QCi u a2 >^j 318 Hi •#1 Si III i f Hate (^allege of ^Agriculture %,t Clotnell Hmtiecattg Strata, £7. %. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Circular Or THE OF S. W. STRATTON. Director No- 10 LEGAL WEEGHTS (IN POUNDS) PER BUSHEL OF VARIOUS COMMODITIES 13d. EdlUon] Issued May 9, 19I8 JP III- ir'l II''.' lip Will !l|)iii f'l i'"i !i'l'ijli:'i::';'. .ii|)ii!!''i i/!;i;:, ,1' ll PRICK, 5 CERTS Sold only by the Superintendent of rfbcumeotst Government Printing Office Washington, D. C. w|^AS6lNGTUN GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1918 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002978348 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Circular OF THE Bureau of Standards S. W. STRATTON. Director No. 10 legal weights (IN POUNDS) PER BUSHEL OF VARIOUS COMMODITIES [3d EcBUonl Issuecf May "9. 1918 PRICE, 5 CENTS Sold only by the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office Washineton, D. C. WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1918 LEGAL WEIGHTS (IN POUNDS) PER BUSHEL OF VARIOUS COMMODITIES CONTENTS Pago I. Introduction 3 II. Conunodities for which bushel weights have been established in not more than three States 9 III. Commodities for which bushel weights have been established in more than three States 11 Alfalfa seed to Windsor (broad) beans 11 Beets to cherries (without stems) 12 Chestnuts to sweet com 13 Com meal to grapes (without stems) 14 Hair, plastering, to Japanese barnyard millet 15 Oats to pears 16 Peas to rye meal 17 Salt to wheat 18 IV. Proportional weights for various subdivisions of the bushel 19 I. INTRODUCTION This circular simply shows the legal weights per bushel of various commodities, as fixed by national legislation mainly for customs purposes, or by State legislation for purposes of commerce within the State. In many cases these weights differ considerably in the different States and in only rare instances, such as wheat, oats, and peas, are the legal weights uniform throughout the entire country. It will be noticed that for some commodities which have, in the natural state, a husk or pod, the weights per bushel in the various States differ from one another by as much as 100 per cent. This wide discrepancy may be explained by the fact that it appears to be the practice in some States with regard to such commodities, to require that quantity for a bushel which, when shelled, or husked and shelled (as the case might be) , will make a struck bushel of the commodity, while in other States only that quantity in its natural state, with the husk or pod included, which will fill a bushel measure, is taken for a bushel. The bushel in customary use in the United States is the Win- chester bushel, containing 2150.42 cubic inches. This measure is a heritage from colonial days, being the same measure that was 3 4 Circular of the Bureau of Standards in use in this country and in England at the time of the Declaration of Independence. It has been ofl&cially recognized by Congress by a joint resolution, approved June 14, 1836, which directed the Secretary of the Treasury "to cause a complete set of all weights and meastures adopted [by that department] as standards and now either made or in the progress of manufacture for the use of the several customs houses, and for other purposes, to be delivered to the governor of each State in the Union," since among these weights and measm-es was a Winchester half bushel. It has been adopted as the standard in nearly all the States, since the States as a rule proceeded by acts of their legislatures to adopt as standards for use within the State the measitfes which were furnished to them by the Government under the terms of the joint resolution mentioned above. The dimensions of the Winchester bushel are sometimes of importance but these have never been defined by Congress, and on account of the fact that the actual standard finnished the States was a half bushel, we have no official measure from which the linear measurements can be determined. As a result we are obliged to seek the dimensions of the original standard from which oturs was derived, since it seems probable that these still govern in the absence of any legislation to the contrary. We find that at the time of the Declaration of Independence a statute, passed in the first year of the reign of Queen Anne, in 1701, was in force, which read in part as follows: That the measure, commonly called water