280.—BUILDING THE TETRAHEDRON.

Take your constructed pyramid and hold it so that one stick only lies on the table. Now, four sticks must branch off from it in different directions—two at each end. Any one of the five sticks may be left out of this connection; therefore the four may be selected in 5 different ways. But these four matches may be placed in 24 different orders. And as any match may be joined at either of its ends, they may further be varied (after their situations are settled for any particular arrangement) in 16 different ways. In every arrangement the sixth stick may be added in 2 different ways. Now multiply these results together, and we get 5 x 24 x 16 x 2 = 3,840 as the exact number of ways in which the pyramid may be constructed. This method excludes all possibility of error.

A common cause of error is this. If you calculate your combinations by working upwards from a basic triangle lying on the table, you will get half the correct number of ways, because you overlook the fact that an equal number of pyramids may be built on that triangle downwards, so to speak, through the table. They are, in fact, reflections of the others, and examples from the two sets of pyramids cannot be set up to resemble one another—except under fourth dimensional conditions!

281.—PAINTING A PYRAMID.

It will be convenient to imagine that we are painting our pyramids on the flat cardboard, as in the diagrams, before folding up. Now, if we take any four colours (say red, blue, green, and yellow), they may be applied in only 2 distinctive ways, as shown in Figs, 1 and 2. Any other way will only result in one of these when the pyramids are folded up. If we take any three colours, they may be applied in the 3 ways shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. If we take any two colours, they may be applied in the 3 ways shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. If we take any single colour, it may obviously be applied in only 1 way. But four colours may be selected in 35 ways out of seven; three in 35 ways; two in 21 ways; and one colour in 7 ways. Therefore 35 applied in 2 ways = 70; 35 in 3 ways = 105; 21 in 3 ways = 63; and 7 in 1 way = 7. Consequently the pyramid may be painted in 245 different ways (70 + 105 + 63 + 7), using the seven colours of the solar spectrum in accordance with the conditions of the puzzle.

[Illustration:

1 2 ———————- ———————- R / B / B / R / / / / / / G / / G / ———-/ ———-/ / / Y / Y / / / ' '

3 4 5 ———————- ———————- ———————- R / R / R / G / Y / R / / / / / / / / G / / G / / G / ———-/ ———-/ ———-/ / / / Y / Y / Y / / / / ' ' '

6 7 8 ———————- ———————- ———————- G / Y / Y / Y / G / G / / / / / / / / G / / G / / G / ———-/ ———-/ ———-/ / / / Y / Y / Y / / / / ' ' '

]

282.—THE ANTIQUARY'S CHAIN.



THE number of ways in which nine things may be arranged in a row without any restrictions is 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 = 362,880. But we are told that the two circular rings must never be together; therefore we must deduct the number of times that this would occur. The number is 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 = 40,320 x 2 = 80,640, because if we consider the two circular links to be inseparably joined together they become as one link, and eight links are capable of 40,320 arrangements; but as these two links may always be put on in the orders AB or BA, we have to double this number, it being a question of arrangement and not of design. The deduction required reduces our total to 282,240. Then one of our links is of a peculiar form, like an 8. We have therefore the option of joining on either one end or the other on every occasion, so we must double the last result. This brings up our total to 564,480.

We now come to the point to which I directed the reader's attention—that every link may be put on in one of two ways. If we join the first finger and thumb of our left hand horizontally, and then link the first finger and thumb of the right hand, we see that the right thumb may be either above or below. But in the case of our chain we must remember that although that 8-shaped link has two independent ends it is like every other link in having only two sides—that is, you cannot turn over one end without turning the other at the same time.

We will, for convenience, assume that each link has a black side and a side painted white. Now, if it were stipulated that (with the chain lying on the table, and every successive link falling over its predecessor in the same way, as in the diagram) only the white sides should be uppermost as in A, then the answer would be 564,480, as above—ignoring for the present all reversals of the completed chain. If, however, the first link were allowed to be placed either side up, then we could have either A or B, and the answer would be 2 x 564,480 = 1,128,960; if two links might be placed either way up, the answer would be 4 x 564,480; if three links, then 8 x 564,480, and so on. Since, therefore, every link may be placed either side up, the number will be 564,480 multiplied by 2^9, or by 512. This raises our total to 289,013,760.

But there is still one more point to be considered. We have not yet allowed for the fact that with any given arrangement three of the other arrangements may be obtained by simply turning the chain over through its entire length and by reversing the ends. Thus C is really the same as A, and if we turn this page upside down, then A and C give two other arrangements that are still really identical. Thus to get the correct answer to the puzzle we must divide our last total by 4, when we find that there are just 72,253,440 different ways in which the smith might have put those links together. In other words, if the nine links had originally formed a piece of chain, and it was known that the two circular links were separated, then it would be 72,253,439 chances to 1 that the smith would not have put the links together again precisely as they were arranged before!

283.—THE FIFTEEN DOMINOES.

The reader may have noticed that at each end of the line I give is a four, so that, if we like, we can form a ring instead of a line. It can easily be proved that this must always be so. Every line arrangement will make a circular arrangement if we like to join the ends. Now, curious as it may at first appear, the following diagram exactly represents the conditions when we leave the doubles out of the question and devote our attention to forming circular arrangements. Each number, or half domino, is in line with every other number, so that if we start at any one of the five numbers and go over all the lines of the pentagon once and once only we shall come back to the starting place, and the order of our route will give us one of the circular arrangements for the ten dominoes. Take your pencil and follow out the following route, starting at the 4: 41304210234. You have been over all the lines once only, and by repeating all these figures in this way, 41—13—30—04—42—21—10—02—23—34, you get an arrangement of the dominoes (without the doubles) which will be perfectly clear. Take other routes and you will get other arrangements. If, therefore, we can ascertain just how many of these circular routes are obtainable from the pentagon, then the rest is very easy.

Well, the number of different circular routes over the pentagon is 264. How I arrive at these figures I will not at present explain, because it would take a lot of space. The dominoes may, therefore, be arranged in a circle in just 264 different ways, leaving out the doubles. Now, in any one of these circles the five doubles may be inserted in 2^5 = 32 different ways. Therefore when we include the doubles there are 264 x 32 = 8,448 different circular arrangements. But each of those circles may be broken (so as to form our straight line) in any one of 15 different places. Consequently, 8,448 x 15 gives 126,720 different ways as the correct answer to the puzzle.



I purposely refrained from asking the reader to discover in just how many different ways the full set of twenty-eight dominoes may be arranged in a straight line in accordance with the ordinary rules of the game, left to right and right to left of any arrangement counting as different ways. It is an exceedingly difficult problem, but the correct answer is 7,959,229,931,520 ways. The method of solving is very complex.

284.—THE CROSS TARGET.



Twenty-one different squares may be selected. Of these nine will be of the size shown by the four A's in the diagram, four of the size shown by the B's, four of the size shown by the C's, two of the size shown by the D's, and two of the size indicated by the upper single A, the upper single E, the lower single C, and the EB. It is an interesting fact that you cannot form any one of these twenty-one squares without using at least one of the six circles marked E.

285.—THE FOUR POSTAGE STAMPS.

Referring to the original diagram, the four stamps may be given in the shape 1, 2, 3, 4, in three ways; in the shape 1, 2, 5, 6, in six ways; in the shape 1, 2, 3, 5, or 1, 2, 3, 7, or 1, 5, 6, 7, or 3, 5, 6, 7, in twenty-eight ways; in shape 1, 2, 3, 6, or 2, 5, 6, 7, in fourteen ways; in shape 1, 2, 6, 7, or 2, 3, 5, 6, or 1, 5, 6, 10, or 2, 5, 6, 9, in fourteen ways. Thus there are sixty-five ways in all.

286.—PAINTING THE DIE.

The 1 can be marked on any one of six different sides. For every side occupied by 1 we have a selection of four sides for the 2. For every situation of the 2 we have two places for the 3. (The 6, 5, and 4 need not be considered, as their positions are determined by the 1, 2, and 3.) Therefore 6, 4, and 2 multiplied together make 48 different ways—the correct answer.

287.—AN ACROSTIC PUZZLE.

There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet, giving 325 different pairs. Every one of these pairs may be reversed, making 650 ways. But every initial letter may be repeated as the final, producing 26 other ways. The total is therefore 676 different pairs. In other words, the answer is the square of the number of letters in the alphabet.

288.—CHEQUERED BOARD DIVISIONS.

