8123. STANDARD (Weights), Ratios.—[continued]
Another remarkable correspondence
is that between weights and measures.
For 1,000 ounces avoirdupois of pure
water fills a cubic foot, with mathematical
exactness. What circumstances of the times,
or purpose of barter or commerce, called for
this combination of weights and measures,
with the subjects to be exchanged or purchased,
are not now to be ascertained. But
a triple set of exact proportionals representing
weights, measures and the things to be weighed
or measured, and a relation so integral between
weights and solid measures, must have been
the result of design and scientific calculation
and not a mere coincidence of hazard.—
Coinage, Weights and Measures Report. Washington ed. vii, 485.
(1790)
