The Decimal or Metric System of moneys, weights, and measures is now established in France, and has been adopted to a greater or less extent, in Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Turkey, Brazil, and several other countries.

MM. Delambre and Mechain estimated the length of the meridian from the Equator to the Pole by the measurement of an arc between Dunkirk and Barcelona, and the ten millionth part of this meridian, or one-fourth of the circumference of the earth, was taken as the unit of length, and is termed a Metre.

The square of 10 metres is the unit of surface measure, and is called an Are (pronounced air).

The cube of the tenth part of a metre is the unit of capacity for either Liquid or Dry Measure, and is called a Litre (pronounced le-tur).

A kil'olitre, the cube of a metre, is the unit of Solid Measure, and is known as the Stere.

A Gramme is the weight of a quantity of water, at 320 Fahr. (the temperature of melting ice), contained in a cube of the one-hundredth part of a metre.

The names of the multiples of these integers are derived from the Greek, and those of the divisions from the Latin language.

Deca signifies 10 times. Hecto signifies 100 times. Kilo signifies 1,000 times. Myria signifies 10,000 times. Deci, the 10th part. Centi, the 100th part. Mille, the 1,000th part.

Money

10 Centimes = 1 Decime.

10 Decimes, or 100 Centimes = 1 Franc.

The French coin is based upon the unit of weight - the Gramme.

Weights

Gramme = 15.432349 grains Troy.

The kilogramme (1000) grammes) is the weight most frequently used in commerce, and is equal to 2.679227 lbs. (2 lbs. 8 oz. 3 dwt.) Troy; or, 2.204621 lbs. (2 lbs. 3 oz. 4.652 dr.)

453 3-5 grammes = I lb avoirdupois.

373¼ grammes =1 Њ Troy.

453 3-5 grammes =1 Њ avoirdupois.

1 cwt. = 50.80234 kilogrammes.

100 myriogrammes = 1 ton, 20 1-6 Њs.

1 quintal metrique = 100 kilogrammes.

Note - At the U. S. Post Office 15 grammes are taken as ½ ounce.

Measures Of Length

1 metre = 39,371 English inches. 1 decimetre =:3.9371 English inches. 1 kilometre = 0.62138 miles. 1 English mile =: 1.609036 kilometres.

Merchants usually reckon the metre as one and one-twelfth yards.

Measures Of Surface

1 are = a square decametre = 119.6046 square yards.

1 centiare = 10.76441 square feet = 1.196046 square yards.

1 hectare = 2 acres, 1 rood, 35 perches.

1 acre, English = 40466 hectares.

100 square feet = 9.28987 square metres.

Measures Of Capacity

1 litre = 61.02803 cubic inches = 2.1135 wine pints, or 1.7608 imperial pints, or 908 quarts dry measure.

1 hectolitre = 3.53171 cubic feet = 22.01 imperial gallons, or 26.419 wine gallons, or 2.839 Winchester bus.

Measures Of Solidity

1 stere or kilolitre = 35.31714 cubic feet =.2759 cord.

1 stere = 1.308042 cubic yards.

100 cubic inches = 16.38592 cubic centimetres. The terms of the Metric System are now generally used by scientific men. Congress, by act of July 27, 1866, made it lawful in contracts and in legal proceedings to employ the weights and measures of the Metric System; and Great Britain in 1864 passed an act authorizing its use.