There are 255 different ways of cutting the board into two pieces of exactly the same size and shape. Every way must involve one of the five cuts shown in Diagrams A, B, C, D, and E. To avoid repetitions by reversal and reflection, we need only consider cuts that enter at the points a, b, and c. But the exit must always be at a point in a straight line from the entry through the centre. This is the most important condition to remember. In case B you cannot enter at a, or you will get the cut provided for in E. Similarly in C or D, you must not enter the key-line in the same direction as itself, or you will get A or B. If you are working on A or C and entering at a, you must consider joins at one end only of the key-line, or you will get repetitions. In other cases you must consider joins at both ends of the key; but after leaving a in case D, turn always either to right or left—use one direction only. Figs. 1 and 2 are examples under A; 3 and 4 are examples under B; 5 and 6 come under C;



and 7 is a pretty example of D. Of course, E is a peculiar type, and obviously admits of only one way of cutting, for you clearly cannot enter at b or c.

Here is a table of the results:—

a b c Ways. A = 8 + 17 + 21 = 46 B = 0 + 17 + 21 = 38 C = 15 + 31 + 39 = 85 D = 17 + 29 + 39 = 85 E = 1 + 0 + 0 = 1 — — — —- 41 94 120 255

I have not attempted the task of enumerating the ways of dividing a board 8 x 8—that is, an ordinary chessboard. Whatever the method adopted, the solution would entail considerable labour.

289.—LIONS AND CROWNS.



Here is the solution. It will be seen that each of the four pieces (after making the cuts along the thick lines) is of exactly the same size and shape, and that each piece contains a lion and a crown. Two of the pieces are shaded so as to make the solution quite clear to the eye.

290.—BOARDS WITH AN ODD NUMBER OF SQUARES.

There are fifteen different ways of cutting the 5 x 5 board (with the central square removed) into two pieces of the same size and shape. Limitations of space will not allow me to give diagrams of all these, but I will enable the reader to draw them all out for himself without the slightest difficulty. At whatever point on the edge your cut enters, it must always end at a point on the edge, exactly opposite in a line through the centre of the square. Thus, if you enter at point 1 (see Fig. 1) at the top, you must leave at point 1 at the bottom. Now, 1 and 2 are the only two really different points of entry; if we use any others they will simply produce similar solutions. The directions of the cuts in the following fifteen



solutions are indicated by the numbers on the diagram. The duplication of the numbers can lead to no confusion, since every successive number is contiguous to the previous one. But whichever direction you take from the top downwards you must repeat from the bottom upwards, one direction being an exact reflection of the other.

1, 4, 8. 1, 4, 3, 7, 8. 1, 4, 3, 7, 10, 9. 1, 4, 3, 7, 10, 6, 5, 9. 1, 4, 5, 9. 1, 4, 5, 6, 10, 9. 1, 4, 5, 6, 10, 7, 8. 2, 3, 4, 8. 2, 3, 4, 5, 9. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 9. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 7, 8. 2, 3, 7, 8. 2, 3, 7, 10, 9. 2, 3, 7, 10, 6, 5, 9. 2, 3, 7, 10, 6, 5, 4, 8.

It will be seen that the fourth direction (1, 4, 3, 7, 10, 6, 5, 9) produces the solution shown in Fig. 2. The thirteenth produces the solution given in propounding the puzzle, where the cut entered at the side instead of at the top. The pieces, however, will be of the same shape if turned over, which, as it was stated in the conditions, would not constitute a different solution.

291.—THE GRAND LAMA'S PROBLEM.

The method of dividing the chessboard so that each of the four parts shall be of exactly the same size and shape, and contain one of the gems, is shown in the diagram. The method of shading the squares is adopted to make the shape of the pieces clear to the eye. Two of the pieces are shaded and two left white.

The reader may find it interesting to compare this puzzle with that of the "Weaver" (No. 14, Canterbury Puzzles).

[Illustration: THE GRAND LAMA'S PROBLEM.

+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+ :o: : : : : : : : I...I...+==+==+==+==+==+==+ ::: o ::::::::::::::::::::::: I...I...I...+==+==+==+==+...I ::: :o: : : : ::: I...I...I...I...I==+==+...I...I ::: ::: o ::::::: ::: I...I...I...+==I==+...I...I...I ::: ::::::: ::: ::: I...I...+==+==+...+...I...I...I ::: : : : ::: ::: I...+==+==+==+==I...I...I...I ::::::::::::::::::::::: ::: +==+==+==+==+==+==+...I...I : : : : : : ::: +==+==+==+==+==+==+==+==+

]

292.—THE ABBOT'S WINDOW.

THE man who was "learned in strange mysteries" pointed out to Father John that the orders of the Lord Abbot of St. Edmondsbury might be easily carried out by blocking up twelve of the lights in the window as shown by the dark squares in the following sketch:—



Father John held that the four corners should also be darkened, but the sage explained that it was desired to obstruct no more light than was absolutely necessary, and he said, anticipating Lord Dundreary, "A single pane can no more be in a line with itself than one bird can go into a corner and flock in solitude. The Abbot's condition was that no diagonal lines should contain an odd number of lights."

Now, when the holy man saw what had been done he was well pleased, and said, "Truly, Father John, thou art a man of deep wisdom, in that thou hast done that which seemed impossible, and yet withal adorned our window with a device of the cross of St. Andrew, whose name I received from my godfathers and godmothers." Thereafter he slept well and arose refreshed. The window might be seen intact to-day in the monastery of St. Edmondsbury, if it existed, which, alas! the window does not.

293.—THE CHINESE CHESSBOARD.

+===I===+===+===+===I===+===+===+ :::: 2 :::: 3 ::: 5 :6: I...+===+...+===+...I...I...+===I :::: 1 ::: :::: 4 ::: 7 I...+===+===+...I===I...I===+===I :::: ::: :::: 9 ::: I===I...I===============I...I...I :::: 11 :::: ::::: 10 ::: 8 I=======I===I===========I...I...I ::::: 12 :::: 13:::: ::: I=======+...I...+===+=== ===+===I :::: 14 ::: ::: 16:::: 17 I...+...I===I===+...+...+===+...I :::: ::::: 15 ::: :::: I=======+===========+===+=======I :::: ::::: 18::::: ::::: +===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+

+===+===I===I===+===I===+===+===+ :::: :::: ::: :::: I...+===I...I=======I...I===+...I ::: :::: :::: ::: I...I===I===============I===I...I :::: :::: ::::: ::: I===I=======I=======I=======I===I ::: :::: :::: :::: I...I===+...I...+...I...+===+...I :::: :::: ::: :::: I...+===I...+===I===+...I===+...I ::: :::: :::: ::: I===I...+=======I=======+...I===I :::: :::: ::::: ::: I...+=======+...I...+=======+...I :::: :::: ::: ::::: +===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+

Eighteen is the maximum number of pieces. I give two solutions. The numbered diagram is so cut that the eighteenth piece has the largest area—eight squares—that is possible under the conditions. The second diagram was prepared under the added condition that no piece should contain more than five squares.

No. 74 in The Canterbury Puzzles shows how to cut the board into twelve pieces, all different, each containing five squares, with one square piece of four squares.

294.—THE CHESSBOARD SENTENCE.

==I==I==I==I======I====== ::: ::: :::: :::: I==I...I==I...I...==I...==I ::: ::::: ::: ::::: ... ...==I...I...==...==I ::: ::: :::: :::: ...==...==I==I==I======I :::: ::::: ::: ::::: I==========I==I...I==I==... ::::: ::: ::: ::: ...==... ... ... ...I==... ::: ::: ::: :::: ... ... ... ...I==...==... ::: ::: ::::: ::: I==...==I...======I==... :::: :::: ::::: :::: ==========I==================

The pieces may be fitted together, as shown in the illustration, to form a perfect chessboard.

295.—THE EIGHT ROOKS.

Obviously there must be a rook in every row and every column. Starting with the top row, it is clear that we may put our first rook on any one of eight different squares. Wherever it is placed, we have the option of seven squares for the second rook in the second row. Then we have six squares from which to select the third row, five in the fourth, and so on. Therefore the number of our different ways must be 8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 40,320 (that is 8!), which is the correct answer.

How many ways there are if mere reversals and reflections are not counted as different has not yet been determined; it is a difficult problem. But this point, on a smaller square, is considered in the next puzzle.

296.—THE FOUR LIONS.

There are only seven different ways under the conditions. They are as follows: 1 2 3 4, 1 2 4 3, 1 3 2 4, 1 3 4 2, 1 4 3 2, 2 1 4 3, 2 4 1 3. Taking the last example, this notation means that we place a lion in the second square of first row, fourth square of second row, first square of third row, and third square of fourth row. The first example is, of course, the one we gave when setting the puzzle.

297.—BISHOPS—UNGUARDED.

+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+ : ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: +...+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+ ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: : +...+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+ : ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: +...+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+ ::B:: B ::B:: B ::B:: B ::B:: B : +...+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+ : ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: +...+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+ ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: : +...+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+ ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: : +...+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+ : ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: +...+...+...+...+...+...+...+...+

This cannot be done with fewer bishops than eight, and the simplest solution is to place the bishops in line along the fourth or fifth row of the board (see diagram). But it will be noticed that no bishop is here guarded by another, so we consider that point in the next puzzle.

