My limited knowledge on the subject suggests that various measurements (and measures) were made because some commodities (such as grain) reduce in weight and volume along the way between the time they are harvested and the time they are delivered, due to water evaporation, chaff, dust, etc.
Also, losses had to be accounted for, such as holes in containers or bags used in those days where the product would fall out. All this had to be checked and recorded somehow so that what was bought could be compared to what was sold. Mike Joy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph B. Reid" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2002 10:52 PM Subject: [USMA:22004] Re: tonnes | John Kilopascal wrote in USMA 21997: | | > The real odd thing is that food and other | >commodities is measured in tonnes for the world and export markets, but | >still in bushels in the US. If you check the newspapers for pricing of | >corn, and other vegetables, you will see it is in dollars or cents per | >bushel. It is another of those cases where unit confusion is desired. | > | >John | | | The really odd thing is that volume in bushels was recorded at every | stage from delivery to the grain elevator to loading on the export | boat, but was measured by mass at every stage, and the mass converted | to bushels using a different conversion factor for each grain. I | assume that that absurd practice still goes on in the US grain trade. | | -- | Joseph B. Reid | 17 Glebe Road West | Toronto M5P 1C8 Tel. 416 486-6071 | |