measure, shall be round, and in diameter eighteen inches and an half within the hoop, and eight inches deep, and no more, and so in proportion for any greater or lesser measure; and that every measure, com- monly called water measure, by which apples and pears are sold, shall be heaped as usually * * *. It appears that Winchester measvire was at that time com- monly called water measure, and hence the use of this term in the statute just quoted. As is well known, some commodities are sold by struck measure and others by heaped measure. It is important to ascertain what amoimts constitute the struck bushel and what the heaped bushel, and the kinds of commodities required to be sold by each. The former is represented by the United States standard (Win- chester) bushel of 2150.42 cubic inches, filled level full, and is used for the measurement of various kinds of grain and com- modities of similar size, as well as dried beans, peas, berries, etc. The quantity represented by the heaped bushel has never been Legal Weights per Bushel of Commodities 5 fixed by national legislation. A number of the States, however, have required that some commodities be sold by heaped measure and have described the manner in which the meastire should be filled, one of two phraseologies being usually employed in the statutes, namely, " heaped in the form of a cone, the outside of the measure to be the base of the cone, and such cone to be as high as the article will admit," or " heaped as high as may be without special effort or design." General custom, too, dictates this manner of filling the measiure in the case of these commodities. Also in a few States the number of cubic inches required to constitute a heaped bushel of one or two specified commodities has been fixed, but these enactments are not uniform one with another . We find only one decision in the courts which specifies the size of the heaped bushel and this decision is thus of very great interest on account of the broadness of its application. The case in ques- tion was decided by the Court of Customs Appeals in February, 1912, and was based upon a dispute as to what constituted a "bushel" of apples under the terms of a tariff law which assessed the duty in terms of "bushels " without descriptive words or with- out specifying any weight per bushel. The court held that it should be considered that a heaped bushel was referred to since both by custom and by the old English statute quoted above apples have always been required to be so sold ; and then after an examination of authorities, decided that a heaped bushel contained 2747.715 cubic inches. This figure is derived by adding to the volume of a struck bushel the volume of a cone having a base diameter of ig)4 inches and a height of 6 inches. The ig'X-inch base in the diameter of the Winchester bushel mentioned in the statute quoted above, measured from outside to outside of the measure. This figure makes the heaped bushel about 27.8 per cent larger than the struck bushel. This decision will imdoubtedly be followed in customs matters. The heaped bushel is also commonly defined as 25 per cent larger than the struck bushel, a capacity of about 2686 cubic inches. This calculation is based on a cone of the same height heaped upon the same bushel measure described above, but the cone is considered in this case to be heaped upon the area of the open top of the measure instead of the top including the sides, the diameter thus being i8>^ instead of i9>^ inches. Heaped measure is to be used in measuring the more bulky commodities, such as apples, pears, plums, peaches, potatoes, onions, beets, carrots, turnips, etc. 6 Circular of the Bureau of Standards It is at once apparent that the quantity which may be heaped upon a measure will depend very largely on the area of the top of the measure; and so it becomes important that there should be a standard diameter for each size of measure. While, as previ- ously noted, this matter has never been determined by national legislation, the following minimum diameters of cylindrical dry meastues of various capacities are approved by the Bureau of Standards, and have also been adopted by the Annual Conference on Weights and Measures: Miniinuni diameter in inches X bushel T-3H 1 peck io% yi peck 8K 2 quarts 6J^ I quart $yi I pint 4 Another factor of importance in buying commodities for which bushel weights have been established is the knowledge of whether