298.—BISHOPS—GUARDED.

..........................+ : ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: +........................ ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: : ........................+ : ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: +.........................+ ::::: B ::B:: B ::::: B ::B:: : +.......................... : ::B:: B ::B:: ::B:: B ::::: ........................+ ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: : +........................ : ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: ......................... ::::: ::::: ::::: ::::: : .........................

This puzzle is quite easy if you first of all give it a little thought. You need only consider squares of one colour, for whatever can be done in the case of the white squares can always be repeated on the black, and they are here quite independent of one another. This equality, of course, is in consequence of the fact that the number of squares on an ordinary chessboard, sixty-four, is an even number. If a square chequered board has an odd number of squares, then there will always be one more square of one colour than of the other.

Ten bishops are necessary in order that every square shall be attacked and every bishop guarded by another bishop. I give one way of arranging them in the diagram. It will be noticed that the two central bishops in the group of six on the left-hand side of the board serve no purpose, except to protect those bishops that are on adjoining squares. Another solution would therefore be obtained by simply raising the upper one of these one square and placing the other a square lower down.

299.—BISHOPS IN CONVOCATION.

The fourteen bishops may be placed in 256 different ways. But every bishop must always be placed on one of the sides of the board—that is, somewhere on a row or file on the extreme edge. The puzzle, therefore, consists in counting the number of different ways that we can arrange the fourteen round the edge of the board without attack. This is not a difficult matter. On a chessboard of n squared squares 2n - 2 bishops (the maximum number) may always be placed in 2^n ways without attacking. On an ordinary chessboard n would be 8; therefore 14 bishops may be placed in 256 different ways. It is rather curious that the general result should come out in so simple a form.



300.—THE EIGHT QUEENS.



The solution to this puzzle is shown in the diagram. It will be found that no queen attacks another, and also that no three queens are in a straight line in any oblique direction. This is the only arrangement out of the twelve fundamentally different ways of placing eight queens without attack that fulfils the last condition.

301.—THE EIGHT STARS.

The solution of this puzzle is shown in the first diagram. It is the only possible solution within the conditions stated. But if one of the eight stars had not already been placed as shown, there would then have been eight ways of arranging the stars according to this scheme, if we count reversals and reflections as different. If you turn this page round so that each side is in turn at the bottom, you will get the four reversals; and if you reflect each of these in a mirror, you will get the four reflections. These are, therefore, merely eight aspects of one "fundamental solution." But without that first star being so placed, there is another fundamental solution, as shown in the second diagram. But this arrangement being in a way symmetrical, only produces four different aspects by reversal and reflection.



302.—A PROBLEM IN MOSAICS.



The diagram shows how the tiles may be rearranged. As before, one yellow and one purple tile are dispensed with. I will here point out that in the previous arrangement the yellow and purple tiles in the seventh row might have changed places, but no other arrangement was possible.

303.—UNDER THE VEIL.

Some schemes give more diagonal readings of four letters than others, and we are at first tempted to favour these; but this is a false scent, because what you appear to gain in this direction you lose in others. Of course it immediately occurs to the solver that every LIVE or EVIL is worth twice as much as any other word, since it reads both ways and always counts as 2. This is an important consideration, though sometimes those arrangements that contain most readings of these two words are fruitless in other words, and we lose in the general count.



The above diagram is in accordance with the conditions requiring no letter to be in line with another similar letter, and it gives twenty readings of the five words—six horizontally, six vertically, four in the diagonals indicated by the arrows on the left, and four in the diagonals indicated by the arrows on the right. This is the maximum.

Four sets of eight letters may be placed on the board of sixty-four squares in as many as 604 different ways, without any letter ever being in line with a similar one. This does not count reversals and reflections as different, and it does not take into consideration the actual permutations of the letters among themselves; that is, for example, making the L's change places with the E's. Now it is a singular fact that not only do the twenty word-readings that I have given prove to be the real maximum, but there is actually only that one arrangement from which this maximum may be obtained. But if you make the V's change places with the I's, and the L's with the E's, in the solution given, you still get twenty readings—the same number as before in every direction. Therefore there are two ways of getting the maximum from the same arrangement. The minimum number of readings is zero—that is, the letters can be so arranged that no word can be read in any of the directions.

304.—BACHET'S SQUARE.



Let us use the letters A, K, Q, J, to denote ace, king, queen, jack; and D, S, H, C, to denote diamonds, spades, hearts, clubs. In Diagrams 1 and 2 we have the two available ways of arranging either group of letters so that no two similar letters shall be in line—though a quarter-turn of 1 will give us the arrangement in 2. If we superimpose or combine these two squares, we get the arrangement of Diagram 3, which is one solution. But in each square we may put the letters in the top line in twenty-four different ways without altering the scheme of arrangement. Thus, in Diagram 4 the S's are similarly placed to the D's in 2, the H's to the S's, the C's to the H's, and the D's to the C's. It clearly follows that there must be 24x24 = 576 ways of combining the two primitive arrangements. But the error that Labosne fell into was that of assuming that the A, K, Q, J must be arranged in the form 1, and the D, S, H, C in the form 2. He thus included reflections and half-turns, but not quarter-turns. They may obviously be interchanged. So that the correct answer is 2 x 576 = 1,152, counting reflections and reversals as different. Put in another manner, the pairs in the top row may be written in 16 x 9 x 4 x 1 = 576 different ways, and the square then completed in 2 ways, making 1,152 ways in all.

305.—THE THIRTY-SIX LETTER BLOCKS.

I pointed out that it was impossible to get all the letters into the box under the conditions, but the puzzle was to place as many as possible.

This requires a little judgment and careful investigation, or we are liable to jump to the hasty conclusion that the proper way to solve the puzzle must be first to place all six of one letter, then all six of another letter, and so on. As there is only one scheme (with its reversals) for placing six similar letters so that no two shall be in a line in any direction, the reader will find that after he has placed four different kinds of letters, six times each, every place is occupied except those twelve that form the two long diagonals. He is, therefore, unable to place more than two each of his last two letters, and there are eight blanks left. I give such an arrangement in Diagram 1.



The secret, however, consists in not trying thus to place all six of each letter. It will be found that if we content ourselves with placing only five of each letter, this number (thirty in all) may be got into the box, and there will be only six blanks. But the correct solution is to place six of each of two letters and five of each of the remaining four. An examination of Diagram 2 will show that there are six each of C and D, and five each of A, B, E, and F. There are, therefore, only four blanks left, and no letter is in line with a similar letter in any direction.

306.—THE CROWDED CHESSBOARD.



Here is the solution. Only 8 queens or 8 rooks can be placed on the board without attack, while the greatest number of bishops is 14, and of knights 32. But as all these knights must be placed on squares of the same colour, while the queens occupy four of each colour and the bishops 7 of each colour, it follows that only 21 knights can be placed on the same colour in this puzzle. More than 21 knights can be placed alone on the board if we use both colours, but I have not succeeded in placing more than 21 on the "crowded chessboard." I believe the above solution contains the maximum number of pieces, but possibly some ingenious reader may succeed in getting in another knight.

307.—THE COLOURED COUNTERS.

The counters may be arranged in this order:—

R1, B2, Y3, O4, GS. Y4, O5, G1, R2, B3. G2, R3, B4, Y5, O1. B5, Y1, O2, G3, R4. O3, G4, R5, B1, Y2.

308.—THE GENTLE ART OF STAMP-LICKING.

The following arrangement shows how sixteen stamps may be stuck on the card, under the conditions, of a total value of fifty pence, or 4s. 2d.:—



If, after placing the four 5d. stamps, the reader is tempted to place four 4d. stamps also, he can afterwards only place two of each of the three other denominations, thus losing two spaces and counting no more than forty-eight pence, or 4s. This is the pitfall that was hinted at. (Compare with No. 43, Canterbury Puzzles.)

309.—THE FORTY-NINE COUNTERS.

The counters may be arranged in this order:—

A1, B2, C3, D4, E5, F6, G7. F4, G5, A6, B7, C1, D2, E3. D7, E1, F2, G3, A4, B5, C6. B3, C4, D5, E6, F7, G1, A2. G6, A7, B1, C2, D3, E4, F5. E2, F3, G4, A5, B6, C7, D1. C5, D6, E7, F1, G2, A3, B4.

310.—THE THREE SHEEP.

The number of different ways in which the three sheep may be placed so that every pen shall always be either occupied or in line with at least one sheep is forty-seven.

The following table, if used with the key in Diagram 1, will enable the reader to place them in all these ways:—

- No. of Two Sheep. Third Sheep. Ways. - A and B C, E, G, K, L, N, or P 7 A and C I, J, K, or O 4 A and D M, N, or J 3 A and F J, K, L, or P 4 A and G H, J, K, N, O, or P 6 A and H K, L, N, or O 4 A and O K or L 2 B and C N 1 B and E F, H, K, or L 4 B and F G, J, N, or O 4 B and G K, L, or N 3 B and H J or N 2 B and J K or L 2 F and G J 1 47 -

This, of course, means that if you place sheep in the pens marked A and B, then there are seven different pens in which you may place the third sheep, giving seven different solutions. It was understood that reversals and reflections do not count as different.

