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Ferd Corn
 
 
  Scottish Weights and Measures: Weight

Until the middle of the 19th century a wide diversity of weights and measures were used in Scotland. Standardization took place from 1661 onwards, and in 1824 an act of parliament imposed the English versions of Imperial measures and defined the proportions of older measures to Imperial measures.

In weight the basic unit was the Scots pound (from the Latin pondo, a ‘pound’, or pondus, meaning a ‘weight on a scale’), which equated roughly with the Roman weight, libra, hence the abbreviation of ‘lb.’). 16 pounds made a stone (from the word stone, i.e. a small piece of rock). A sixteenth of a pound was an ounce (from the Latin uncia, meaning a ‘twelfth part’ – originally a pound was divided into 12 ounces). A sixteenth of an ounce was a drop or drap (possible from a drop, i.e. a small amount of liquid, or from the Greek drachma, the origin of the Imperial equivalent, the dram).

TROY MEASURE
According to the standard measure of Lanark, adopted in 1661:

Scots Imperial Metric
1 drop (or drap) 1.093 drams 1.921 grammes
1 ounce = 16 drops 1 ounce 1.5 drams 31 grammes
1 pound = 16 ounces 1 pound 1 ounce 8 drams 496 grammes
1 stone = 16 pounds 17 pounds 8 ounces 7.936 kilogrammes

TRON MEASURE
According to the standard measure of Edinburgh, adopted in 1661:

Scots Imperial Metric
1 drop (or drap) 1.378 drams 2.4404 grammes
1 ounce = 16 drops 1 ounce 6 drams 39.04 grammes
1 pound = 16 ounces 1 pound 6 ounces 1 dram 624.74 grammes
1 stone = 16 pounds 1 stone 8 pounds 1 ounce 9.996 kilogrammes

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What was meant by the 'ferd corn' or the 'third corn'?