terests, and occasioned the total destruction of some of the inferior ones: but no sooner had this happened, than the others discovered that their interests were in reality the same, and that the true way to promote them was to concert measures together. In furtherance of this object, the 5 companies for the supply of that part of the metropolis north of the river proceeded to divide the town into as many districts, binding themselves, under heavy penalties, not to encroach on each other's estates: and having in this way gone far to secure themselves against any new competitors, their next measure was to add five and twenty per cent. to the rates established in 1810; and these have, in several instances, been still further augmented! The benefits that were expected to result from their multiplication have, therefore, proved quite imaginary; and though the supply of water has been increased, it is neither so cheap nor so good as it might have been under a different system.

The following statement of the rates and profits of the 5 principal Water Companies in 1820 and 1827, is extracted from the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the supply of

Total South of the Thames.-Returns not complete.

The truth is, as we endeavoured to show in the article COMPANIES, that certain restrictions ought, in almost all cases, to be imposed on companies for the supply of water to a large city. These are not undertakings that can be safely trusted to the free principles that may generally be relied upon. If there be only one set of springs adjacent to a town, or if there be certain springs more conveniently situated for supplying it with water than any other, a company acquiring a right to such springs, and incorporated for the purpose of conveying the water to town, would thereby gain an exclusive advantage; and if no limits were set to its dividends, its partners might make an enormous profit at the expense of the public, and without its being possible materially to reduce them by means of competition. What has happened in the case of the New River Company sufficiently evinces the truth of what has now been stated. Had its dividends been limited to any thing like a reasonable profit, the water that is at present supplied by its means might have been furnished for a small part of what it actually costs. But in cases of this sort, priority of occupation, even without any other peculiar advantage, goes far to exclude all regular and wholesome competition. A company that has got pipes laid down in the streets may, if threatened by the competition of another company, lower its rates so as to make the latter withdraw from the field; and as soon as this is done, it may revert to its old, or even to higher charges. It is not, in fact, possible, in cumbrous concerns of this sort, to have any thing like competition, in the ordinary sense of the term; and experience shows that whenever it is attempted, it only continues for a limited period, and is sure to be in the end effectually suppressed. We are, therefore, clearly of opinion, that no company ought ever to be formed for the conveyance of water into a large city, without a maximum being set both to the rates and the dividends; giving the company an option, in the event of the maximum rate yielding more than the maximum dividend, either to reduce the rate, or to apply the surplus to the purchase of the company's stock; so that ultimately the charge on account of the dividends may be got rid of.

We are glad to have to add, that we are supported in what is now stated by the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the supply of water for the metropolis, printed in 1821. It is there said "The public is at present without any protection even against a further indefinite extension of demand. In cases of dispute, there is no tribunal but the Boards of the companies themselves, to which individuals can appeal; there are no regulations but such as the companies may have voluntarily imposed upon themselves, and may therefore at any time revoke, for the continuance of the supply in its present state, or for defining the cases in which it may be withdrawn from the householder. All these points, and some others of the same nature, indispensably require legislative regulation, where the subject matter is an article of the first necessity, and the supply has, from peculiar circumstances, got into such a course that it is not under the operation of those principles which govern supply and demand in other cases.

"The principle of the acts under which these companies were instituted, was to encourage competion; and certainly in this, as in other cases, it is only from competition, or the expectation of competition, that a perfect security can be had for a good supply. But your committee are satisfied, that, from the peculiar nature of these undertakings, the principle of competition requires to be guarded by particular checks and limits in its application to them, in order to render it effectual, without the risk of destruction to the competing parties, and thereby, ultimately, of a serious injury to the public." And the committee proceeds to remark-"The submission of their accounts annually to parliament, for a few years, would necessarily throw light on this part of the question."