If one pen at least is to be not in line with a sheep, there would be thirty solutions to that problem. If we counted all the reversals and reflections of these 47 and 30 cases respectively as different, their total would be 560, which is the number of different ways in which the sheep may be placed in three pens without any conditions. I will remark that there are three ways in which two sheep may be placed so that every pen is occupied or in line, as in Diagrams 2, 3, and 4, but in every case each sheep is in line with its companion. There are only two ways in which three sheep may be so placed that every pen shall be occupied or in line, but no sheep in line with another. These I show in Diagrams 5 and 6. Finally, there is only one way in which three sheep may be placed so that at least one pen shall not be in line with a sheep and yet no sheep in line with another. Place the sheep in C, E, L. This is practically all there is to be said on this pleasant pastoral subject.



311.—THE FIVE DOGS PUZZLE.

The diagrams show four fundamentally different solutions. In the case of A we can reverse the order, so that the single dog is in the bottom row and the other four shifted up two squares. Also we may use the next column to the right and both of the two central horizontal rows. Thus A gives 8 solutions. Then B may be reversed and placed in either diagonal, giving 4 solutions. Similarly C will give 4 solutions. The line in D being symmetrical, its reversal will not be different, but it may be disposed in 4 different directions. We thus have in all 20 different solutions.



312.—THE FIVE CRESCENTS OF BYZANTIUM.



If that ancient architect had arranged his five crescent tiles in the manner shown in the following diagram, every tile would have been watched over by, or in a line with, at least one crescent, and space would have been reserved for a perfectly square carpet equal in area to exactly half of the pavement. It is a very curious fact that, although there are two or three solutions allowing a carpet to be laid down within the conditions so as to cover an area of nearly twenty-nine of the tiles, this is the only possible solution giving exactly half the area of the pavement, which is the largest space obtainable.

313.—QUEENS AND BISHOP PUZZLE.



The bishop is on the square originally occupied by the rook, and the four queens are so placed that every square is either occupied or attacked by a piece. (Fig. 1.)

I pointed out in 1899 that if four queens are placed as shown in the diagram (Fig. 2), then the fifth queen may be placed on any one of the twelve squares marked a, b, c, d, and e; or a rook on the two squares, c; or a bishop on the eight squares, a, b, and e; or a pawn on the square b; or a king on the four squares, b, c, and e. The only known arrangement for four queens and a knight is that given by Mr. J. Wallis in The Strand Magazine for August 1908, here reproduced. (Fig. 3.)



I have recorded a large number of solutions with four queens and a rook, or bishop, but the only arrangement, I believe, with three queens and two rooks in which all the pieces are guarded is that of which I give an illustration (Fig. 4), first published by Dr. C. Planck. But I have since found the accompanying solution with three queens, a rook, and a bishop, though the pieces do not protect one another. (Fig. 5.)



314.—THE SOUTHERN CROSS.

My readers have been so familiarized with the fact that it requires at least five planets to attack every one of a square arrangement of sixty-four stars that many of them have, perhaps, got to believe that a larger square arrangement of stars must need an increase of planets. It was to correct this possible error of reasoning, and so warn readers against another of those numerous little pitfalls in the world of puzzledom, that I devised this new stellar problem. Let me then state at once that, in the case of a square arrangement of eighty one stars, there are several ways of placing five planets so that every star shall be in line with at least one planet vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Here is the solution to the "Southern Cross": —

It will be remembered that I said that the five planets in their new positions "will, of course, obscure five other stars in place of those at present covered." This was to exclude an easier solution in which only four planets need be moved.

315.—THE HAT-PEG PUZZLE.

The moves will be made quite clear by a reference to the diagrams, which show the position on the board after each of the four moves. The darts indicate the successive removals that have been made. It will be seen that at every stage all the squares are either attacked or occupied, and that after the fourth move no queen attacks any other. In the case of the last move the queen in the top row might also have been moved one square farther to the left. This is, I believe, the only solution to the puzzle.



316.—THE AMAZONS.

It will be seen that only three queens have been removed from their positions on the edge of the board, and that, as a consequence, eleven squares (indicated by the black dots) are left unattacked by any queen. I will hazard the statement that eight queens cannot be placed on the chessboard so as to leave more than eleven squares unattacked. It is true that we have no rigid proof of this yet, but I have entirely convinced myself of the truth of the statement. There are at least five different ways of arranging the queens so as to leave eleven squares unattacked.



317.—A PUZZLE WITH PAWNS.

Sixteen pawns may be placed so that no three shall be in a straight line in any possible direction, as in the diagram. We regard, as the conditions required, the pawns as mere points on a plane.



318.—LION-HUNTING.

There are 6,480 ways of placing the man and the lion, if there are no restrictions whatever except that they must be on different spots. This is obvious, because the man may be placed on any one of the 81 spots, and in every case there are 80 spots remaining for the lion; therefore 81 x 80 = 6,480. Now, if we deduct the number of ways in which the lion and the man may be placed on the same path, the result must be the number of ways in which they will not be on the same path. The number of ways in which they may be in line is found without much difficulty to be 816. Consequently, 6,480 - 816 = 5,664, the required answer.

The general solution is this: 1/3n(n - 1)(3n squared - n + 2). This is, of course, equivalent to saying that if we call the number of squares on the side of a "chessboard" n, then the formula shows the number of ways in which two bishops may be placed without attacking one another. Only in this case we must divide by two, because the two bishops have no distinct individuality, and cannot produce a different solution by mere exchange of places.

319.—THE KNIGHT-GUARDS.



The smallest possible number of knights with which this puzzle can be solved is fourteen.

It has sometimes been assumed that there are a great many different solutions. As a matter of fact, there are only three arrangements—not counting mere reversals and reflections as different. Curiously enough, nobody seems ever to have hit on the following simple proof, or to have thought of dealing with the black and the white squares separately.



Seven knights can be placed on the board on white squares so as to attack every black square in two ways only. These are shown in Diagrams 1 and 2. Note that three knights occupy the same position in both arrangements. It is therefore clear that if we turn the board so that a black square shall be in the top left-hand corner instead of a white, and place the knights in exactly the same positions, we shall have two similar ways of attacking all the white squares. I will assume the reader has made the two last described diagrams on transparent paper, and marked them 1a and 2a. Now, by placing the transparent Diagram 1a over 1 you will be able to obtain the solution in Diagram 3, by placing 2a over 2 you will get Diagram 4, and by placing 2a over 1 you will get Diagram 5. You may now try all possible combinations of those two pairs of diagrams, but you will only get the three arrangements I have given, or their reversals and reflections. Therefore these three solutions are all that exist.

320.—THE ROOK'S TOUR.



The only possible minimum solutions are shown in the two diagrams, where it will be seen that only sixteen moves are required to perform the feat. Most people find it difficult to reduce the number of moves below seventeen*.



321.—THE ROOK'S JOURNEY.



I show the route in the diagram. It will be seen that the tenth move lands us at the square marked "10," and that the last move, the twenty-first, brings us to a halt on square "21."

322.—THE LANGUISHING MAIDEN.

The dotted line shows the route in twenty-two straight paths by which the knight may rescue the maiden. It is necessary, after entering the first cell, immediately to return before entering another. Otherwise a solution would not be possible. (See "The Grand Tour," p. 200.)

323.—A DUNGEON PUZZLE.

If the prisoner takes the route shown in the diagram—where for clearness the doorways are omitted—he will succeed in visiting every cell once, and only once, in as many as fifty-seven straight lines. No rook's path over the chessboard can exceed this number of moves.



324.—THE LION AND THE MAN.

First of all, the fewest possible straight lines in each case are twenty-two, and in order that no cell may be visited twice it is absolutely necessary that each should pass into one cell and then immediately "visit" the one from which he started, afterwards proceeding by way of the second available cell. In the following diagram the man's route is indicated by the unbroken lines, and the lion's by the dotted lines. It will be found, if the two routes are followed cell by cell with two pencil points, that the lion and the man never meet. But there was one little point that ought not to be overlooked—"they occasionally got glimpses of one another." Now, if we take one route for the man and merely reverse it for the lion, we invariably find that, going at the same speed, they never get a glimpse of one another. But in our diagram it will be found that the man and the lion are in the cells marked A at the same moment, and may see one another through the open doorways; while the same happens when they are in the two cells marked B, the upper letters indicating the man and the lower the lion. In the first case the lion goes straight for the man, while the man appears to attempt to get in the rear of the lion; in the second case it looks suspiciously like running away from one another!



325.—AN EPISCOPAL VISITATION.



