Tub (unit) explained

Tub was a unit of capacity or of weight used in Britain and elsewhere.

British unit for butter and cheese

British laws for the sale of goods defined a tub of butter as a receptacle of a size which could contain 84 pounds of butter.^{[1] [2]}

Definition

1 tub of butter or cheese = 84 pounds

Conversion

1 tub = 1.5 Firkin (1 Firkin = 56 lbs)

Metric equivalent

1 tub = 84lb

Other commodities

The Oxford English Dictionary has quotations illustrating other values of a "tub" as a unit:^[3]

• Tea (1706): "about 60 pounds"
• "Camphire" (1706): "from 56 to 86 pounds"
• Vermilion (1706): "3 to 4 hundred weight" (i.e. 336-448 pounds)
• Camphor (1858): "130 Dutch lbs"

In Newfoundland, Canada, a tub of coal was defined as 100 pounds, while a tub of herrings was 16 Imperial gallons and a tub of salt was 18 Imperial gallons.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Book: Robinson. William. The Magistrate's Pocket-book, Or, An Epitome of the Duties and Practice of a Justice of the Peace. 1825. C. Hunter. 50. 9 April 2015.
2. Book: Crabb. George. A Digest and Index with Chronological Tables of All the Statutes: From Magna Charta to the End of this Last. 1841. A. Maxwell & son. 231. 9 April 2015.
3. Book: Oxford English Dictionary. 9 April 2015. Tub, n1, 1, d.
4. Web site: Rowlett. Russ. How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement. 9 April 2015.