In the corner of a field is seen a milkmaid milking a cow, and on the other side of the field is the dairy where the extract has to be deposited. But it has been noticed that the young woman always goes down to the river with her pail before returning to the dairy. Here the suspicious reader will perhaps ask why she pays these visits to the river. I can only reply that it is no business of ours. The alleged milk is entirely for local consumption.
"Where are you going to, my pretty maid?"
"Down to the river, sir," she said.
"I'll not choose your dairy, my pretty maid."
"Nobody axed you, sir," she said.
If one had any curiosity in the matter, such an independent spirit would entirely disarm one. So we will pass from the point of commercial morality to the subject of the puzzle.
Draw a line from the milking-stool down to the river and thence to the door of the dairy, which shall indicate the shortest possible route for the milkmaid. That is all. It is quite easy to indicate the exact spot on the bank of the river to which she should direct her steps if she wants as short a walk as possible. Can you find that spot?
188.—THE BALL PROBLEM.
A stonemason was engaged the other day in cutting out a round ball for the purpose of some architectural decoration, when a smart school-boy came upon the scene.
"Look here," said the mason, "you seem to be a sharp youngster, can you tell me this? If I placed this ball on the level ground, how many other balls of the same size could I lay around it (also on the ground) so that every ball should touch this one?"
The boy at once gave the correct answer, and then put this little question to the mason:—
"If the surface of that ball contained just as many square feet as its volume contained cubic feet, what would be the length of its diameter?"
The stonemason could not give an answer. Could you have replied correctly to the mason's and the boy's questions?
189.—THE YORKSHIRE ESTATES.
I was on a visit to one of the large towns of Yorkshire. While walking to the railway station on the day of my departure a man thrust a handbill upon me, and I took this into the railway carriage and read it at my leisure. It informed me that three Yorkshire neighbouring estates were to be offered for sale. Each estate was square in shape, and they joined one another at their corners, just as shown in the diagram. Estate A contains exactly 370 acres, B contains 116 acres, and C 74 acres.
Now, the little triangular bit of land enclosed by the three square estates was not offered for sale, and, for no reason in particular, I became curious as to the area of that piece. How many acres did it contain?
190.—FARMER WURZEL'S ESTATE.
I will now present another land problem. The demonstration of the answer that I shall give will, I think, be found both interesting and easy of comprehension.
Farmer Wurzel owned the three square fields shown in the annexed plan, containing respectively 18, 20, and 26 acres. In order to get a ring-fence round his property he bought the
