[wmf]

I think of it more as a look at how different life was in 1895. You couldn't Google anything. A farm owner probably would benefit from being able to do those math problems in his head.

BTW, tare isn't a unit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tare_weight

[knassy]

I think you are right about how it reflects a different time.

I doubt many average farmers kids made it through to 8th Grade though. Anyone who was taking the 8th Grade exam was probably reasonably wealthy, looking to continue studying, and take on a profession of some kind.