W E I
the Centre of Gravity C, (Fig. 5O of a Sody A B, to- gether with its Weight G, being given ; to determine the Joints L and M, wherein 'Prop M, N, are to be placed, that Bach may bear any given 'Proportion of the Weight.
In the horizontal Line A E, pairing thro' the Centre of Gravity C, affume the right Lines MC and CL J in the gi- ven Ratio—Props, then, M, N, placed in thefe Points, will be prefs'd in the given Ratio.
Hence, if in the Points M, L, in lieu of Props, you place the Shoulders, or Arms of Porters, &c. They will be able to bear the Burden alike ; if their Shares be proportion'd to their Strengths. — Thus we have a way of distributing a Bur- den in any given Ratio.
Weight, in Commerce, &c. is a Body of a known Weight, appointed to be put in the Balance againft other Bodies, whofe Weight is requir'd. See Weighing, Ba- lance, £i?c.
Thefe Weights are ufually of Lead, Iron, or Brafs ; tho in divers Parts of the Eafl-Indies they are common Flints, and in fome Places a fort of li-ttle Beans.
The Security of Commerce depending, in good meafure, on the Juftnefs of thefe Weights; there is fcarce any Na- tion but has taken proper Meafures to prevent the Falsifi- cation thereof. — The lureft Means are the ftamping, or marking 'em by proper Officers, from fome Original or Stan- dard, depofited where recourfe may be had to 'em.
This expedient is very antient 5 and many Authors are of Opinion, that what among the Jews was called Shekel of the SanBuary, was not any particular Kind of Weight, dif- ferent from the common one 5 but a Standard or original Weight, prefcrv'd by the Priefts in the Sanctuary, See She- kel, and Sanctuary.
Thus, alfo, in England, the Standard of Weights is kept in the Exchequer by a particular Officer, call'd the Clerk or Comptroller of the Market. — In France, the Standard Weight is kept under feveral Keys in the Cabinet of the Cour des Monnoyes. See Standard.
Moft Nations, wherein there is any thing of Commerce flouriihing, have their particular Weights $ and even fome- times different Weights in the different Provinces, and for the different Kinds of Commodities.
This Diveriity of Weights, makes one of the moft perplexing Articles in Commerce; but it is irremediable. — The redu- cing the Weights of different Nations to one, is not only impra&icable 5 but even the Reduction of thofe of the fame Nation : Witnefs thofe vain Attempts made for the reducing the Weights in France, by fo many of rheir Kings, Charle- maign, Philip the Long, Louis XI. Francis I. Henry II. Charles IX. Henry III. Louis XIV.
Weights may be diftinguifh'd into Antient and Modern, Foreign, and Z)o?neJlic.
Modern Weights.
Weights ufed in the feveral Parts of Europe and the Levant.
Englifh Weights. By the XXVIIth Chapter of
Magna Charta, the Weights are to be the fame all over England 5 but for different Commodities there are two dif- ■ ferent forts, viz. Troy Weight, and Averdupois Weight.
The Origin from which they are both rais'd, is the Grain of Wheat, gather'd in the middle ot the Ear. See Grain.
In Troy Weight, 24 of thefe Grains make a Penny-weight Sterling ; 20 Penny- weight make an Ounce 3 and 12 Ounces a Pound. See Ounce, Pound, &c.
By this Weight wc weigh Gold, Silver, Jewels, Grains, end Liquors. See Troy.
The Apothecaries alfo ufe the Troy Pound, Ounce, and Grain 5 but they differ from the reft, in the intermediate Di- vifions. — —-They divide the Ounce into 8 T)rachms ; the Drachm into 3 Scruples $ and the Scruple into 20 Grains. See Drachm, Scruple, £5?c.
In Averdupois Weight, the Pound contains 16 Ounces ; but the Ounce is lefs by near -*■- than the Troy Ounce $ this latter containing 490 Grains, and the former only 448. — The Ounce contains 16 iDrachms — 80 Ounces Averdupois, are only equal to 73 Ounces Troy 5 and 17 Pounds Troy, equal to 14 Pounds Averdupois. See Pound.
