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GERMAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

A VAST variety of weights and meafures are in local ufe in Germany , as flight differences exiftbetween the mark , ell, &c. of almoft every ftate. There appears, however, from the accurateaccount given by Gren (in his Syftem. Handbuch der Chemie, Vol. i.) to be two kinds ofweight to which all thofe employed in Germany may be referred, and which are fufficient forour prefent purpofe. ‘ /

The ancient and moft authentic ftandard of weight is the

Cologne Mark or Mark of Charlemagne with its divifions. The mark is the higheft integer ufedin this ftandard which was intended for gold and fdver, but it is alfo confidered as half the-Cologne pound. The mark contains 8 ounces, the ounce 2 loths, the loth 4 quentchens or drams,and the quentchen i pfenning, pennyweight, or denier. Befides this, the pfenning is fubdividedinto 256 Recbt-pfenningtheil, or. ftandard parts, which laft divifion, however, is only hypothetical,but is extremely ufeful for comparifon ; for as the pfenning is itfelf the 256th part of the mark,the latter contains 65536 ftandard parts, which is a fufficiently minute divifion for all adftual cal-culations. The Cologne Mark therefore is thus divided:

Standard parts

256 = 1 Pfenning

1.024 — 4 = 1 Quentchen

4096 “ 16 — 4 az: 1 Loth

8192 = 32 = 8 =: 2 = 1 Ounce

65536 — 256 =64 — 16 — 8 =1 Mark

Alfo two marks make a pound. The Pfenning is further fubdivided either into 2 Heller , orinto 17 Efchen, or into 9 As.

The Grain weight therefore does not enter into this divifion of the Cologne Mark, but in thedivifion for weighing gold and filver it is ufed, as will be mentioned.

The other fet of weights ufed commonly in Germany is the Nurembitrg Medicinal Weight, theinteger or pound of which is divided precifely the fame as the apothecaries’ divifion of theEnglifh pound Troy; that is to fay, the pound into 12 ounces, the ounce into 8 drams, the draminto 3 fcruples, and the fcruple into 20 grains. Neither the pound nor ounce nor dram of theNuremburg weight are the fame as the pound, ounce, and quentchen of the Cologne weight,the Nuremburg pound being=ioo423.5 ftandard parts — and the ounce = 8368.625 St. Pts.For commerce and common ufe the Nuremburg pound is increafed to 16 ouncesc=ri33898St. Pts.

The Nuremburg medicinal pound of 12 ounces appears to be the ftandard for apothecaries’weight all over Germany , and therefore is probably that which is more commonly ufed by che-mifts. Hence, when we meet with the term pound, ounce, dram, and grains, in German che-mical authors, we may generally conclude that it is the Nuremburg medicinal weight, unlefsotherwife fpecified.

But the Cologne Mark weight is employed uuiverfally for affaying gold and filver, and there-fore is alfo of very frequent occurrence.

The Englifh Troy pound is given by Gren as equal to 104688 St. Pts. of the Cologne Mark,whence the Nuremburg pound, ounce, dram, fcruple or grain = .959266 Englifh Troy pound,ounce, dram, &c. refpedrively: or by the following table.

Nuremberg

X

2

3

4

5

Eng. troy0.95926I-9I8532.877803.83706-4 - 79^33

Nuremberg

6

7

8

9

Eng. troy

5-7556o

6.71486

7.67413

8.63339