We think that it would be highly expedient to adopt the suggestion of the committee, by calling upon the companies to lay annually detailed statements of their affairs before parliament. They should be obliged in these statements to give an account of the rates charged by them, and to make a special report as to every case in which they have withdrawn water from a householder. It is to no purpose to repeat, in opposition to this proposal, the common-places about competition securing for the citizens a sufficient supply of water at the lowest prices, in the same way that the competition of bakers and butchers secures them supplies of beef and bread! The statements already made show that there is no analogy whatever in the circumstances under which these articles are supplied. If a man be dissatisfied with any particular butcher or baker, he may go to another; but it is not possible for him to change his water merchant, unless he also change the place of his residence. No water company will encroach upon the district assigned to another; and supposing an individual unlucky enough to quarrel with those who have the absolute monopoly of the supply of the district in which he resides, he must either migrate to another, or be without water, unless he can get a supply upon his own premises! Such being the actual state of things, it is quite ludicrous to talk about competition affording any real security against extortion and abuse. Even the publication of the proceedings of the companies would be a very inadequate check on their conduct; but such as it is, it is perhaps the only one that can now be resorted to; and as it would have considerable influence, it ought not, certainly, to be neglected.

3. Quality of the London Water.-All the companies, with the exception of the New River and East London Companies, derive their supplies of water from the Thames; and in consequence of their taking it up within the limits to which the tide flows, it is necessarily, in the first instance, loaded with many impurities. But the reports that were recently so very prevalent, with respect to the deleterious quality of the water taken from the river, have been shown to be very greatly exagge rated. The statement of Dr. Bostock, given in the Report of the commissioners, shows that by far the greater part of the impurities in the Thames water are mechanically suspended in, and not chemically combined with it; and that they may be separated from it by filtration, or by merely allowing it to stand at rest. Most of the companies have recently made considerable efforts to improve their water; and though they have not done in this respect as much as they might and ought to have done, a considerable improvement has, on the whole, been effected and notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary, we have been assured, by those best qualified to form an opinion on such a subject, that, though not nearly so pure as a little pains would render it, there is not the slightest foundation for the notion that its impurities have been such as to affect, in any degree, the health of the inhabitants.

4. Water for Ships.-Various improvements have been made in the art of preserving water on board ships. Of these, the principal are the charring the inside of the casks in which the water is kept, and the substitution of iron tanks for casks. The latter, being made of the required shape, may be conveniently stowed into any part of the ship. In men-of-war, the iron tanks serve as ballast; the water being brought up by a forcing pump. Water is found to preserve better in them than in any other sort of vessel. Drip-stones may be employed with much advantage in the purification of water. When water is taken on board from a river into which the tide flows, it should, of course, be raised at low ebb.

WAX (Ger. Wachs; Fr. Cire; It. and Sp. Cera; Rus. Wosk), a vegetable product. Several plants contain wax in such abundance, as to make it worth while to extract it from them. But bees' wax is by far the most generally known. The honey is first pressed from the comb, and the wax is then melted into cakes. It has a slight odour of honey, is insipid, and of a bright yellow hue. It is brittle, yet soft, and somewhat unctuous to the touch. It is often adulterated with earth, pea-meal, resin, &c. The presence of the former may be suspected when the cake is very brittle, or when its colour inclines more to gray than to yellow; and the presence of resin may be suspected when the fracture appears smooth and shining, instead of being granulated. Wax, when bleached, or purified, is white, perfectly insipid, inodorous, and somewhat translucent; it is harder, less unctuous to the touch, heavier, and less fusible, than yellow wax. It is sometimes adulterated with the white oxide of lead to increase its weight, with white tallow, and with potato starch. The first is detected by melting the wax in water, when the oxide falls to the bottom; the presence of tallow is indicated by the wax being of a dull opaque white, and wanting the transparency which distinguishes pure wax; and starch may be detected by applying sulphuric acid to the suspected wax, as the acid carbonises the starch, without acting on the wax.— -(Thomson's Chemistry, and Dr. A. T. Thomson's Dispensatory.)

Notwithstanding the large supply of wax produced at home, a considerable quantity is imported from abroad; and there can be no doubt that the import would be much greater, were it not for the magnitude of the duty, which, notwithstanding its late reduction, still amounts to 11. 10s. per cwt. The total quantity imported, in 1831, amounted to 7,203 cwt., of which 3,892 cwt. came from Western Africa, 1,551 cwt. from Tripoli, Barbary, &c., 910 cwt. from the United States, and the rest from Russia, Germany, &c.

