A standard or standard hundred was a measure of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

used in trade. The measure varied in number, size and composition from country to country so the term is usually preceded by the region or port of origin. The countries of the

Baltic region The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Un ...

were major producers and exporters of timber, and used their local measure for trade with other countries such as

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. The ''hundred'' in the term ''standard hundred'' was usually a '' long hundred'', meaning 120 pieces, but the word ''hundred'' was often dropped, leaving simply ''standard'' to mean "the local standard number of pieces, each in the local standard dimensions". The timber would be typically called

batten A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields. In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...

s (7 inches wide), deals (above 7, usually 9 inches wide) and planks (11 inches wide); boards were under 2 inches thick. The standard hundred of the Russian capital of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

was 120 boards which were 12 feet long, 1 inches thick and 11 inches wide – a

volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...

of 165 cubic feet. The city changed its name to Petrograd when the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

started in 1914 and so the unit was then known as the Petrograd Standard or PSH (Petrograd Standard Hundred). This unit also used the spelling Petersburgh. The Christiania standard was of the Petersburg standard, making it 103.125 cubic feet. The Swedish standard hundred was 121 boards of 14 feet long, 3 inches thick and 9 inches wide, making 317.625 cubic feet. The Norwegian standard hundred was 120 boards of 12 feet long, 3 inches thick and 9 inches wide, making 270 cubic feet. The British standard hundred for battens was 120 battens of 12 feet long, 2 inches thick and 7 inches wide, making 175 cubic feet. The

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

standard hundred was 100 boards of 12 feet long, 2 inches thick and 11 inches wide, making 275 cubic feet. The American standard hundred was 120 deals of 12 feet long, 2 inches thick and 12 inches wide, making 240 cubic feet. The deals for decking sold in the ports of Danzig and Memel were planks of 40 feet long, 3 inches thick and 1 foot wide. A standard hundred of 120 would be 1200 cubic feet. Timber was an important import for Britain and the supply was affected by the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

replaced

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

as a source and the annual volume of trade in standards during this period changed as follows (standards per year):

References

Customary units of measurement Units of volume {{forestry-stub

See also

References