In the diagram I show how the bishop may be made to visit every one of his white parishes in seventeen moves. It is obvious that we must start from one corner square and end at the one that is diagonally opposite to it. The puzzle cannot be solved in fewer than seventeen moves.

326.—A NEW COUNTER PUZZLE.

Play as follows: 2—3, 9—4, 10—7, 3—8, 4—2, 7—5, 8—6, 5—10, 6—9, 2—5, 1—6, 6—4, 5—3, 10—8, 4—7, 3—2, 8—1, 7—10. The white counters have now changed places with the red ones, in eighteen moves, without breaking the conditions.

327.—A NEW BISHOP'S PUZZLE.



Play as follows, using the notation indicated by the numbered squares in Diagram A:—

White. Black. White. Black. 1. 18 15 1. 3 6 10. 20 10 10. 1 11 2. 17 8 2. 4 13 11. 3 9 11. 18 12 3. 19 14 3. 2 7 12. 10 13 12. 11 8 4. 15 5 4. 6 16 13. 19 16 13. 2 5 5. 8 3 5. 13-18 14. 16 1 14. 5 20 6. 14 9 6. 7 12 15. 9 6 15. 12 15 7. 5 10 7. 16-11 16. 13-7 16. 8 14 8. 9 19 8. 12 2 17. 6 3 17. 15-18 9. 10 4 9. 11-17 18. 7 2 18. 14 19

Diagram B shows the position after the ninth move. Bishops at 1 and 20 have not yet moved, but 2 and 19 have sallied forth and returned. In the end, 1 and 19, 2 and 20, 3 and 17, and 4 and 18 will have exchanged places. Note the position after the thirteenth move.

328.—THE QUEEN'S TOUR.



The annexed diagram shows a second way of performing the Queen's Tour. If you break the line at the point J and erase the shorter portion of that line, you will have the required path solution for any J square. If you break the line at I, you will have a non-re-entrant solution starting from any I square. And if you break the line at G, you will have a solution for any G square. The Queen's Tour previously given may be similarly broken at three different places, but I seized the opportunity of exhibiting a second tour.

329.—THE STAR PUZZLE.

The illustration explains itself. The stars are all struck out in fourteen straight strokes, starting and ending at a white star.



330.—THE YACHT RACE.

The diagram explains itself. The numbers will show the direction of the lines in their proper order, and it will be seen that the seventh course ends at the flag-buoy, as stipulated.



331.—THE SCIENTIFIC SKATER.

In this case we go beyond the boundary of the square. Apart from that, the moves are all queen moves. There are three or four ways in which it can be done.

Here is one way of performing the feat:—



It will be seen that the skater strikes out all the stars in one continuous journey of fourteen straight lines, returning to the point from which he started. To follow the skater's course in the diagram it is necessary always to go as far as we can in a straight line before turning.

332.—THE FORTY-NINE STARS.

The illustration shows how all the stars may be struck out in twelve straight strokes, beginning and ending at a black star.



333.—THE QUEEN'S JOURNEY.

The correct solution to this puzzle is shown in the diagram by the dark line. The five moves indicated will take the queen the greatest distance that it is possible for her to go in five moves, within the conditions. The dotted line shows the route that most people suggest, but it is not quite so long as the other. Let us assume that the distance from the centre of any square to the centre of the next in the same horizontal or vertical line is 2 inches, and that the queen travels from the centre of her original square to the centre of the one at which she rests. Then the first route will be found to exceed 67.9 inches, while the dotted route is less than 67.8 inches. The difference is small, but it is sufficient to settle the point as to the longer route. All other routes are shorter still than these two.



334.—ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON.

We select for the solution of this puzzle one of the prettiest designs that can be formed by representing the moves of the knight by lines from square to square. The chequering of the squares is omitted to give greater clearness. St. George thus slays the Dragon in strict accordance with the conditions and in the elegant manner we should expect of him.



335.—FARMER LAWRENCE'S CORNFIELDS.

There are numerous solutions to this little agricultural problem. The version I give in the next column is rather curious on account of the long parallel straight lines formed by some of the moves.



336.—THE GREYHOUND PUZZLE.

There are several interesting points involved in this question. In the first place, if we had made no stipulation as to the positions of the two ends of the string, it is quite impossible to form any such string unless we begin and end in the top and bottom row of kennels. We may begin in the top row and end in the bottom (or, of course, the reverse), or we may begin in one of these rows and end in the same. But we can never begin or end in one of the two central rows. Our places of starting and ending, however, were fixed for us. Yet the first half of our route must be confined entirely to those squares that are distinguished in the following diagram by circles, and the second half will therefore be confined to the squares that are not circled. The squares reserved for the two half-strings will be seen to be symmetrical and similar.

The next point is that the first half-string must end in one of the central rows, and the second half-string must begin in one of these rows. This is now obvious, because they have to link together to form the complete string, and every square on an outside row is connected by a knight's move with similar squares only—that is, circled or non-circled as the case may be. The half-strings can, therefore, only be linked in the two central rows.



Now, there are just eight different first half-strings, and consequently also eight second half-strings. We shall see that these combine to form twelve complete strings, which is the total number that exist and the correct solution of our puzzle. I do not propose to give all the routes at length, but I will so far indicate them that if the reader has dropped any he will be able to discover which they are and work them out for himself without any difficulty. The following numbers apply to those in the above diagram.

The eight first half-strings are: 1 to 6 (2 routes); 1 to 8 (1 route); 1 to 10 (3 routes); 1 to 12 (1 route); and 1 to 14 (1 route). The eight second half-strings are: 7 to 20 (1 route); 9 to 20 (1 route); 11 to 20 (3 routes); 13 to 20 (1 route); and 15 to 20 (2 routes). Every different way in which you can link one half-string to another gives a different solution. These linkings will be found to be as follows: 6 to 13 (2 cases); 10 to 13 (3 cases); 8 to 11 (3 cases); 8 to 15 (2 cases); 12 to 9 (1 case); and 14 to 7 (1 case). There are, therefore, twelve different linkings and twelve different answers to the puzzle. The route given in the illustration with the greyhound will be found to consist of one of the three half-strings 1 to 10, linked to the half-string 13 to 20. It should be noted that ten of the solutions are produced by five distinctive routes and their reversals—that is, if you indicate these five routes by lines and then turn the diagrams upside down you will get the five other routes. The remaining two solutions are symmetrical (these are the cases where 12 to 9 and 14 to 7 are the links), and consequently they do not produce new solutions by reversal.

337.—THE FOUR KANGAROOS.



A pretty symmetrical solution to this puzzle is shown in the diagram. Each of the four kangaroos makes his little excursion and returns to his corner, without ever entering a square that has been visited by another kangaroo and without crossing the central line. It will at once occur to the reader, as a possible improvement of the puzzle, to divide the board by a central vertical line and make the condition that this also shall not be crossed. This would mean that each kangaroo had to confine himself to a square 4 by 4, but it would be quite impossible, as I shall explain in the next two puzzles.

338.—THE BOARD IN COMPARTMENTS.



In attempting to solve this problem it is first necessary to take the two distinctive compartments of twenty and twelve squares respectively and analyse them with a view to determining where the necessary points of entry and exit lie. In the case of the larger compartment it will be found that to complete a tour of it we must begin and end on two of the outside squares on the long sides. But though you may start at any one of these ten squares, you are restricted as to those at which you can end, or (which is the same thing) you may end at whichever of these you like, provided you begin your tour at certain particular squares. In the case of the smaller compartment you are compelled to begin and end at one of the six squares lying at the two narrow ends of the compartments, but similar restrictions apply as in the other instance. A very little thought will show that in the case of the two small compartments you must begin and finish at the ends that lie together, and it then follows that the tours in the larger compartments must also start and end on the contiguous sides.

In the diagram given of one of the possible solutions it will be seen that there are eight places at which we may start this particular tour; but there is only one route in each case, because we must complete the compartment in which we find ourself before passing into another. In any solution we shall find that the squares distinguished by stars must be entering or exit points, but the law of reversals leaves us the option of making the other connections either at the diamonds or at the circles. In the solution worked out the diamonds are used, but other variations occur in which the circle squares are employed instead. I think these remarks explain all the essential points in the puzzle, which is distinctly instructive and interesting.

339.—THE FOUR KNIGHTS' TOURS.



It will be seen in the illustration how a chessboard may be divided into four parts, each of the same size and shape, so that a complete re-entrant knight's tour may be made on each portion. There is only one possible route for each knight and its reversal.

340.—THE CUBIC KNIGHT'S TOUR.



If the reader should cut out the above diagram, fold it in the form of a cube, and stick it together by the strips left for that purpose at the edges, he would have an interesting little curiosity. Or he can make one on a larger scale for himself. It will be found that if we imagine the cube to have a complete chessboard on each of its sides, we may start with the knight on any one of the 384 squares, and make a complete tour of the cube, always returning to the starting-point. The method of passing from one side of the cube to another is easily understood, but, of course, the difficulty consisted in finding the proper points of entry and exit on each board, the order in which the different boards should be taken, and in getting arrangements that would comply with the required conditions.

