Grain (unit) weight) refers to those things measured by the lesser but quicker balances: the bismar or uncel, the Roman balance, and the steelyard. The original mercantile pound of 25 shillings or 15 (tower) ounces was displaced by variously the pound of the Hanseatic League (16 tower ounces) and by the pound of the then-important wool trade (16 ounces of 437 grains). A new pound of grains was inadvertently created as 16 troy ounces, referring to the new troy rather than the old troy. Eventually, the wool pound won out. The avoirdupois pound was defined in prototype, rated as to grains. In
Canal pound called these "mule drinks", since the mules would drink from the water flowing over the towpath. Informal overflows were often replaced by a waste weir or lined with concrete or masonry to make a more "permanent" spillway. If the pound was many miles long, sometimes the canal would be designed with stop gates, so that if there was a break in the canal the whole pound would not lose all its water. Isolating the break would allow the company to make repairs sooner. For instance, on the 14 mile level of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, there were stop gates