Bushel
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Bushel. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a dry measure. The United States government has sent a standard set of dry measures to each state. A bushel contains four pecks or eight gallons. Abbreviation, bu. or bush. The capacity of our bushel measure is 2150.42 cubic inches. It is based on the old English Winchester bushel, so called from the fact that the ancient standard bushel measure of England was preserved in the old town hall of Winchester. It is not a scientific measure. It happens to be the volume of a cylinder 18 1/2 inches in inside measure and 8 inches in depth. It holds 77.6274 pounds of distilled water at 39.8 degree F. under 30 inches atmospheric pressure. In 1826, to correct various local bushels in use, the British Parliament adopted or legalized a standard imperial bushel which holds 80 pounds avoirdupois of distilled water at the temperature of 62 degree F. under a barometric pressure of 30 inches. Its capacity is 2,218.192 cubic inches. Americans adhere, however, to the Winchester bushel. Where no contract exists to the contrary, a bushel by weight is required by law. As a measure of weight, the states have adopted various standards, which in the majority of cases, however, are as follows, the figures indicating the number of pounds to the bushel: Wheat 60 Rye 56 Oats 32 Barley 48 Buckwheat 50 Shelled corn 56 Corn on cob 70 Corn and Rye meal 50 Bran 20 Potatoes 60 Sweet potatoes 60 Carrots 55 Turnips 60 Beets 60 Beans 60 Peas 60 Apples 50 Dried apples 28 Dried peaches 33 Flaxseed 56 Hempseed 44 Milletseed 50 Timothy seed 45 Bluegrass 14 Hungarian 50 Cloverseed 60 2026 Editor's Note: The bushel survives where it matters most: world grain markets still quote wheat, corn and soybeans by the bushel. But it has quietly stopped being a volume at all — since commodities are weighed, each crop has a legal bushel weight (60 pounds of wheat, 56 of corn), so the same word now means different amounts depending on what is in it. (Ed: BR 2026-06-30)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a measure of capacity used for grain; or what is called dry measure. It contains 64 pints, 32 quarts, or 4 pecks. In the United States it is equal to 2150.42 cu. in., in Great Britain to 2218.2 cu. in.