one may demand, under the laws of this particular State, the weight specified in the law, regardless of whether the commodities are sold by weight or measure. This depends on the phraseology used in the statute in question, and as to this, there is no general uni- formity throughout the States. The question is often one of inter- pretation, and it is rendered more difficult by the fact that few cases are to be found in which the covirts have passed upon these laws. However, information is given below as to what is believed to be the force and effect of the statutes. (a) States Requiring Sales by Weight. — Some States have laws requiring that all dry commodities be sold by weight, while others require that those for which a legal weight has been estab- lished, be so sold. In the latter class when a unit of dry measure is called for, this must be determined by weight in accordance with the standard schedule of weights per bushel. In some of these States a special contract may be made by the parties, specifying some other method of sale. The list of States follows: Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Massa- chusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin. In these States purchasers may demand that all orders be actually weighed before delivery, and that full weight as specified in the State law be delivered. It is desirable for purchasers to check the deliveries by weight and compare them with the stand- ard legal weights. Legal Weights per Bushel of Commodities 7 (b) States Requiring Definite Weights. — In the second class may be grouped a number of States having statutes similar to each other in wording and apparently similar in legal effect. These statutes read somewhat as follows: "The bushel shall consist of or will mean, a stated weight," sometimes with the qualification, "When sold by the bushel." This list includes: CaHfomia, Dela- ware, Illinois,' Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Okla- homa, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington. In these cases it appears to be the clear intent of the legislatures that the weights stated in the laws should be delivered by the dealers, whether the commodities in question are actually weighed or whether they are measured. Therefore, although the purchaser has no legal right to demand that the commodities be weighed by the dealer before delivery, it appears to be perfectly proper to check delivery by weight and to demand that the legal weight be delivered in all cases. As in the first group, some of these States allow the statute to be superseded by special agreement and, therefore, the purchaser should be careful to refrain from any action from which such agreement might be inferred. (c) States Establishing Legal or Standard Weights. — The next group are those States which establish a legal or standard weight per bushel, usually without a provision for a special agree- ment clause: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, lyouisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Carohna, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. This list is shown separately from that immediately preceding on account of the distinctive wording of the laws. The meaning is not essentially different and therefore the checking should be done in the same way as is suggested there. (d) States Requiring Definite Weights for Sales by Weight. — ^The States in the next list establish a legal weight for various commodities, but specifically limit it to apply to cases where the sale is actually made upon a basis of weight: District of Columbia,^ Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia. In these States if the purchaser has not demanded that the transaction be upon a weight basis, the purchase must be checked by the use of dry meastures. ^ In some of the cities of Illinois, notably Chicago, the conditions given under the first class of States obtain, on account of a city ordinance to that effect. 2 The weight per bushel of potatoes only is established by law in the District. 8 Circular of the Bureau of Standards (e) States Not Regulating This Matter.