"How many feet of fence will be required to enclose this plat?"
"If the posts are set five feet apart, how many posts will be required?"
"There are two rows of cross beams, and each beam is ten feet long; how many will be needed for the fence?"
"How much will it cost to fence this garden at twelve cents a foot?"
"What is the area of a garden bed three feet by eleven feet? the perimeter?"
"What is the circumference of a circular flower bed four feet in diameter?"
By this time the ground was in condition to be worked. Which should we do first, spade it up, or lay it off? We decided that we would first dig up the entire plat and level it. Now, in spacing off, should we begin at the center or from opposite ends? The advantages of each method were strongly advocated, and finally, the children themselves concluded that it would be easier to measure for the center and space off from that point.
Stakes and cord had been brought. Children stood at the sides and ends of the garden. The middle points of the sides were determined and connected with a cord, and likewise the two ends. The intersection of the cords was the center of the plat and here a stake was driven. Attaching a cord to this stake two feet along the cord was measured and a small stick tied there. Using the cord as a radius, a circle was made and the middle bed staked off. Next the three-foot path to opposite ends was marked off, then the center one-foot path to opposite sides. This much accomplished, spacing the rest of the plat was easy. Two small boys, with lines and stakes, marked off the remaining portion and when the ends were reached the measurements were found to be accurate. The paths between the beds were next made and the ground prepared for planting.
