, very truly and sincerely. S. M. CHESTER. LETTER FROM COL. A. T. FRASER. C. PIAZZI SMYTH, ESQ.: TRICHINOPOLY, MADRAS, INDIA, January 20, 1885. My Dear Sir-While spending a Sunday on the way to the Neilgherry hills at the small native junction town of Erode, on the Madras railway, I asked if there was any church, and was told there was a Roman Catholic chapel. I went and found one of the ordinary domed plan, in a dilapidated state, in a small shrubbery in the heart of the town. There was a native priest, a tall, stout built individual, walking up and down a footpath. I |