Account of the Imports and Exports of Wax, the Quantities retained for Home Use, the Rates of Duty thereon, and the Nett Produce of the Duty, in 1831 and 1832.-(Papers published by the Board of Trade, vol. ii. p. 29.)

The price of wax varies (duty included) from 51. to 107. a cwt.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Weights are used to ascertain the gravity of bodies,a quality depending partly on their magnitude, and partly on their density. Measures are used to determine the magnitude of bodies, or the space which they occupy.

(For an account of the weights and measures used in foreign countries, and their equivalents in English weights and measures, see the notices of the great sea-port towns dispersed

throughout this work. Thus, for the Russian weights and measures, see PETERSBURGH; for those of China, see CANTON, &c.)

Neither the magnitude nor the weight of any one body can be determined, unless by comparing it with some other body selected as a standard. It is impossible, indeed, to form any idea in respect of magnitude or weight, except in relation to some definite space or weight with which we are acquainted. We say that one article weighs 1 pound, another 2 pounds, a third 3, and so on; meaning not only that these weights are to each other as 1, 2, 3, &c., but also that the weight or specific gravity of the first is equal to the known and determinate weight denominated a pound, that the second is equal to 2 pounds, and so on.

Standards of Weight and Measure.-Standards of lineal measure must have been fixed upon at the earliest period, and appear to have consisted principally of parts of the human body-as the cubit, or length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger: the foot; the ulna, arm, or yard; the span; the digit, or finger; the fathom, or space from the extremity of one hand to that of the other, when they are both extended in opposite directions; the pace, &c. Large spaces were estimated by measures formed out of multiples of the smaller ones; and sometimes in day's journeys, or by the space which it was supposed an ordinary man might travel in a day, using a reasonable degree of diligence.

But lineal measures can only be used to determine the magnitude of solid bodies; the magnitude of bodies in a liquid or fluid state has to be determined by what are called measures of capacity. It is probable that, in the infancy of society, shells, or other hollow instruments afforded by nature, were used as standards. But the inaccuracy of the conclusions drawn from referring to them must soon have become obvious; and it early occurred, that to obtain an accurate measure of liquids nothing more was necessary than to constitute an artificial one, the dimensions, and consequently the capacity, of which should be determined by the lineal measures previously adopted.

The determination of the gravity or weight of different bodies supposes the invention of the balance. Nothing is known of the steps which led to its introduction; but it was used in the remotest antiquity. It seems probable that, at first, cubes of some common lineal measure, as a foot, or the fraction of a foot, formed of copper, iron, or some other metal, were used as standards of weight. When the standard was selected, if it was desired to ascertain the specific gravity or weight of any given article, all that was necessary was to put it into one of the scales of the balance; and as many cubes, or parts of cubes, on the other, as might be necessary to counterpoise it.

Weights have, however, been frequently derived from grains of corn. Hence, in this, and in some other European countries, the lowest denomination of weight is a grain; and 32 of these grains are directed, by the ancient statute called Compositio Mensurarum, to compose a pennyweight, whereof 20 make an ounce, 12 ounces a pound, and so upwards. In every country in which commercial transactions are extensively carried on, the importance of having weights and measures determined by some fixed standard becomes obvious to every one. But as the size of different parts of the human body differ in different individuals, it is necessary to select some durable article, a metallic rod, for example,-of the length of an ordinary cubit, foot, &c., and to make it a standard with which all the other cubits, feet, &c. used in mensuration shall correspond. These standards have always been preserved with the greatest care: at Rome, they were kept in the temple of Jupiter; and among the Jews, their custody was intrusted to the family of Aaron.—(Paucton, Métrologie, p. 223.) The principal standards used in the ancient world, were, the cubit of the Jews, from which their other measures of length, capacity, and weight were derived; and the foot of the Greeks and Romans.

