The Magician's Own Book, or, the Whole Art of Conjuring / Being a complete hand-book of parlor magic, and containing over one thousand optical, chemical, mechanical, magnetical, and magical experiments, amusing transmutations, astonishing sleights and subtleties, celebrated card deceptions, ingenious tricks with numbers, curious and entertaining puzzles, together with all the most noted tricks of modern performers.

by George Arnold; Frank Cahill

36. THE CABINET MAKER'S PUZZLE.

A cabinet-maker has a circular piece of veneering with which he has to veneer the tops of two oval stools; but it so happens that the area of the stools, exclusive of the hand-holes in the center, and that of the circular piece, are the same. How must he cut his stuff so as to be exactly sufficient for his purpose?

37. THE STRING AND BALLS PUZZLE.

Get an oblong strip of wood or ivory, and bore three holes in it, as shown in the cut. Then take a piece of twine, passing the two ends through the holes at the extremities, fastening them with a knot, and thread upon it two beads or rings, as depicted above. The puzzle is to get both beads on the same side, without removing the string from the holes, or untying the knots.

38. THE DOUBLE-HEADED PUZZLE.

Cut a circular piece of wood as in the cut No. 1, and four others, like No. 2. The puzzle consists in getting them all into the cross-shaped slit, until they look like Fig. 3.

39. ARITHMETICAL PUZZLE.

The sum of four figures in value will be.