FARM MANAGEMENT 



331 



from the farmstead is 24 rods, while in the old plan the 

 average distance of the fields is 70 rods. 



Economize in Fencing. — The size and shape of fields 

 have much to do with the amount of fencing required to 

 enclose an acre. Figure 145. See arithmetic lesson below. 



If one wishes to divide an 80-acre farm into five fields 

 of equal size, there is room for study. The proper solution 



^ \/6\/i\/^\/6 /^ 



^ 



io 



Figure 145. — An 80-acre farm divided into five fields in three different ways. Fig- 

 ure the amount of fencing required to enclose the fields in each case. 



may mean quite a saving in fencing and in operating the 

 fields. The three plans, a b, and c, in Figure 145, illustrate 

 three ways of dividing an 80-acre farm into five equal sized 

 fields. An 80-acre farm is usually 80 rods wide and 160 

 rods long. If it is divided as shown in (a), 640 rods of 

 fencing would be required for the inside fences. If divided 

 as shown in (b), 448 rods would be required, and if divided 

 as shown in (c) only 426 rods would be required. 



Questions: 



1. What are the advantages of having fields uniform in size, if 

 one practices a rotation of crops? 



2. Can a farm be so divided as to make any difference in the 

 average distance of fields from the farmstead? 



3. What effect does the shape of fields have on the amount of 

 fencing required per acre to enclose them? 



Arithmetic: 



1. How many acres of land in a field 1 rod wide and 160 rods 