In England, our ancient historians tell us that a new, or rather a revived, standard of lineal measures was introduced by Henry I., who ordered that the ulna, or ancient ell, which corresponds to the modern yard, should be made of the exact length of his own arm, and that the other measures of length should be raised upon it. This standard has been maintained, without any sensible variation. In 1742, the Royal Society had a yard made, from a very careful comparison of the standard ells or yards of the reigns of Henry VII. and Elizabeth kept at the Exchequer. In 1758, an exact copy was made of the Royal Society's yard; and this copy having been examined by a committee of the House of Commons, and reported by them to be equal to the standard yard, it was marked as such; and this identical yard is declared, by the act 5 Geo. 4. c. 74., to be the standard of lineal measure in Great Britain. The clause in the act is as follows:

"From and after the 1st day of May, 1825 (subsequently extended to the 1st of January, 1826), the straight line or distance between the centres of the 2 points in the gold studs in the straight brass rod now in the custody of the clerk of the House of Commons, whereon the words and figures 'STANDARD YARD, 1760,' are engraved, shall be the original and genuine standard of that measure of length or lineal extension called a yard; and the same straight line or distance between the centres of the said 2 points in the said gold studs in the said brass rod, the brass being at the temperature of 62° by Fahrenheit's thermometer, shall be and is hereby denominated the 'IMPERIAL STANDARD YARD,' and shall be and is hereby declared to be the unit or only standard measure of extension, wherefrom or whereby all other measures of extension whatsoever, whether the same be lineal, superficial, or solid, shall be derived, computed, and ascertained; and that all measures of length shall be taken in parts VOL. II.-3 P

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or multiples or certain proportions of the said standard yard; and that 1-3d part of the said standard yard shall be a foot, and the 12th part of such foot shall be an inch; and that the pole or perch in length shall contain 5 such yards, the furlong 220 such yards, and the mile 1,760 such yards."— 1. The superficial measures are formed on the basis of the square of this standard; it being enacted, that

"The rood of land shall contain 1,210 square yards, according to the said standard yard; and that the acre of land shall contain 4,840 such square yards, being 160 square perches, poles, or rods.”—) 2.

Uniformity of Weights and Measures.-The confusion and inconvenience attending the use of weights and measures of the same denomination, but of different magnitudes, was early remarked; and there is hardly a country in which efforts have not been made to reduce them to the same uniform system. Numerous acts of parliament have been passed, having this object in view, and enjoining the use of the same weights and measures, under very severe penalties. But, owing to the inveteracy of ancient customs, and the difficulty of enforcing new regulations, these statutes have always had a very limited influence, and the greatest diversity has continued to prevail, except in lineal measures. But the statute of 5 Geo. 4. c. 74. seems to have, at length, effected what former statutes failed of accomplishing. It is, perhaps, indebted for its success in this respect to the moderate nature of the changes which it introduced. We have already seen that it made no alteration in the lineal measures previously in use. Neither did it affect the previously existing system of weights: both the Troy and the A voirdupois weights having been preserved.

"The Troy weight," says Mr. Davies Gilbert, President of the Royal Society, "appeared to us (the commissioners of weights and measures) to be the ancient weight of this kingdom, having, as we have reason to suppose, existed in the same state from the time of St. Edward the Confessor; and there are reasons, moreover, to believe, that the word Troy has no reference to any town in France, but rather to the monkish name given to London, of Troy Novant, founded on the legend of Brute. Troy weight, therefore, according to this etymology, is, in fact, London weight. We were induced, moreover, to preserve the Troy weight, because all the coinage has been uniformly regulated by it; and all medical prescriptions or formulæ now are, and always have been, estimated by Troy weight, under a peculiar subdivision, which the College of Physicians have expressed themselves most anxious to preserve."

It was resolved, therefore, to continue the use of Troy weight; and also, on account of the accuracy of the Troy standard, to raise the Avoirdupois weight from this basis.

"We found," said Mr. Davies Gilbert, "the Avoirdupois weight, by which all heavy goods have been for a long time weighed (probably derived from Avoirs (Averia), the ancient name for goods or chattels, and Poids, weight), to be universally used throughout the kingdom. This weight, however, seems not to have been preserved with such scrupulous accuracy as Troy weight, by which more precious articles have been weighed; but we had reason to believe that the pound cannot differ by more than 1, 2, or 3 grains, from 7,000 grains Troy; some being in excess, and others, though in a less degree, in defect, but in no case amounting to above 1, 2, or 3 grains. It therefore occurred to us, that we should be offering no violence to this system of weights, if we declared that 7,000 grains Troy should be hereafter considered as the pound Avoirdupois."