341.—THE FOUR FROGS.

The fewest possible moves, counting every move separately, are sixteen. But the puzzle may be solved in seven plays, as follows, if any number of successive moves by one frog count as a single play. All the moves contained within a bracket are a single play; the numbers refer to the toadstools: (1—5), (3—7, 7—1), (8—4, 4—3, 3—7), (6—2, 2—8, 8—4, 4—3), (5—6, 6—2, 2—8), (1—5, 5—6), (7—1).

This is the familiar old puzzle by Guarini, propounded in 1512, and I give it here in order to explain my "buttons and string" method of solving this class of moving-counter problem.

Diagram A shows the old way of presenting Guarini's puzzle, the point being to make the white knights change places with the black ones. In "The Four Frogs" presentation of the idea the possible directions of the moves are indicated by lines, to obviate the necessity of the reader's understanding the nature of the knight's move in chess. But it will at once be seen that the two problems are identical. The central square can, of course, be ignored, since no knight can ever enter it. Now, regard the toadstools as buttons and the connecting lines as strings, as in Diagram B. Then by disentangling these strings we can clearly present the diagram in the form shown in Diagram C, where the relationship between the buttons is precisely the same as in B. Any solution on C will be applicable to B, and to A. Place your white knights on 1 and 3 and your black knights on 6 and 8 in the C diagram, and the simplicity of the solution will be very evident. You have simply to move the knights round the circle in one direction or the other. Play over the moves given above, and you will find that every little difficulty has disappeared.



In Diagram D I give another familiar puzzle that first appeared in a book published in Brussels in 1789, Les Petites Aventures de Jerome Sharp. Place seven counters on seven of the eight points in the following manner. You must always touch a point that is vacant with a counter, and then move it along a straight line leading from that point to the next vacant point (in either direction), where you deposit the counter. You proceed in the same way until all the counters are placed. Remember you always touch a vacant place and slide the counter from it to the next place, which must be also vacant. Now, by the "buttons and string" method of simplification we can transform the diagram into E. Then the solution becomes obvious. "Always move to the point that you last moved from." This is not, of course, the only way of placing the counters, but it is the simplest solution to carry in the mind.

There are several puzzles in this book that the reader will find lend themselves readily to this method.

342.—THE MANDARIN'S PUZZLE.

The rather perplexing point that the solver has to decide for himself in attacking this puzzle is whether the shaded numbers (those that are shown in their right places) are mere dummies or not. Ninety-nine persons out of a hundred might form the opinion that there can be no advantage in moving any of them, but if so they would be wrong.

The shortest solution without moving any shaded number is in thirty-two moves. But the puzzle can be solved in thirty moves. The trick lies in moving the 6, or the 15, on the second move and replacing it on the nineteenth move. Here is the solution: 2, 6, 13, 4, 1, 21, 4, 1, 10, 2, 21, 10, 2, 5, 22, 16, 1, 13, 6, 19, 11, 2, 5, 22, 16, 5, 13, 4, 10, 21. Thirty moves.

343.—EXERCISE FOR PRISONERS.

There are eighty different arrangements of the numbers in the form of a perfect knight's path, but only forty of these can be reached without two men ever being in a cell at the same time. Two is the greatest number of men that can be given a complete rest, and though the knight's path can be arranged so as to leave either 7 and 13, 8 and 13, 5 and 7, or 5 and 13 in their original positions, the following four arrangements, in which 7 and 13 are unmoved, are the only ones that can be reached under the moving conditions. It therefore resolves itself into finding the fewest possible moves that will lead up to one of these positions. This is certainly no easy matter, and no rigid rules can be laid down for arriving at the correct answer. It is largely a matter for individual judgment, patient experiment, and a sharp eye for revolutions and position.

A + + + + + 6 1 10 15 + + + + + 9 12 7 4 + + + + + 2 5 14 11 + + + + + 13 8 3 ** + + + + +

B + + + + + 6 1 10 15 + + + + + 11 14 7 4 + + + + + 2 5 12 9 + + + + + 13 8 3 ** + + + + +

C + + + + + 6 9 4 15 + + + + + 1 12 7 10 + + + + + 8 5 14 3 + + + + + 13 2 11 ** + + + + +

D + + + + + 6 11 4 15 + + + + + 1 14 7 10 + + + + + 8 5 12 3 + + + + + 13 2 9 ** + + + + +



As a matter of fact, the position C can be reached in as few as sixty-six moves in the following manner: 12, 11, 15, 12, 11, 8, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5, 1, 6, 5, 10, 15, 8, 4, 3, 2, 5, 10, 15, 8, 4, 3, 2, 5, 10, 15, 8, 4, 12, 11, 3, 2, 5, 10, 15, 6, 1, 8, 4, 9, 8, 1, 6, 4, 9, 12, 2, 5, 10, 15, 4, 9, 12, 2, 5, 3, 11, 14, 2, 5, 14, 11 = 66 moves. Though this is the shortest that I know of, and I do not think it can be beaten, I cannot state positively that there is not a shorter way yet to be discovered. The most tempting arrangement is certainly A; but things are not what they seem, and C is really the easiest to reach.

If the bottom left-hand corner cell might be left vacant, the following is a solution in forty-five moves by Mr. R. Elrick: 15, 11, 10, 9, 13, 14, 11, 10, 7, 8, 4, 3, 8, 6, 9, 7, 12, 4, 6, 9, 5, 13, 7, 5, 13, 1, 2, 13, 5, 7, 1, 2, 13, 8, 3, 6, 9, 12, 7, 11, 14, 1, 11, 14, 1. But every man has moved.

344.—THE KENNEL PUZZLE.

The first point is to make a choice of the most promising knight's string and then consider the question of reaching the arrangement in the fewest moves. I am strongly of opinion that the best string is the one represented in the following diagram, in which it will be seen that each successive number is a knight's move from the preceding one, and that five of the dogs (1, 5, 10, 15, and 20) never leave their original kennels.

- 1 2 3 4 5 1 18 9 14 5 - 6 7 8 9 10 8 13 4 19 10 - 11 12 13 14 15 17 2 11 6 15 - 16 17 18 19 20 12 7 16 3 20 - 21 22 23 24 25 -



This position may be arrived at in as few as forty-six moves, as follows: 16—21, 16—22, 16—23, 17—16, 12—17, 12—22, 12—21,7—12, 7—17, 7—22, 11—12, 11—17, 2—7, 2—12, 6—11, 8—7, 8—6, 13—8, 18—13, 11—18, 2—17, 18—12, 18—7, 18—2, 13—7, 3—8, 3—13, 4—3, 4—8, 9—4, 9—3, 14—9, 14—4, 19—14, 19—9, 3—14, 3—19, 6—12, 6—13, 6—14, 17—11, 12—16, 2—12, 7—17, 11—13, 16—18 = 46 moves. I am, of course, not able to say positively that a solution cannot be discovered in fewer moves, but I believe it will be found a very hard task to reduce the number.

345.—THE TWO PAWNS.

Call one pawn A and the other B. Now, owing to that optional first move, either pawn may make either 5 or 6 moves in reaching the eighth square. There are, therefore, four cases to be considered: (1) A 6 moves and B 6 moves; (2) A 6 moves and B 5 moves; (3) A 5 moves and B 6 moves; (4) A 5 moves and B 5 moves. In case (1) there are 12 moves, and we may select any 6 of these for A. Therefore 7x8x9x10x11x12 divided by 1x2x3x4x5x6 gives us the number of variations for this case—that is, 924. Similarly for case (2), 6 selections out of 11 will be 462; in case (3), 5 selections out of 11 will also be 462; and in case (4), 5 selections out of 10 will be 252. Add these four numbers together and we get 2,100, which is the correct number of different ways in which the pawns may advance under the conditions. (See No. 270, on p. 204.)

346.—SETTING THE BOARD.

The White pawns may be arranged in 40,320 ways, the White rooks in 2 ways, the bishops in 2 ways, and the knights in 2 ways. Multiply these numbers together, and we find that the White pieces may be placed in 322,560 different ways. The Black pieces may, of course, be placed in the same number of ways. Therefore the men may be set up in 322,560 x 322,560 = 104,044,953,600 ways. But the point that nearly everybody overlooks is that the board may be placed in two different ways for every arrangement. Therefore the answer is doubled, and is 208,089,907,200 different ways.

347.—COUNTING THE RECTANGLES.

There are 1,296 different rectangles in all, 204 of which are squares, counting the square board itself as one, and 1,092 rectangles that are not squares. The general formula is that a board of n squared squares contains ((n squared + n) squared)/4 rectangles, of which (2n cubed + 3n squared + n)/6 are squares and (3n^4 + 2n cubed - 3n squared - 2n)/12 are rectangles that are not squares. It is curious and interesting that the total number of rectangles is always the square of the triangular number whose side is n.

