What is a Mile.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 16, 17 April 1902, Page 29

What is a Mile.

English-speaking countries (s,i\s an exchange) have four diClere'iil miles — L ho ordinary mile ol ,r)l2S(), r )l2S() feet, and the geographical or nautical mile of GOSU feet, making a dillerenco of about one-seventh hetween the two , the Scotch mile of .VJl2<) feel, and the Ji ish mile of 0720 feet, four \arious miles, e\ei.v one ol which is said to he .still in use

The Umiuin mile is 121,. '5 1 S l\et m knm.li, more than four and a hall limes as lout; .is our mile The ihilch lia\c .i mile of JUl2'.i.~) feet, tlio JHvnes one ot 121, 5 T.") teel, and the Prussians one of iM.S.Ki feet , and the Swiss gel moie exeniM- m walking one ot their miles i!>,ih we get m ■walking fi\e of ouis, lor theirs is 27,4."^) J\ el long, and oin s i.- hut f)I2SO feel

'1 he Italian mile is <>nl,\ a fr>\\ fi'i'l longer than ours, the Woman mile is slun Ut, and t lie Tuscan and the Turkish miles me <ir>o li'et longer. The Swedish mile is 122 012:! ieet long", and the Vienna ].dsl mile j.s 2r>.o'.'>7 feet in length

Besides this list ol twelve dilleient miles there aie other nieasuies ol distance, not counting the Vi eneh kilometre, which is lather less than two-thirds ol" a mile The 15ia/ilians have a milia that is one and one-fourth limes as long as our mile ; the Neapolitan nugho is about the same length; the Japanese ri is about two and one-half times as long as our mile ; the Russian mmsl, live-eighths as long. The i'eihian standard is a farsakh. about four miles loni^, which is not far from the supposed length of the paras, ing, so familiar to e\eiy schoolboy who has read Xenophon's ' Anabasis.' The distance indicated by the league aiso varies in dillerent countries.