In accordance with these views, it was enacted,-"that from and after the 1st day of May, 1825, the standard brass weight of 1 pound Troy weight, made in the year 1758, now in the custody of the clerk of the House of Commons, shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, the original and genuine standard measure of weight, and that such brass weight shall be, and is hereby denominated, the Imperial Standard Troy pound, and shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, the unit or only standard measure of weight, from which all other weights shall be derived, computed, and ascertained; and that 1-12th part of the said Troy pound shall be an ounce; and that the 1-20th part of such ounce shall be a pennyweight; and that 1-24th part of such pennyweight shall be a grain; so that 5,760 such grains shall be a Troy pound; and that 7,000 such grains shall be, and they are hereby declared to be, a pound Avoirdupois, and that 1-16th part of the said pound Avoirdupois shall be an ounce Avoirdupois, and that 1-16th part of such ounce shall be a dram."

The measures of capacity were found to be, at the period of passing the late statute, in the greatest confusion; and a considerable change has consequently been made in them. The wine gallon formerly amounted to 231 cubic inches, the corn gallon to 268-8, and the ale gallon to 282. But these are superseded by the Imperial gallon, which contains 277.274 cubic inches, or 277 very nearly. It is deduced as follows:

"The standard measure of capacity, as well for liquids as for dry goods not measured by heaped measure, shall be THE GALLON, containing 10 lbs. avoirdupois weight of distilled water weighed in air, at the temperature of 62° of Fahrenheit's thermometer, the barometer being at 30 inches; and a measure shall be forthwith made of brass, of such contents as aforesaid, under the directions of the Lord High Treasurer, or the commissioners of his Majesty's treasury; and such brass measure shall be, and is hereby declared to be, the Imperial standard gallon, and shall be, and is hereby declared to be, the unit and only standard measure of capacity, from which all other measures of capacity to be used, as well for wine, beer, ale, spirits, and all sorts of liquids, as for dry goods not measured by heap measure, shall be derived, computed, and ascertained; and all measures shall be taken in parts or multiples or certain proportions of the said Imperial standard gallon: and the quart shall be 4th part of such standard gallon, and the pint shall be of such standard gallon, and 2 such gallons shall be a peck, and 8 such gallons shall be a bushel, and 8 such bushels a quarter of corn or other dry goods, not measured by heaped measure."— 6.

We subjoin a Table showing the contents of the different gallons, both in measure and weight.

Heaped Measures.—The greatest blemish, by far, in the new act, is the continuance and legitimation of the practice of selling by heaped measure. We are astonished at the toleration of such a barbarous custom. All articles that may be sold by heaped measure ought to be sold by weight. In Scotland, indeed, the use of heaped measure was legally abolished above 200 years since; and the present ill-advised attempt to revive a practice productive of nothing but fraud has been universally rejected in that country. The clauses in the act as to heaped measure are as follow:

The standard measure of capacity for coals, culm, lime, fish, potatoes, or fruit, and all other goods and things commonly sold by heaped measure, shall be the aforesaid bushel, containing 80 lbs. avoirdupois of water as aforesaid, the same being made round, with a plain and even bottom, and being 19 inches from outside to outside of such standard measure as aforesaid.-7.

In making use of such bushel, all coals and other goods and things commonly sold by heaped measure, shall be duly heaped up in such bushel, in the form of a cone, such cone to be of the height of at least 6 inches, and the outside of the bushel to be the extremity of the base of such cone; and 3 bushels shall be a sack, and 12 such sacks shall be a chaldron-08. It was further enacted, by stat. 6 Geo. 4. c. 12., that from and after the 1st of January, 1826, all such heaped measures shall be made cylindrical, and the diameter of such measures shall be at the least double the depth thereof, and the height of the cone or heap shall be equal to ths of the depth of the said measure, the outside of the measure being the extremity of or base of such cone.—) 2.

