Which Poser version and what OS are you using?

In 2012 in Windows the label reads "Max x and z Tran in Poser units." I'm aware that a Mac will do its level best to screw up the formatting and possibly trubcate the text. The size of a Poser unit does vary between versions but not by much. A average adult figure is about 0.75 Poser units high. If you put in values of 10 and 25 then yes the props will be very spread apart.

You can select what units the dials will display by going to Edit > General Preferences > Interface > Units.