— The States of Arizona and Wyoming have no laws establishing standard weights per bushel or requiring sales of dry commodities by weight. While dry measures appear to be legal in these States, the usual practice is to sell dry commodities by weight and therefore they will usually be checked by weight. (/) Checking Dry Commodities by Dry Measures. — In States of all the above classes if a legal weight for any dry com- modity is not established and it is not provided that dry commod- ities be sold by weight only, the checking must be done by dry measures. {g) Interpretation of State Laws. — A legal question is pre- sented whether many of the above laws require for fractional parts of the bushel, such as pecks, quarts, etc., the same frac- tional parts of the legal weight established. However, a reason- able view of the matter would be that such was the intention of the law. Therefore, when a peck, quart, or other fractional part of a bushel is purchased, the weight calculated by taking the same fractional part of the legal weight per bushel may be used for checking piurposes. In regard to weights per bushel in general, it should be remem- bered that on account of the variations in the densities of com- modities in different localities and in different seasons it is im- possible to fix with any degree of certainty the weight of a given volume, and in any event the best figure that could be obtained for any commodity would be the average of all localities for a number of years. This figure is only an approximate one and it may vary considerably from the true weight of a bushel of the commodity at the time of any transaction. Therefore it is im- portant that it be distinctly understood whether a bushel by vol- iime or a bushel by weight is the amount intended to be delivered or received. Since amounts determined by weight are much more nearly acciurate than similar amotmts attempted to be determined by measure, transactions upon a basis of weight are much to be preferred to those upon a basis of measure, and therefore it is recommended that in so far as possible all purchases and sales be made by weight, as is now the practice in wheat transactions. Attention is called to the fact that dry commodities have in some localities not infrequently been sold by liquid measure instead of dry measure. This should be guarded against, since a given Uquid measiure is about 14 per cent smaller than the cor- responding dry measure. Legal Weights per Bushel of Commodities 9 It does not appear to be generally known, and the fact may be of sufficient interest to justify a statement in this place, that the British imperial bushel is about 3 per cent larger than the United States standard bushel. The former contains 2219.36 cubic inches, and is defined as the volume of 80 pounds of pure water, at 62° F, when weighed against brass weights in air at a pressure of 30 inches of mercury; while the latter measure, as before stated, contains 2150.42 cubic inches. The following tables cover all available legislation in relation to weights per bushel up to and including the 191 6-1 7 legislative term. n. COMMODITIES FOR WHICH BUSHEL WEIGHTS HAVE BEEN ESTAB- LISHED IN NOT MORE THAN THREE STATES Beans, pole, 50 pounds (Nebraska). Beans, shell, 28 pounds (Maine, Massachusetts, and Vennont). Beans, velvet, in hull, 78 pounds (Florida). Beans, wax, 24 pounds (Illinois). Beets, sugar, 60 pounds (Connecticut and Maine). Beets, tiimip, 60 pounds (Maine). Beggarweed Seed, 62 pounds (Florida). Bermuda Grass Seed, 40 pounds (New Mexico and Oklahoma), 14 pounds (North Carolina). Blackberries, dried, 28 pounds (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). BtuEBERRiES, 42 potmds (Maine and West Virginia). Bromus InERMUS, 14 pounds (Iowa, Nebraska, and North Dakota). Cantaloupe Melon, 50 pounds (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Chufas, 54 pounds (Florida). Clover, alsike (or Swedish), 60 pounds (Maryland, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin). Clover, burr, 8 pounds (North Carolina). (This is for seed in the burr.) Clover, German, 60 pounds (North Carolina). (This is also more commonly known as "crimson clover.") Clover, Japan, Lespedeza, in hulls, 25 pounds (North Carolina). Clover (seed), sweet, unhulled, 33 pounds (Illinois). Corn, green, with shucks, 100 pounds (South Carolina and Tennessee). Culm, 80 pounds (Maryland). Dandelions, 12 potmds (Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont). Feed, 50 pounds (Maine and Massachusetts). Feterita, 56 poimds (Kansas). Grass Seed, all meadow and fescue except tall, 14 pounds (North Carolina). Grass Seed, Italian rye, 20 pounds (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Grass Seed, Johnson, 28 pounds (Arkansas); 25 pounds (North Carolina). Grass Seed, perennial rye, 14 pounds (North Carolina). Grass Seed, tall meadow and tall fescue, 24 pounds (North Carolina). Grass Seed, velvet, 7 pounds (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Greens, beet, 12 pounds (Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont). Guavas, 54 pounds (Florida). India Wheat, 46 pounds (Vermont). (This is a species of buckwheat.) Land Plaster, 100 pounds (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Lentils, 60 pounds (Pennsylvania and Federal Statutes). 