Measure of Weight, or Heaped Measure, to be used for Wheat.-Provided always, that any contracts, bargains, sales, and dealings, made or had for or with respect to any coals, culm, lime, fish, potatoes, or fruit, and all other goods and things commonly sold by heaped measure, sold, delivered, done, or agreed for, or to be sold, delivered, done, or agreed for, by weight or measure, shall and may be either according to the said standard of weight, or the said standard for heaped measure; but all contracts, bargains, sales, and dealings, made or had for any other goods, wares, or merchandise, or other thing done or agreed for, or to be sold, delivered, done, or agreed for, by weight or measure, shall be made and had according to the said standard of weight, or to the said gallon, or the parts, multiples, or proportions thereof; and in using the same the measures shall not be heaped, but shall be stricken with a round stick or roller, straight, and of the same diameter from end to end.-(5 Geo. 4. c. 74. 9.) Models.-The 12th section of the act directs models of the standard weights and measures to be kept in the different counties, cities, burghs, &c. for the verification of the weights and measures in use in such places.

Contracts for Sale, &c. by Weight or Measure.-All contracts, bargains, sales, and dealings, which shall be made or had within any part of the United Kingdom, for any work to be done, or for any goods, wares, merchandise, or other thing to be sold, delivered, done, or agreed for, by weight or measure, where no special agreement shall be made to the contrary, shall be deemed to be made and had according to the standard weights and measures ascertained by this act; and in all cases where any special agreement shall be made, with reference to any weight or measure established by local custom, the ratio or proportion which every such local weight or measure shall bear to any of the said standard weights or measures shall be expressed, declared, and specified in such agreement, or otherwise such agreement shall be null and void.-15.

Existing Weights and Measures may be used, being marked.-And as it is expedient that persons should be allowed to use the several weights and measures which they may have in their possession, although such weights and measures may not be in conformity with the standard weights and measures established by this act; it is therefore enacted, that it shall be lawful for any person or persons to buy and sell goods and merchandise by any weights or measures established either by local custom, or founded on special agreement: provided that, in order that the ratio or proportion which all such measures and weights shall bear to the standard weights and measures established by this act shall be and become a matter of common notoriety, the ratio or proportion which all such customary measures and weights shall bear to the said standard weights and measures shall be painted or marked upon all such customary weights and measures respectively; but nothing herein contained shall extend to permit any maker of weights or measures, or any person or persons whomsoever, to make any weight or measure, at any time after the 1st of May, 1825, except in conformity with the standard weights and measures established under this act.-16.

False or deficient Weights, &c.-The 21st section declares that all the powers, rules, and regulations in force by former acts for preventing the use of false and deficient measures are to be applied and put in execution, except such as are expressly repealed or aitered by this act.

Invariable or Natural Standards.--As the standards adopted in most countries have been in a great degree arbitrary, it has long been the opinion of scientific men, that, to construct a more perfect system of weights and measures, some natural and unchangeable basis should be adopted. It has indeed been contended by Paucton and Bailly, that the measures of the ancients were deduced from a basis of this sort: and that the stadium always formed an aliquot part of the earth's circumference, that part differing amongst different nations and authors. But no learning or ingenuity can induce any one to believe what is so obviously incredible. The ancients had no means of determining the earth's circumference with any thing like the accuracy required to render it the great unit of a system of measures; and, what is equally decisive, no ancient author ever makes the slightest allusion to any such standard.

In more modern times, however, the idea of seeking for a unit of weight and measure in some unchanging natural object has been practically carried into effect. The standards that have been usually proposed for this object, have been some aliquot part of the quadrant of the meridian, or the length of a pendulum vibrating seconds in some given latitude. The latter has been in so far adopted into the existing system of weights and measures established by the act of 1823, that the length of the standard yard, as compared with that of a pendulum vibrating seconds in the latitude of London, is specified in the act as follows:

"Whereas it has been ascertained by the commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the subject of weights and measures, that the said yard hereby declared to be the Imperial standard yard, when compared with a pendulum vibrating seconds of mean time in the latitude of London, in a vacuum at the level of the sea, is in the proportion of 36 inches to 39 inches and 1,393 ten-thousandth parts of an inch: be it therefore enacted and declared, that if at any time hereafter the said Imperial standard yard shall be lost, or shall be in any manner destroyed, defaced, or otherwise injured, it shall