In a certain town in the North of Queensland, a class of young men was formed to receive lessons in short methods of business arithmetic. The teacher was endeavouring to knock into the head of a young man that the cost of a dozen articles is the same number of shillings that a single article costs in pence. To illustrate the rule, he gave the following example:—
“If I buy 1 dozen apples at 1d each, then the dozen will cost 1 shilling; and if I buy 1 dozen oranges at 2 pence each, the dozen will cost 2 shillings. Now, supposing I buy 1 dozen at 3 pence each, how much will the dozen cost?”
Young Man (after two minutes’ reflection)—“Are they apples or oranges?”
A DRAUGHTS PUZZLE.
[70.] Ten draughtsmen are placed in a row. The puzzle is to lift one up and passing over two at a time (neither more nor less) to place it on the top, or to “crown” the next one, continuing in this fashion until all are crowned. In passing over a piece already crowned, it is to be reckoned as two pieces.
[71.] In the centre of a pond 20 feet square there is a small island, on which is growing a tree. Two boys notice there is a bird’s nest on the top of the tree, but the difficulty is to reach the island, as they have 2 short planks that only measure 8 feet each. After a little while they hit on an ingenious plan, and, without nailing the planks together, manage to place them so they can reach the tree in safety. How did they do it?