175:, but in practice a hobbit could vary from 80 to 84 imperial quarts (91 to 95 L). The court agreed with the seller, finding that the hobbit was impermissible because it was not a fixed integer multiple of the bushel. The contract was therefore void. A similar argument was raised before the Exchequer of Pleas in
151:. The hobbit's mixed use as a unit of both volume and of weight complicated the issue, as laws applied to the two cases differently. Courts sometimes nullified grain contracts denominated in hobbits, and sometimes upheld them, according to varying customs in precisely how hobbits were defined and measured.
170:
each. The price of barley subsequently increased, and the seller did not make delivery. The buyer sued, and the defendant argued that the contract was illegal because it was not based on the standard
Winchester bushel. According to testimony, the Llanrwst market used a half-hobbit measure of two
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concerned a contract for the sale of 100 hobbits of wheat at 18 shillings per hobbit. Following custom, the grain was actually delivered in sacks weighed out to 252 pounds (114 kg) each, and converted to 168-pound (76 kg) hobbits. The seller sued to obtain payment from the buyer, who
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case, the hobbit in this instance was used as a measure of weight, not volume, and was defined as a fixed multiple of the pound. Because the sale of grain in pounds was allowed, the contract was deemed valid and was enforced.
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argued that the contract was unenforceable because the hobbit was a non-standard and illegal measure of volume, contrary to
Parliamentary establishment of the Winchester bushel for trade in grain. The magistrate at the local
368:
Reports of Cases Argued and
Determined in the Courts of Exchequer and Exchequer Chamber: At Law, in Equity, and in Error, from Hilary Term, 5 & 6 Geo. IV., to Michaelmas Term, 6 Geo. IV., Both Inclusive
51:, but was also often used as a unit of weight, which varied depending on the material being measured. The hobbit remained in customary use in markets in northern Wales after Parliament standardized the
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contains eighty-four pounds more than a hobbet at
Wrexham; and a hobbet of oats is something altogether different; and a hobbet of barley is something altogether different again.
103:, a 200-pound (91 kg) hobbit of old potatoes, or 210 pounds (95 kg) of new potatoes. Around 1600, Welsh farmland was sometimes denominated by its productive capacity or
130:, by the hobbet of one hundred and sixty eight . But, even if I do happen to know what a hobbet of wheat means at Wrexham, that knowledge good for Flint is not good for
95:
168 pounds (76 kg). The figures in hobbits were then converted to standard imperial bushels for official reporting. In addition to grains, there was also a hobbit of
107:
instead of its physical area, so that in at least one case a plot was registered as "a hobbett of land", that is, large enough to grow one hobbit of grain per year.
416:
The Law
Journal for the Year 1854: Comprising Reports of Cases in the Courts of Chancery, King's Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer of Pleas, and Exchequer of Chamber
392:
The
Revised Reports: Being a Republication of Such Cases in the English Courts of Common Law and Equity, from the Year 1785, as are Still of Practical Utility
110:
Already in 1863, the hobbit was used as an example of the "customary confusion in our
British weights and measures". An anonymous contributor to
67:, but in practice it was often used as a unit of weight for specific goods. According to George Richard Everitt, Inspector of Corn Returns for
448:
76:
200:
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There was some dispute about the legality of the hobbit as a non-standard measure in commerce after
Parliament established the
183:, but the court held that the question of measures had no effect on the case because the account had already been settled.
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bushel as the unit of measure for grain, after which courts gave inconsistent rulings as to its legal status.
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199:, J. Williams, found for the defendant, voiding the contract. This ruling was reversed by the
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162:, regarding an unfulfilled 1823 contract for the delivery of 20 hobbits of barley in
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Corn averages; county courts consolidation; debates and proceedings in parliament
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100:
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in 1888, grains were sold by the hobbit, measured by weight. A hobbit of
413:
Chambers, Montagu; Twells, Philip; Allnutt, George
Stevens, eds. (1854).
163:
135:
192:
127:
68:
63:
The hobbit was defined as a measure of volume, two and a half imperial
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for trade in grain and other staples. It was equal to two and a half
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48:
312:
A History of
Ancient Tenures of Land in North Wales and the Marches
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180:
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96:
80:
395:. Vol. XL, 1834–1836. Sweet and Maxwell. p. 692
285:Proceedings of the Columbus Horticultural Society
43:) is a unit of volume or weight formerly used in
365:McCleland, Thomas; Younge, Edward, eds. (1827).
335:Unknown (May 2, 1863). Dickens, Charles (ed.).
309:Palmer, Alfred Neobard; Owen, Edward (1910).
203:, which reasoned that, in distinction to the
8:
261:. Reports from Committees. Vol. 3. HMSO
223:
221:
91:147 pounds (67 kg), and a hobbit of
279:Hine, J.S., ed. (June–September 1896).
217:
7:
281:"British local weights and measures"
118:, arguing in favour of the decimal
99:at 180 pounds (82 kg), and in
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389:Pollock, Frederick, ed. (1899).
171:21-imperial-quart (24 L)
1:
449:Obsolete units of measurement
231:Old Country and Farming Words
234:. Trübner & Co. p.
16:Obsolete unit of measurement
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87:(48 kg), a hobbit of
419:. E. B. Ince. p. 356
255:House of Commons (1888).
371:. S. Sweet. p. 119
337:"At your fingers' ends"
228:Britten, James (1880).
179:, concerning a sale of
134:. A hobbet of wheat at
75:, when examined by the
201:Court of Queen's Bench
140:
40:
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188:Hughes v. Humphreys
105:measure of seedness
341:All the Year Round
158:heard the case of
156:Exchequer of Pleas
149:Winchester measure
116:All the Year Round
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143:Legal issues
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83:weighed 105
71:in northern
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114:'s journal
438:Categories
423:2009-01-12
399:2009-01-12
375:2009-01-12
351:2009-01-12
321:2009-01-12
295:2009-01-12
265:2009-01-12
241:2009-01-12
212:References
197:Flintshire
101:Flintshire
53:Winchester
168:shillings
166:, at 10
164:Llanrwst
193:assizes
136:Pwlheli
128:Wrexham
126:If at
69:Denbigh
65:bushels
49:bushels
35:, from
25:hobbett
291:(2, 3)
89:barley
85:pounds
41:hobaid
29:hobbet
23:(also
21:hobbit
347:(210)
316:(PDF)
205:Tyson
173:pecks
97:beans
93:wheat
73:Wales
59:Usage
45:Wales
37:Welsh
33:hobed
31:, or
181:malt
81:oats
19:The
236:171
195:in
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345:IX
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289:XI
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220:^
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