I. The Old Wine Measures

It has been seen that a cubic foot of water is very approximately = 1000 Roman ounces = 62-1/2 lb. of water at the early averdepois standard. There is reason to believe that this cubic foot was our original wine-unit, the wine-bushel, 1/8 of it = 216 cubic inches, being the wine-gallon; and that the cubic foot, increased in water-wheat ratio 1728 × 1·25 = 2160 c.i., was the corn-bushel. The corn-gallon, 2160/8 = 270 c.i., remained at this standard for centuries, 268·8 c.i. being the London measure, and 272-1/4 c.i. the Winchester measure, the slight differences being due to difficulties in casting and gauging shallow metal pans.

That the wine-gallon was originally 1/8 cubic foot is rendered very probable by the existence in Ireland of a gallon of almost exactly that capacity. This gallon was legalised for ale, beer and spirits by George II (1735) at a capacity of 217·6 c.i.

The rise of the wine-gallon in England to 219 c.i., to 224 c.i., and finally to 231 c.i. under Henry VIII, seems due to two influences:

1. The desire to make it hold 8 lb. of wine = about 222 c.i., that weight being mentioned in statute.

2. The influence of wine-measures used at the ports whence wine came.

The principal unit of wine-measure at Bordeaux, and some other continental ports, was the Velte, the equivalent of the German viertel which was 1/4 Rhineland cubic foot = 471·6 c.i. So our gallon tended to increase towards the measure of 235·8 c.i., the half-velte. It could not increase further than 231 c.i. without deranging its water-wheat ratio with the corn-gallon, already increased, temporarily at least, under Henry VIII to 282 c.i. But the principal reason for 231 c.i. was that this was the capacity of a cylinder 7 inches in diameter and 6 inches deep. It has always been desirable that market-measures should be of dimensions easily remembered and readily gauged with a foot-rule. The wine-gallon of 231 c.i., confirmed by the new measures made by Elizabeth’s order, was afterwards known as Queen Anne’s gallon. It is to this day the fluid gallon of the United States, Canada and Ceylon.

The half-velte was the French galon, a word connected with galloie, jallaie, jalle, jarre, with our ‘jar’ and with ‘gauge,’ Fr. jauge. It may be mentioned that ‘velte’ sometimes meant a gauging-rod for wine-casks.

The wine-gallon was divided into 2 pots, or 4 quarts or 8 pints. The wine-pint = 16·57 fluid ounces = 5/6 Imperial pint.

Cask Measures

By 2 Henry VI (1423)—

The wine-Hogsheadwas63gallons
The Pipe„126„
The Tun (tonnel)„252„(12 score and 12).

Thus the hogshead (Flemish okshoofd, ox-head) was approximately 1/4 of the tun or fluid ton.

252 wine-gallons of 8 lb. = 2016 lb.

The customary beer-barrel contained, and still contains, 36 gallons (now Imperial gallons). It is probable that it was originally a half-hogshead = 31-1/2 or 32 gallons, and that it rose as an indirect consequence of the statutory rise of the Cwt. and Ton. (This will be explained under Corn Measure.)

The half-barrel of 18 gallons was called a Kilderkin, from the old Flemish word kinderkin, a little child. To it corresponded the Runlet of 18-1/2 wine-gallons (1483), the German Eimer or double Anker.

The quarter-barrel of 9 gallons is a Firkin, a word in which vierde, a fourth, replaces kinder; so that in the fifteenth century it was a Ferdekyn.

But the ale-barrel remained nominally at 32 gallons, its kilderkin at 16, its firkin at 8 gallons. This counterbalanced the increase of the ale-gallon to 282 c.i. How did this rise come about? The probable explanation is that the ale-gallon was really a corn-gallon of Henry VII and VIII; it disappeared for corn, but it remained for ale.