It will be seen that this problem is very easy of solution to every one, save Artemus Ward, who would spell it Sicks dux in a bocks.
Here is one, however, which would suit the taste, if not the ability, of the great showman to a nicety:
PROBLEM.
To distribute among three persons twenty-one casks of wine, seven of them full, seven of them empty, and seven of them half full; so that each of them shall have the same quantity of wine, and the same number of casks.
This problem admits of two solutions, which may be clearly comprehended by means of the two following tables:
| FIRST SOLUTION. | |||
| Persons. | Full casks. | Empty. | Half full. |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
SECOND SOLUTION. | |||
| Persons. | Full casks. | Empty. | Half full. |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
One more problem, and we shall have had enough mathematics for one chapter.
A figure similar to the preceding can be formed without removing the pencil from the paper, without crossing any line or retracing any part. Now set to work and do it.