Weights And Measures
Description
This section is from the book "The Druggist's General Receipt Book", by Henry Beasley. Also available from Amazon: The druggist's general receipt book.
Weights And Measures
Avoirdupois Weight. (B. P.)*
 | oz. | grs. | French | |||
Pound. | Ounces. | Grains. | Grammes. | |||
1 | = | 16 | = | 7000 | = | 453.592 |
1 | = | 437.50 | = | 28.349 |
Other weights used are the ton, 20 hundredweight; the hundredweight, 112 lbs.; and the quarter, 28 lbs.
Avoirdupois weights can be made available as substitutes for Troy weights by bearing in mind that 42.5 grains added to the avoirdupois ounce will make it equal to the Troy ounce, and that 1240 grains deducted from the avoirdupois pound will reduce it to the Troy pound.
Measures of Capacity. (B. P.) | |||
1 Minim | min. | ||
1 Fluid Drachm | fl. dr. | = | 60 minims. |
1 Fluid Ounce | fl. oz. | = | 8 fluid drachms. |
1 Pint | O. | = | 20 fluid ounces. |
1 Gallon | C. | = | 8 pints. |
The old wine gallon was adopted in the London Pharmacopoeia before 1836, and the Dublin Pharmacopoeia before 1850. Its use in this kingdom is no longer legal.
Measures of Length. (B. P.) | |||
1 line | = | 1/12 inch. | |
1 inch | = | 1/39.1393 seconds pendulum. | |
12 „ | = | 1 foot. | |
36 „ | = | 3 feet | = 1 yard. |
Length of pendulum vibrating seconds of' mean time in the latitude of London, in a vacuum at the level of the sea .
39.1393 inches.
* The Dublin College of Physicians adopted the avoirdupois Slight in their last Pharmacopoeia (1850), but they divided the oz. into 8 drachms and the drachm into 3 scruples, as in Troy weight.
Relation of Measures to Weights. (B. P.) | ||||
1 Minim is the measure of | 0.91 grains of water. | |||
1 Fluid Draclim | " | 54.68 | " | |
1 Fluid Ounce | " | 1 ounce or | 437.5 | " |
1 Pint | " | 1.25 pounds or 8750.0 | " | |
1 Gallon | " | 10 pounds or 70,000.0 | " | |
To find the weight of any given measure of a liquid, multiply the weight of the water it will contain by the specific gravity, water being 1.000. The weight of a gallon of any liquid in avoird. lbs. and decimal parts, is at once seen from its density, merely removing the decimal point one place to the right. Thus, a gallon of ether at .750 weighs 7.50 (7 1/2) lb. A gallon of nitric acid at 1.500 weighs 15 lbs.
Apothecaries' Weight. (L. P.) | ||||||||||
 |  | 3 | Э | Gr. | Minims of water. | |||||
Pound. | Ounces. | Drachms. | Scruples. | Grains. | ||||||
1 | = | 12 | = | 96 | = | 288 | = | 5760 | = | 6319.54 |
1 | = | 8 | = | 24 | = | 480 | = | 526.62 | ||
1 | = | 3 | = | 60 | = | 65.82 | ||||
1 | = | 20 | = | 21.94 | ||||||
1 | = | 1.09 | ||||||||
The Troy pennyweight, 24 grains, is not used in compounding medicines.
Apothecaries' Measure. | ||||||||||
C. | O. | f | f3 | |||||||
Congius. | Octarii. | Fluid | Fluid |  | Grains of water. | |||||
Gallon. | Pints. | Ounces. | Drachms. | Minims. | ||||||
1 | = | 8 | = | 160 | = | 1280 | = | 76800 | = | 70000 |
1 | = | 20 | = | 160 | = | 9600 | = | 8750 | ||
1 | = | 8 | = | 480 | = | 437.5 | ||||
1 | = | 60 | = | 547 | ||||||
1 | = | 0.9 | ||||||||
Imperial Measure. - (Common Divisions). | ||||||||||||
Quarter. | Bushels. | Fecks. | Gallons. | Quarts. | Pints. | Gills. | ||||||
1 | = | 8 | = | 32 | = | 64 | = | 256 | = | 512 | = | 2048 |
1 | = | 4 | = | 8 | = | 32 | = | 64 | = | 256 | ||
1 | = | 2 | = | 8 | = | 16 | = | 64 | ||||
1 | = | 4 | = | 8 | = | 32 | ||||||
1 | = | 2 | = | 8 | ||||||||
1 | = | 4 | ||||||||||
Weights and Measures of other Countries.
The weights and measures of the United States' Pharmacopoeia are derived from the Troy lb. and the old wine gallon, and are exhibited in the following table:
Weights. | ||
The pound, lb., | contains | twelve ounces, |
The ounce, | eight drachms, 3. | |
The drachm, | three scruples, Э. | |
The scruple, | twenty grams, gr. | |
Measures.
These are derived from the wine gallon, and are given in the following table with their signs annexed:
The gallon, C, | contains | eight pints, O. |
The pint, | sixteen fluid ounces, f | |
The fluid ounce, | eight fluid drachms, f 3. | |
The fluid drachm, | sixty minims, |
.
At the temperature of 60° F. a pint of distilled water weighs 7291.2 grains; a fluid ounce 455.7 grains.
*** The fluid ounce, O. M. = one fluid ounce imperial measure and 20
The unit of the British India ponderary system is the tola, equal to 180 Troy grains. 32 tolas are equal
Troy.
