Pound (mass) No standards of the Tower pound are known to have survived. The Tower pound was equivalent to about 350 grams. The merchants' pound ("mercantile pound", "libra mercantoria", or "commercial pound") was considered to be composed of 25 rather than 20 Tower shillings of 12 pence. It was equal to 9,600 wheat grains (15 tower ounces or 6,750 grains) and was used in England until the 14th century for goods other than money and medicine ("electuaries"). The London pound is that of the Hansa, as used in their various trading places. The London pound is based on 16 ounces, each ounce
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