SELLING GRAIN BY WEIGHT OR MEASURE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 23 August 1880, Page 2

SELLING GRAIN BY WEIGHT OR MEASURE.

The Weights and Measures Act, which became la,w on the ls,t day of January, seenpLS to, b.e almost entirely inoperative. We asked a corn merchant lately •what changes or improvements had been

made in corn transactions by the recent Act, and he replied that no improvement had been made, and that local customs still prevail. The old Act that came in force on the Ist day of January, 1826 (Acts Geo. IV., c. 74, and Geo. IV., c. 12, 17th June, 1824J effected a great improvement in the existing state of things. The provisions of that Act were mainly the following:—The inch is the one thirty-sixth part of Bird's standard yard and measure of length. The statute or imperial acre is 4480 square yards. The [ standard brass weight of lib troy, in the custody of the clerk of the House of Commons, is the genuine measure of weight, and consists of 5760 grains. The pound avoirdupois consists of 7000 of these grains, which is almost the universal legalised standard in use. The measures of capacity for liquids and dry goods is the pint of 34,659 cubic inches, but the gallon may be said to be the unit or standard measure, having a capaoity of 277,274 cubic inches; and when filled with distilled water, at the temperature of 62deg. Fahrenheit, it will hold a weight of 101b. The corn hushel of Bgal. weighs 801b., and has a capacity of 2178 cubic inohes.

| The.re ia obviously a reluctance to sell I corn by weight only, although it is a" mora approximate index of value than measure. It is common in some districts to sell wheat by weight, the quarter being reckoned 496 lbs or 504 lbs avoirdupois. Again, oats are also_ commonly sold by weight, but barley is' very generally sold and bought by measure. Considering these arid other diversities in corn trans- ' actions, it would be easy to adopt the plan which is very generally followed in the best corn-growing districts in Scotland, namely, to sell by measure, and the prioe to fluctuate according to the* natural weight of the bushel. This system has wrought fairly since it was introduced into general practice in the north, and disputes rarely The following are some of the. advantages of the plan : 1. It holds out great inducements to the farmer to dress corn well, and a marked improvement took place in the cleaning after it became the rule. The increase of weight being a greater consideration for the seller than any increase of measure by the retention of the tails and the light grains, it needs no persuasion to dress cojft thoroughly. 2. The equity of the plan between the buyer and seller is a great recommendation. Measure with reference to the natural weight of the bushel of corn is certainly a good criterion of value* 3. In awarding ptiz.es for seed-oorn, the agricultural societies of the north almost invariably award the prizes according to the natural weight of the bushel of dressed corn.. That that is a good criterion of the soundness of seed all will be ready to admit, for the almost empty glumes cannot be expected to develop a strong germ and radicle. 4. If the scheme were generally adopted corn averages could bo more precisely ascertained, and prices on a given market day would be more uniform. It is not, indeed, to be assumed that two samples of wheat, each 631bs per bushel, would bo exactly of the same value or command the same price in the Corn .Exchange, but it would lead to a greater accordance, which must be considered an advantage. 5. That the weight is governed not less by the condition than by the quality and dressing of corn, is another recommendation in favor of transactions being carried out on the plan suggested. Corn in a moist state being lighter than when dry, owing to the water swelling the kernel, a smaller number of grains fill the bushel. 6. Some may allege that there would be a difficulty in determining the precise weight of the bushel of corn, on which the price more or less depends ; but in practice, and with wolUtrained hands, that has not been Sound to be the case. We know au instance that lately occurred, wheye the seller complained that his oats did not weigh per bushel, while the receipt from the miller showed only 421bs. On a second delivery of oats, precisely similar, it was fosund that tho four bushels as delivered weighed 1681bs, being exactly 421bs—all further complaints were silenced. The mode of adjusting the price according to the weight is somewhat as follows :—Wheat weighing say COlbs per bushel, would command say 50s per quarter, and if the natural weight is 611bs, the price would be 51s 6d ov per quarter, according to the scale agreed on for the particular season. Again, barley 501bs per bushel would be worth say 40s per quarter; but if it should weigh 51, 52, or 531bs, the buyer would have to pay an increased price according to an understood rule.

7. It may be further explained tha,t, as heavy corn yields more fine flour op meal, proportionally according ta its weight, than that which is naturally lighter, the scale of payment ia often increased in a proportionally greater ratio. Fine heavy wheat, for example, will yield 75 per oent. of fine flour, while an inferior quality, say of 581bs per bushel* wi}l produce only 54 to 60 per cent, of flour. The same remark may be made respecting oats—a quaver weighing 401 bs per bushel will yield about ISfilbs of meal, while oats weighing 441 ba per bushel will produce say 331 ba more meal from the quarter. The assumed aggregate weight of the one quarter of oats is 3201b5, and the other 3521b5; so that the extra yield of the meal would be equal to the extra weight of the oats.—Mr. T. Bowick in tho Newcastle Farmers' Club Annual,