38084°— 18 2 lo Circular of the Bureau of Standards Mangelwurzei/, 6o pounds (Connecticut and Maine). Mbal, except oatmeal, 50 pounds (Maine and Massachusetts). Middlings, coarse, 30 pounds (Indiana). Mn,o Maizb, 56 pounds (Kansas). Mustard Seed, 58 pounds (North Carolina). Parsley, 8 pounds (Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont). Peanuts, Spanish, 30 pounds (North Carolina and Virginia). Peach Seed, 50 pounds (North Carolina). Pears, dried, 26 pounds (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Peas, black-eye and other cowpeas, 60 pounds (Virginia); cowpeas, 60 pounds (Indiana and Maryland). Pieplant, 50 pounds (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Poppy Seed, 47 pounds (Federal Statutes). Radish Seed, 50 pounds (Iowa and South Dakota). Rhubarb, 50 pounds (Minnesota). Root Crops (not otherwise specified), 50 pounds (Iowa and Nebraska). Sage, 4 pounds (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Salads, mustard, spinach, kale, and tiumips, 10 pounds (North Carolina); 30 pounds (South Carolina and Tennessee). Sugar Cane (amber), 57 pounds (New Jersey). Sunflower Seed, 24 pounds (North Carolina). Teosintb, S9 pounds (North Carolina). Legal Weights per Bushel of Commodities II m. COMMODITIES FOR WHICH BUSHEL WEIGHTS HAVE BEEN ESTAB- LISHED IN MORE THAN THREE STATES •g a 3 •tf ■s 1 1 n Beans e 2 g 1 1 S 1 1 2 1 t V 1 1 Federal Statutes 6 50 48 47 60 60 50 24 Arkansas .50 24 48 50 48 48 CalUornlB. . . 60 60 Connecticut, 48 25 Delaware. . . District of Columbia Florida . . . «48 24 24 48 47 48 48 48 48 48 48 47 32 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 43 48 48 48 48 48 46 47 48 48 48 48 48 tfeo Green or ripe. « Commercially dry. <* Wheat hran. Legal Weights per Bushel of Commodities 13 ni. Commodities for which bushel weights have been established in more than three States — Continued •0 i i Coal Com, including Indian com or maize a 1 1 n 1 n a a 1 1 M s •a i 1 a •0 1 9 s s s S 3 1 •g S 1 Federal Statutes.. 56 56 Alabama 70 75 Arizona Arkansas 60 70 74 56 6 52 6 56 6 56 6 56 Calilomia Colorado 60 60 80 70 Connecticut 80 Delaware i District of Co- lumbia 1 Florida 70 56 56 6 56 56 56 56 iiS6 56 56 6 56 6 56 56 6 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 6 56 6 56 56 6 56 56 56 56 56 6 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 Georgia 60 80 70 Hawau IiJabo 60 60 60 60 60 60 70 70 ii70 Illinois 80 40 40 40 70 56 6 56 56 80 Iowa 80 ■■76' 1 1 "m 1 e ■a ] Q i 1 1 56 46 48 32 Arizona 48 33J 56 ri^Ufnmiii Colorado 50 50 44 30 55 • 44 48 * District of Columbia Florida 48 32 30 44 48 56 HawaU T<1<^hn 48 48 50 48 56 56 56 56 56 56 Illinois 48 32 33 33 48 48 48 48 40 40 40 Iowa 40 40 40 48 Kflnsflff 60 50 IfOiiisiaDa Maine 50 48 50 50 44 30 32 56 56 55 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 55 56 55 56 S6 56 56 Massachusetts 44 30 32 40 36 Michigan 48 Mississippi 48 SO 50 44 32 33 Missouri 48 ... Montana Nebraska 48 40 48 50 32 New Jersey New Mexico 50 SO 32 48 Hew York 44 44 30 " North Carolina 30 48 48 48 North Dakota Ohio 48 50 OMahnniR 32 48 Oregon 50 SO 40 50 56 56 56 56 56 56 40 Hhode Island 44 30 South Carolina 50 ":30 48 48 48 48 40 48 48 ■ 60 South Dakota SO Tennessee SO 28 32 48 60 Texas Utah Vermont 50 48 32 48 55 56 56 56 56 1 Virginia 30 Washington West Virginia 48 50 36 35 liSO Federal Statutes 32 32 o50 "Sfl Alabama 38 33 Arkansas 32 32 32 32 57 14 33 CaliionUa 57 S2 45 33 Delaware District of Columbia Florida 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 60 60 60 e50 60 60 ■55' eSO 56 55 Arizona 60 60 50 14 56 54 56 56 CalUoniia Colorado 60 60 Connertinit .. 60 54 45 60 50 Delaware District o{ Co- lUTnT>jf1 , 60 60 60 Florida 40 56 55 48 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 32 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 !56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 60 43 Hawaii Trtnhn