348.—THE ROOKERY.

The answer involves the little point that in the final position the numbered rooks must be in numerical order in the direction contrary to that in which they appear in the original diagram, otherwise it cannot be solved. Play the rooks in the following order of their numbers. As there is never more than one square to which a rook can move (except on the final move), the notation is obvious—5, 6, 7, 5, 6, 4, 3, 6, 4, 7, 5, 4, 7, 3, 6, 7, 3, 5, 4, 3, 1, 8, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, 8, 2, 1, and rook takes bishop, checkmate. These are the fewest possible moves—thirty-two. The Black king's moves are all forced, and need not be given.

349.—STALEMATE.

Working independently, the same position was arrived at by Messrs. S. Loyd, E.N. Frankenstein, W.H. Thompson, and myself. So the following may be accepted as the best solution possible to this curious problem :—

White. Black. 1. P—Q4 1. P—K4 2. Q—Q3 2. Q—R5 3. Q—KKt3 3. B—Kt5 ch 4. Kt—Q2 4. P—QR4 5. P—R4 5. P—Q3 6. P—R3 6. B—K3 7. R—R3 7. P—KB4 8. Q—R2 8. P—B4 9. R—KKt3 9. B—Kt6 10. P—QB4 10. P—B5 11. P—B3 11. P—K5 12. P—Q5 12. P—K6

And White is stalemated.

We give a diagram of the curious position arrived at. It will be seen that not one of White's pieces may be moved.



+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ r n k n r +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ p p p +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ p +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ p p P +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ P b P p q +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ b p P R P +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ P N P P Q +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ B K B N R +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

350.—THE FORSAKEN KING.

Play as follows:—

White. Black. 1. P to K 4th 1. Any move 2. Q to Kt 4th 2. Any move except on KB file (a) 3. Q to Kt 7th 3. K moves to royal row 4. B to Kt 5th 4. Any move 5. Mate in two moves If 3. K other than to royal row 4. P to Q 4th 4. Any move 5. Mate in two moves (a) If 2. Any move on KB file 3. Q to Q 7th 3. K moves to royal row 4. P to Q Kt 3rd 4. Any move 5. Mate in two moves If 3. K other than to royal row 4. P to Q 4th 4. Any move 5. Mate in two moves

Of course, by "royal row" is meant the row on which the king originally stands at the beginning of a game. Though, if Black plays badly, he may, in certain positions, be mated in fewer moves, the above provides for every variation he can possibly bring about.

351.—THE CRUSADER.

White. Black. 1. Kt to QB 3rd 1. P to Q 4th 2. Kt takes QP 2. Kt to QB 3rd 3. Kt takes KP 3. P to KKt 4th 4. Kt takes B 4. Kt to KB 3rd 5. Kt takes P 5. Kt to K 5th 6. Kt takes Kt 6. Kt to B 6th 7. Kt takes Q 7. R to KKt sq 8. Kt takes BP 8. R to KKt 3rd 9. Kt takes P 9. R to K 3rd 10. Kt takes P 10. Kt to Kt 8th 11. Kt takes B 11. R to R 6th 12. Kt takes R 12. P to Kt 4th 13. Kt takes P (ch) 13. K to B 2nd 14. Kt takes P 14. K to Kt 3rd 15. Kt takes R 15. K to R 4th 16. Kt takes Kt 16. K to R 5th White now mates in three moves. 17. P to Q 4th 17. K to R 4th 18. Q to Q 3rd 18. K moves 19. Q to KR 3rd (mate) If 17. K to Kt 5th 18. P to K 4th (dis. ch) 18. K moves 19. P to KKt 3rd (mate)

The position after the sixteenth move, with the mate in three moves, was first given by S. Loyd in Chess Nuts.

352.—IMMOVABLE PAWNS.

1. Kt to KB 3 2. Kt to KR 4 3. Kt to Kt 6 4. Kt takes R 5. Kt to Kt 6 6. Kt takes B 7. K takes Kt 8. Kt to QB 3 9. Kt to R 4 10. Kt to Kt 6 11. Kt takes R 12. Kt to Kt 6 13. Kt takes B 14. Kt to Q 6 15. Q to K sq 16. Kt takes Q 17. K takes Kt, and the position is reached.

Black plays precisely the same moves as White, and therefore we give one set of moves only. The above seventeen moves are the fewest possible.

353.—THIRTY-SIX MATES.

Place the remaining eight White pieces thus: K at KB 4th, Q at QKt 6th, R at Q 6th, R at KKt 7th, B at Q 5th, B at KR 8th, Kt at QR 5th, and Kt at QB 5th. The following mates can then be given:—

By discovery from Q 8 By discovery from R at Q 6th 13 By discovery from B at R 8th 11 Given by Kt at R 5th 2 Given by pawns 2 — Total 36

Is it possible to construct a position in which more than thirty-six different mates on the move can be given? So far as I know, nobody has yet beaten my arrangement.

354.—AN AMAZING DILEMMA.

Mr Black left his king on his queen's knight's 7th, and no matter what piece White chooses for his pawn, Black cannot be checkmated. As we said, the Black king takes no notice of checks and never moves. White may queen his pawn, capture the Black rook, and bring his three pieces up to the attack, but mate is quite impossible. The Black king cannot be left on any other square without a checkmate being possible.

The late Sam Loyd first pointed out the peculiarity on which this puzzle is based.

355.—CHECKMATE!

Remove the White pawn from B 6th to K 4th and place a Black pawn on Black's KB 2nd. Now, White plays P to K 5th, check, and Black must play P to B 4th. Then White plays P takes P en passant, checkmate. This was therefore White's last move, and leaves the position given. It is the only possible solution.

356.—QUEER CHESS.

--------+ +-------- R k R N --------+ +--------

If you place the pieces as follows (where only a portion of the board is given, to save space), the Black king is in check, with no possible move open to him. The reader will now see why I avoided the term "checkmate," apart from the fact that there is no White king. The position is impossible in the game of chess, because Black could not be given check by both rooks at the same time, nor could he have moved into check on his last move.

I believe the position was first published by the late S. Loyd.

357.—ANCIENT CHINESE PUZZLE.

Play as follows:—

1. R—Q 6 2. K—R 7 3. R (R 6)—B 6 (mate).

Black's moves are forced, so need not be given.

358.—THE SIX PAWNS.

The general formula for six pawns on all squares greater than 2 squared is this: Six times the square of the number of combinations of n things taken three at a time, where n represents the number of squares on the side of the board. Of course, where n is even the unoccupied squares in the rows and columns will be even, and where n is odd the number of squares will be odd. Here n is 8, so the answer is 18,816 different ways. This is "The Dyer's Puzzle" (Canterbury Puzzles, No. 27) in another form. I repeat it here in order to explain a method of solving that will be readily grasped by the novice. First of all, it is evident that if we put a pawn on any line, we must put a second one in that line in order that the remainder may be even in number. We cannot put four or six in any row without making it impossible to get an even number in all the columns interfered with. We have, therefore, to put two pawns in each of three rows and in each of three columns. Now, there are just six schemes or arrangements that fulfil these conditions, and these are shown in Diagrams A to F, inclusive, on next page.



I will just remark in passing that A and B are the only distinctive arrangements, because, if you give A a quarter-turn, you get F; and if you give B three quarter-turns in the direction that a clock hand moves, you will get successively C, D, and E. No matter how you may place your six pawns, if you have complied with the conditions of the puzzle they will fall under one of these arrangements. Of course it will be understood that mere expansions do not destroy the essential character of the arrangements. Thus G is only an expansion of form A. The solution therefore consists in finding the number of these expansions. Supposing we confine our operations to the first three rows, as in G, then with the pairs a and b placed in the first and second columns the pair c may be disposed in any one of the remaining six columns, and so give six solutions. Now slide pair b into the third column, and there are five possible positions for c. Slide b into the fourth column, and c may produce four new solutions. And so on, until (still leaving a in the first column) you have b in the seventh column, and there is only one place for c—in the eighth column. Then you may put a in the second column, b in the third, and c in the fourth, and start sliding c and b as before for another series of solutions.

We find thus that, by using form A alone and confining our operations to the three top rows, we get as many answers as there are combinations of 8 things taken 3 at a time. This is (8 x 7 x 6)/(1 x 2 x 3) = 56. And it will at once strike the reader that if there are 56 different ways of electing the columns, there must be for each of these ways just 56 ways of selecting the rows, for we may simultaneously work that "sliding" process downwards to the very bottom in exactly the same way as we have worked from left to right. Therefore the total number of ways in which form A may be applied is 56 x 6 = 3,136. But there are, as we have seen, six arrangements, and we have only dealt with one of these, A. We must, therefore, multiply this result by 6, which gives us 3,136 x 6 = 18,816, which is the total number of ways, as we have already stated.

