Part 20

A KEEN EYE TO BUSINESS.

Upon the death of the senior partner of an Australian firm a notice of the sad event was sent to, amongst others, a German lithographic establishment. The clerk in this German house, who was instructed to answer the communication, wrote the following letter of condolence:--

“We are greatly pained to hear of the loss sustained by your firm, and extend to you our heartiest sympathy. We notice the circular you sent us announcing Mr. S----’s death is lithographed by Messrs.----. We regret that you did not see your way to let us estimate for the printing of the same. The next time there is a bereavement in your house we will be glad to quote you for the lithographic circulars, and are confident that we can give you better work at less cost than anybody else in the business. Trusting that we may soon have an opportunity of quoting you our prices, we remain, with profound sympathy, yours truly,----.”

An American journal, describing a new counterfeit bank-note, says the vignette is “cattle and hogs, with a church far in the distance”--a good illustration of the world.

95. On a square piece of paper mark 12 circles as shown in diagram. The puzzle is to divide the figure into four pieces of equal size, each piece to be of the same shape, and to contain three circles, without getting into any of them.

THE ORIGIN OF THE “STONE.”

Measurement of weight by the “stone” arose from the old custom farmers had of weighing wool with a stone. Every farmer kept a large stone at his farm for this purpose. When a dealer came along he balanced a plank on top of a wall, and put the stone on one end of it and the bags of wool on the other, until the weights were equal. At first the stones were of all sorts and sizes and weights, with the result that dealers who wished to make a living had to be remarkably knowing in their estimates of them. The many inconveniences involved by this inequality resulted in all stones being made of a uniform weight as far as wool was concerned. The weight of a stone of potatoes, meat, glass, cheese, &c., all differ.

A little boy was reading in his Scottish history an account of the battle of Bannockburn. He read as follows: “And when the English army saw the new army on the hill behind, their spirits became damped.”

The teacher asked him what was meant by “damping their spirits,” and the boy, not comprehending the meaning, simply answered, “Putting water in their whisky.”

THUNDER AND LIGHTNING CALCULATION.

96. Between the earth and a thundercloud there are four currents of air, having a temperature of 87, 57, 47, and 37 degrees respectively. The first current is half the depth of the second, the second half the third, and the third half the fourth. If a peal of thunder is heard 2-3251/4256 seconds after the lightning flash, find the depth of the fourth current and the time occupied by the sound in passing through it.

97. First cut out, with a pen-knife, in paste-board or card, The designs numbered 1, 2 and 3, Four of each; after which, as the puzzle is hard, You had better be guided by me To a certain extent; for, in fixing, take care That each portion is fitted in tight, Or they will not produce such a neat little square As they otherwise would if done right.

QUITE PROPER.

“What is a propaganda,” inquired the teacher. The boy looked at the ceiling, wrinkled his forehead, wrestled with the question a minute or two, and then answered that it was the brother of a proper goose.

DECEMBER AND MAY.

98. An old man married a young woman; their united ages amounted to 100; the man’s age, multiplied by 4 and divided by 9 gives the woman’s age. What were their respective ages?

99. A and B set out on a walking expedition at the same time--A from Melbourne to Geelong, and B from Geelong to Melbourne. On reaching Geelong A immediately starts again for Melbourne. Now, A arrives at Geelong four hours after meeting B, but he reaches Melbourne three hours after their second meeting. In what time did each perform the journey?

100. What two numbers are those of which the square of the first plus the second equals 11, and the square of the second plus the first equals 7?

A schoolmaster, describing a money-lender, says, “He serves you in the present tense, he lends you in the conditional mood, keeps you in the subjunctive mood, and ruins you in the future.”

101. “How much money have I,” says a father to his son. Son replied, “They don’t teach prophecy at our school.” “Well, they teach arithmetic, I suppose,” rejoined the father, smartly; “if you multiply one-half, one-third, one-fourth, one-sixth, three-quarters, and two-thirds of my money together, the product will be 10368. Now find out how many pence I have.”

102. A person has 1260 quarters of wheat. He sells one-fifth at a gain of 5 per cent., one-third at a gain of 8 per cent., and the remainder at a gain of 12 per cent. Had he sold the whole at a gain of 10 per cent. he would have made £23 2s. more than he did. Find the cost price of one quarter.

103. Is the word “with” ever used as a noun?

THE GREAT PUZZLE OF THE CENTURY.

104. Place the nine digits (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) together in such a manner that they will make 100.

105. Also make 100 by using the cipher in addition to the digits.

106. How far apart should the knots of a log-line be to indicate every half-minute, a speed of one mile per hour?

107. Several persons are bound to pay the expenses of a law process, which amount to £800, but three of them being insolvent, the rest have £60 each to pay additional. How many persons were concerned?

108. If five times four are thirty-three, What will the fourth of twenty be?