The maund is equal to 100 Troy ounces.
In France the metrical or decimal system is now the only legal one. The following table shows the correspondence of the French metrical weights with English grains.
Troy grams. | ||
Milligramme | = | .0154 |
Centigramme | = | .1543 |
Decigramme | = | 1.5434 |
Gramme | = | 15.4340 |
Troy grains. | ||
Decagramme | = | 154.34 |
Hectogramme | = | 1543.40 |
Kilogramme | = | 15434.00 |
Myriaeramme | = | 154340.00 |
The measures of capacity in France are multiples and divisions of the litre, which is the measure occupied by a kilogramme (15434 Troy grains) of distilled water at its greatest density. It exceeds the old Paris pinte by 1/14th, and is equal to 35 fluid ounces and 103 minims, or 1.7608 imperial pints, or 61.028 English cubic inches. 4 1/2 litres make an imperial gallon, within about f3xij.
The following table will show the relations between the litre and the imperial gallon of 277.2738 c. inches:
Litres. | Cubic Inches. | Gall. | Pts. | Fl | Fl.3 | Min. | ||
1/1000 | = | Millilitre | .061028 | 16.9 | ||||
1/100 | = | Centilitre | .61028 | 2 | 49 | |||
1/10 | = | Decilitre | 6.1028 | 3 | 4 | 10.36 | ||
1 | = | Litre | 61.028 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 43.69 | |
10 | = | Decalitre | 610.28 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 16.9 |
100 | = | Hectolitre | 6102.8 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 49 |
1000 | = | Kilolitre | 61028. | 220 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 40 |
10000 | = | Myrialitre | 610280. | 2201 (or 175 1/8 bushels). | ||||
French Measures of Length.
The standard unit is the metre, equal to 39.371 English inches, or 1 yard, 3 inches, and 37/100ths. The kilometre (1000 metres) is 4 furlongs, 213 yards, 1 foot, 11 inches.
The following are some of the weights and measures formerly used in France.
The old French pound, livre poids de mare, was equal to 489'5 grammes, or 7561 Troy grains; but the metrical pound, livre metrique, substituted for it in 1812, contained exactly 5000 grammes, or 7717 English grains. Both are now abolished. The following are their divisions:
Livre. | Once. | Gros. | Scrupl. | Grs. | Pauls de Marc. | Melrique. | ||
1 | 16 | 128 | 384 | 9261 | = | grammes | 489.5 | 500 |
1 | 8 | 24 | 576 | = | " | 30.6 | 31.25 | |
1 | 3 | 72 | = | " | 3.824 | 3.90 | ||
1 | 24 | = | " | 1.274 | 1.30 | |||
1 | = | .053 | .054 | |||||
In the Paris Codex and medical works the grain is represented by 0.05 gramme (5 centigrammes), 2 grains by 0.1 (1 decigramme); the half drachm by 2 grammes; the drachm by 4 grammes; and the ounce by 32 grammes.
The old French measures used in pharmacy were -
Litres. | ||
La Pinte | = | 0931 |
La Chopine | = | 0.466 |
La demi-Setier | = | 0.233 |
Le Poisson | = | 0116 |
Le demi-Poisson | = | 0.058 |
Other Commercial Measures. | ||
Litres. | ||
8 Pintes (un velte) | = | 7.450 |
1397 (ancien boisseau) | = | 13.010 |
298 = 1 muid | = | 268..220 |
576=1 tonneau d'Orleans, on 2 muids | = | 536.440 |
(Froni Guibourt's 'Pharmacopec Raisonee.)
The litre, with its divisions and multiples, is the measure now used. It contains 1000 grammes of water; the number of grammes of other liquids corresponds with their specific gravity; water being 1000.
The former measures of length in France were the
Toise = 1.949 metres, or 6.3945 English feet.
Foot (pied) = 0.32484 metres = 12.785 Eng. inches.
Inch (pouce) = 0.02707 metres, or 1.0654 Eng. inches.
Line (ligne) or 1/12th of an inch = .002256 metres.
The metre is equal to 3 ft. 11 lines old French measure, or
3 ft. 3.7 in. English.
Other Foreign Weights and Measures.
1. - Medicinal pounds of 12 ounces, in English grains. (From Jourdan's ' Pharmacopee Universelle.')
The following are divided as our Apothecaries' weight.
The pound of Austria weighs 6482.42 grains; Bavaria, 5556.24; Holland, 5787.75; Lubec, 5697.09; Nuremberg (German pound), 5522.96; Poland, 5533.25; Prussia, 5113.99; Sweden, 5498.01; Venice (Sottile), 4649.17.
The division of the following differs in the scruple being divided into 24 grains.
Bologna, 5026.32; Lucca, 5162.67; Modena, 5254.61; Parma, 5062.35; Portugal, 5312.23; Rome, 5233.25; Spain, 5325.84; Tuscany, 5240.49; Piedmont [Turin], 5123.49.
The Naples pound contains 5490.63 Troy grains; the ounce is divided into 10 drachms; the scruple into 20 grains.
2. - Various Foreign Weights.
The old Paris pound was divided into 16 ounces; the scruple into 24 grains. Its weight has been given above. The pound by which drugs are weighed in Turkey is the Tchegy, equal to 4957 English grains, and is divided into 100 drachms, each drachm into 16 killos, and each killo into
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