While writing previous item about lots and maps and houses, I asked “What if maps were done as vec….
The answer came before I finished thinking the question. Maps WERE done by vectors until quite recently. Metes and bounds was strictly vectorial, and it closely resembled the newly discovered bee vectors.
The example given by Wikipedia is mythical but typical:
Commencing at a corner at the intersection of two stone walls near an apple tree on the north side of Muddy Creek road one mile above the junction of Muddy and Indian Creeks, thence north for 150 rods to the end of the stone wall bordering the road, thence northwest along a line to a large standing rock on the corner of the property now or formerly belonging to John Smith, thence west 150 rods to the corner of a barn near a large oak tree, thence south to Muddy Creek road, thence down the side of the creek road to the point of commencement.
This form of land description was still normal in the 1960s, often seen in newspaper legal notices seeking heirs or claimants to the property.
It also leads to an equally common joke… Just wanted to see if you could follow directions.
Polistra's Mill 