BUSHEL

unit of capacity in the U.S. Customary and British Imperial systems of measurement. In the British system the units of liquid and dry capacity are the same, and since 1824 a bushel has been defined as 8 imperial gallons, or 2,219.36 cubic inches (36,375.31 cubic cm). In the United States the bushel is used only for dry measure. The U.S. level bushel (or struck bushel) is equal to 2,150.42 cubic inches (35,245.38 cubic cm) and is the equivalent of the Winchester bushel, a measure used in England from the 15th century until 1824. A U.S. level bushel is made up of 4 pecks, or 32 dry quarts. Two bushels make up a unit called a strike. In 1912 the U.S. Court of Customs defined a heaped bushel for measuring quantities of apples as 2,747.715 cubic inches (45,035.04 cubic cm). One or another unit called a bushel has been in use for more than 600 years. Various theories exist about its origins.