By Averdupois Weight, are weigh'd Mercery and Grocery Wares, bafe Metals, Wool, Tallow, Hemp, Drugs, Bread, &c. See Averdupois.
Table of Troy Weight, as ufed by the Goldfmiths, &c. Apothecaries.
(Grains. Grains.
iPound.
[360]
WE I
Table of Averdupois Weight* Scruple.
Drachm,
Ounce.
24
384
4300;
8doi6o
128
14531?
is Pound.
179:
35840
Quintal, or Hundred.
20 Tun.
24
Penny-weight.
20
Scruple.
480
20
Ounce.
6a
3
Drachm.
5760
240
12 iPouncU
480
24
8
Ounce
5700
288 1 9 <r | 12 JP
The Moneyers, Jewellers, igc. have a particular Clafs of Weights for Gold and Precious Stones, viz. Carabl, 'Penny- weight, and Grain ; and for Silver the Penny-iveigbt and Grain. See Caract ; fee alfo Gold, and Silver.
The Moneyers have alfo a peculiar Subdivifion of the Gram Troy : Thus ;
The
20 Mites.
24 Unites.
20 Merits.
24 Blanks.
The Dealers in Wool have likewife a particular Set of Weights, viz. the Stick, Weigh, Tod, Stone, and Clove. See Weigh, cifc.
The Proportion of thefe, fee under the Article Wool.
French Weights. Their common or 'Paris Pound,
is 16 Ounces ; which they divide two ways : The firft Di- vifion is into two Marcs, the Marc into eight Ounces ; the Ounce into eight Gros ; the Gros into three Penny-'xeights ; the Penny-weight into 24 Grains ; the Grain equivalent to a Grain of Wheat. — The fecond Divifion of the Pound, is into two Half-founds ; the Half pound into two Quarters ; the Quarter into two Half-quarters ; the Half-quarter into two Ounces ; and the Ounce into two Half-ounces.
The Weights of the firft Divifion arc ufed to weigh Gold, Silver, and the richer Commodities : and the Weights of the fecond Divifion for Commodities of lefs Value.
Grains.
^-weight.
24
Penn
7*
3
Gros
57«
24
8
Ounce.
1008
192
« 4
8 JMarc.
921S
384
128
16 F7~|]
Half
ounce.
2
Ounce.
4
Half quart. Pound.
8
4
2
Quarter Pound.
16
8
4
-
Half Pound
V-
\6
8
4
-
Pound.
3200
itfoo
800
400
200
100 \Q
Quintal.
But the Pound is not the fame throughout France. — At Lyons, e.g. the City Pound is only 14 Ounces : So that 100 Lyons Pounds make only 88 Paris Pounds. — But befide the City Pound, they have another at Lyons for Silk, containing
1 5 Ounces. At Tholoufe, and throughout the Upper Lan-
guedoc, the Pound is 13 Ounces and * of Paris Weight. — At Marfeilles, and throughout Provence, the Pound is 15 Ounces of Paris Weight. — At Rouen, befide the common Paris Pound and Marc, they have thcWeight of the Vicomtc$ which is itf Ounces and 4 and £, to the Paris Pound.
The Weights enumerated under the two Articles of En- glifh and French Weights, are the fame that are ufed thro'- out the greateft Part of Europe 5 only under fomewhat dif- ferent Names, Divisions, and Proportions. See Pound, Gros, Marc, Penny-weight,^.
Particular Nations, however, have alfo certain Weights peculiar to themfelves : Thus, Spain has its Arobas, containing 25 Spanijh Pounds, or 4 of the common Quintal: Its Quintal Macho, containing 150 Pounds, or 1^ common Quintal, or 6 Arobas : Its Adarme, containing l~g of its Ounce. — And for Gold, it has its Cajlillan, or f— of a Pound. — Its Tbmin, containing 12 Grains, or -J. of a Caftillan. — The fame are in ufe in the Spanifb Wejl-Iudies.
Portugal
