I have city friends vist regularly and they seem to get confused over simple measurements so I thought this may help.
Distance and length seems to always be a point of confusion so lets start there.
Rod - A rod is equal to six paces for the average man. (A shade over 16 feet)
Shade - Adding / subtracting about the thickness of a shadow to what ever you are measuring.
Chain - 66 feet
Link - Just a shade under 8 inches.
A Piece - This can vary, anywhere from a mile to three miles
A Fair Piece - Usually twice as far as a piece. Note: If the person giving directions has a far off look in their eye it may be 3 or 4 times a piece.
Furlong - 660 feet About the distance it takes a horse to get up to full speed when at a dead run with a rider.
Hand - How you measure a horse's height. Bout 4 inches or half a link.
Nail - Bout 2 1/4 inches. Green cut lumber at a nail thickness by two nail and when it dries you have a 2 x 4.
Pole - Area area equal to a square rod. Bout the size of the average sod house.
Rood - A quarter of an acre.
Span - Bout the distance equal to a handspread of the average guy or 9 inches.
Area measurements
Acre - What you get when you divide a square mile by 640. Bout 281 by 281 feet.
Hectare - Left over measurement the Europeans used. 100 meters by 100 meters.
Arpent - A shade under an acre. Just about enough for a family garden and for the plow horse to turn around.
Hide - 120 acres. used to be considered the average farm size when using draft animals for the work.
Morgen - A shade over two acres. Bout right for a large family garden or a garden split with the land owner if share cropping.
Virgate - About 1/4 of a hide or 30 acres.
Volume measurements
Butt - A volume equal to two Hogshead
Hogshead - A volume equal to about 63 gallons. About the amount of water a team of six draft horses require each day.
Wey - A wey wagon holds about 40 bushel.
Bushel - In the US its equal to 8 gallons dry.
Coomb - Equal to four bushels.
Stack - 108 cubic foot of firewood.
Cord - (or face Cord) A stack of firewood 4 foot high and 8 foot long. If you buy firewood and someone tries to tell you his pickup holds a cord, buy it from someone else.
Gill - 1/4 a quart. You use a gill of brown vinigar to a gallon of water to make make pickling.
Thirdendeal - Bout 3/4 of a quart. When you send bubba to buy a quart of shine in a mason jar he'll come back with a thirdendeal.
There you go, now you can speak like a native.
Distance and length seems to always be a point of confusion so lets start there.
Rod - A rod is equal to six paces for the average man. (A shade over 16 feet)
Shade - Adding / subtracting about the thickness of a shadow to what ever you are measuring.
Chain - 66 feet
Link - Just a shade under 8 inches.
A Piece - This can vary, anywhere from a mile to three miles
A Fair Piece - Usually twice as far as a piece. Note: If the person giving directions has a far off look in their eye it may be 3 or 4 times a piece.
Furlong - 660 feet About the distance it takes a horse to get up to full speed when at a dead run with a rider.
Hand - How you measure a horse's height. Bout 4 inches or half a link.
Nail - Bout 2 1/4 inches. Green cut lumber at a nail thickness by two nail and when it dries you have a 2 x 4.
Pole - Area area equal to a square rod. Bout the size of the average sod house.
Rood - A quarter of an acre.
Span - Bout the distance equal to a handspread of the average guy or 9 inches.
Area measurements
Acre - What you get when you divide a square mile by 640. Bout 281 by 281 feet.
Hectare - Left over measurement the Europeans used. 100 meters by 100 meters.
Arpent - A shade under an acre. Just about enough for a family garden and for the plow horse to turn around.
Hide - 120 acres. used to be considered the average farm size when using draft animals for the work.
Morgen - A shade over two acres. Bout right for a large family garden or a garden split with the land owner if share cropping.
Virgate - About 1/4 of a hide or 30 acres.
Volume measurements
Butt - A volume equal to two Hogshead
Hogshead - A volume equal to about 63 gallons. About the amount of water a team of six draft horses require each day.
Wey - A wey wagon holds about 40 bushel.
Bushel - In the US its equal to 8 gallons dry.
Coomb - Equal to four bushels.
Stack - 108 cubic foot of firewood.
Cord - (or face Cord) A stack of firewood 4 foot high and 8 foot long. If you buy firewood and someone tries to tell you his pickup holds a cord, buy it from someone else.
Gill - 1/4 a quart. You use a gill of brown vinigar to a gallon of water to make make pickling.
Thirdendeal - Bout 3/4 of a quart. When you send bubba to buy a quart of shine in a mason jar he'll come back with a thirdendeal.
There you go, now you can speak like a native.