359.—COUNTER SOLITAIRE.

Play as follows: 3—11, 9—10, 1—2, 7—15, 8—16, 8—7, 5—13, 1—4, 8—5, 6—14, 3—8, 6—3, 6—12, 1—6, 1—9, and all the counters will have been removed, with the exception of No. 1, as required by the conditions.

360.—CHESSBOARD SOLITAIRE.

Play as follows: 7—15, 8—16, 8—7, 2—10, 1—9, 1—2, 5—13, 3—4, 6—3, 11—1, 14—8, 6—12, 5—6, 5—11, 31—23, 32—24, 32—31, 26—18, 25—17, 25—26, 22—32, 14—22, 29—21, 14—29, 27—28, 30—27, 25—14, 30—20, 25—30, 25—5. The two counters left on the board are 25 and 19—both belonging to the same group, as stipulated—and 19 has never been moved from its original place.

I do not think any solution is possible in which only one counter is left on the board.

361.—THE MONSTROSITY.

White Black, 1. P to KB 4 P to QB 3 2. K to B 2 Q to R 4 3. K to K 3 K to Q sq 4. P to B 5 K to B 2 5. Q to K sq K to Kt 3 6. Q to Kt 3 Kt to QR 3 7. Q to Kt 8 P to KR 4 8. Kt to KB 3 R to R 3 9. Kt to K 5 R to Kt 3 10. Q takes B R to Kt 6, ch 11. P takes R K to Kt 4 12. R to R 4 P to B 3 13. R to Q 4 P takes Kt 14. P to QKt 4 P takes R, ch 15. K to B 4 P to R 5 16. Q to K 8 P to R 6 17. Kt to B 3, ch P takes Kt 18. B to R 3 P to R 7 19. R to Kt sq P to R 8 (Q) 20. R to Kt 2 P takes R 21. K to Kt 5 Q to KKt 8 22. Q to R 5 K to R 5 23. P to Kt 5 R to B sq 24. P to Kt 6 R to B 2 25. P takes R P to Kt 8 (B) 26. P to B 8 (R) Q to B 2 27. B to Q 6 Kt to Kt 5 28. K to Kt 6 K to R 6 29. R to R 8 K to Kt 7 30. P to R 4 Q (Kt 8) to Kt 3 31. P to R 5 K to B 8 32. P takes Q K to Q 8 33. P takes Q K to K 8 34. K to B 7 Kt to KR 3, ch 35. K to K 8 B to R 7 36. P to B 6 B to Kt sq 37. P to B 7 K takes B 38. P to B 8 (B) Kt to Q 4 39. B to Kt 8 Kt to B 3, ch 40. K to Q 8 Kt to K sq 41. P takes Kt (R) Kt to B 2, ch 42. K to B 7 Kt to Q sq 43. Q to B 7, ch K to Kt 8

And the position is reached.

The order of the moves is immaterial, and this order may be greatly varied. But, although many attempts have been made, nobody has succeeded in reducing the number of my moves.

362.—THE WASSAIL BOWL.

The division of the twelve pints of ale can be made in eleven manipulations, as below. The six columns show at a glance the quantity of ale in the barrel, the five-pint jug, the three-pint jug, and the tramps X, Y, and Z respectively after each manipulation.

Barrel. 5-pint. 3-pint. X. Y. Z.

7 .. 5 .. 0 .. 0 .. 0 .. 0 7 .. 2 .. 3 .. 0 .. 0 .. 0 7 .. 0 .. 3 .. 2 .. 0 .. 0 7 .. 3 .. 0 .. 2 .. 0 .. 0 4 .. 3 .. 3 .. 2 .. 0 .. 0 0 .. 3 .. 3 .. 2 .. 4 .. 0 0 .. 5 .. 1 .. 2 .. 4 .. 0 0 .. 5 .. 0 .. 2 .. 4 .. 1 0 .. 2 .. 3 .. 2 .. 4 .. 1 0 .. 0 .. 3 .. 4 .. 4 .. 1 0 .. 0 .. 0 .. 4 .. 4 .. 4

And each man has received his four pints of ale.

363.—THE DOCTOR'S QUERY.

The mixture of spirits of wine and water is in the proportion of 40 to 1, just as in the other bottle it was in the proportion of 1 to 40.



364.—THE BARREL PUZZLE.



All that is necessary is to tilt the barrel as in Fig. 1, and if the edge of the surface of the water exactly touches the lip a at the same time that it touches the edge of the bottom b, it will be just half full. To be more exact, if the bottom is an inch or so from the ground, then we can allow for that, and the thickness of the bottom, at the top. If when the surface of the water reached the lip a it had risen to the point c in Fig. 2, then it would be more than half full. If, as in Fig. 3, some portion of the bottom were visible and the level of the water fell to the point d, then it would be less than half full.

This method applies to all symmetrically constructed vessels.



365.—NEW MEASURING PUZZLE.

The following solution in eleven manipulations shows the contents of every vessel at the start and after every manipulation:—

10-quart. 10-quart. 5-quart. 4-quart.

10 .. 10 .. 0 .. 0 5 .. 10 .. 5 .. 0 5 .. 10 .. 1 .. 4 9 .. 10 .. 1 .. 0 9 .. 6 .. 1 .. 4 9 .. 7 .. 0 .. 4 9 .. 7 .. 4 .. 0 9 .. 3 .. 4 .. 4 9 .. 3 .. 5 .. 3 9 .. 8 .. 0 .. 3 4 .. 8 .. 5 .. 3 4 .. 10 .. 3 .. 3



366.—THE HONEST DAIRYMAN.

Whatever the respective quantities of milk and water, the relative proportion sent to London would always be three parts of water to one of milk. But there are one or two points to be observed. There must originally be more water than milk, or there will be no water in A to double in the second transaction. And the water must not be more than three times the quantity of milk, or there will not be enough liquid in B to effect the second transaction. The third transaction has no effect on A, as the relative proportions in it must be the same as after the second transaction. It was introduced to prevent a quibble if the quantity of milk and water were originally the same; for though double "nothing" would be "nothing," yet the third transaction in such a case could not take place.



367.—WINE AND WATER.

The wine in small glass was one-sixth of the total liquid, and the wine in large glass two-ninths of total. Add these together, and we find that the wine was seven-eighteenths of total fluid, and therefore the water eleven-eighteenths.



368.—THE KEG OF WINE.

The capacity of the jug must have been a little less than three gallons. To be more exact, it was 2.93 gallons.



369.—MIXING THE TEA.

There are three ways of mixing the teas. Taking them in the order of quality, 2s. 6d., 2s. 3d., 1s. 9p., mix 16 lbs., 1 lb., 3 lbs.; or 14 lbs., 4 lbs., 2 lbs.; or 12 lbs., 7 lbs., 1 lb. In every case the twenty pounds mixture should be worth 2s. 41/2d. per pound; but the last case requires the smallest quantity of the best tea, therefore it is the correct answer.

370.—A PACKING PUZZLE.

On the side of the box, 14 by 22+4/5, we can arrange 13 rows containing alternately 7 and 6 balls, or 85 in all. Above this we can place another layer consisting of 12 rows of 7 and 6 alternately, or a total of 78. In the length of 24+9/10 inches 15 such layers may be packed, the alternate layers containing 85 and 78 balls. Thus 8 times 85 added to 7 times 78 gives us 1,226 for the full contents of the box.

371.—GOLD PACKING IN RUSSIA.

The box should be 100 inches by 100 inches by 11 inches deep, internal dimensions. We can lay flat at the bottom a row of eight slabs, lengthways, end to end, which will just fill one side, and nine of these rows will dispose of seventy-two slabs (all on the bottom), with a space left over on the bottom measuring 100 inches by 1 inch by 1 inch. Now make eleven depths of such seventy-two slabs, and we have packed 792, and have a space 100 inches by 1 inch by 11 inches deep. In this we may exactly pack the remaining eight slabs on edge, end to end.

372.—THE BARRELS OF HONEY.

The only way in which the barrels could be equally divided among the three brothers, so that each should receive his 31/2 barrels of honey and his 7 barrels, is as follows:—

Full. Half-full. Empty. A 3 1 3 B 2 3 2 C 2 3 2

There is one other way in which the division could be made, were it not for the objection that all the brothers made to taking more than four barrels of the same description. Except for this difficulty, they might have given B his quantity in exactly the same way as A above, and then have left C one full barrel, five half-full barrels, and one empty barrel. It will thus be seen that in any case two brothers would have to receive their allowance in the same way.

373.—CROSSING THE STREAM.

First, the two sons cross, and one returns Then the man crosses and the other son returns. Then both sons cross and one returns. Then the lady crosses and the other son returns Then the two sons cross and one of them returns for the dog. Eleven crossings in all.

It would appear that no general rule can be given for solving these river-crossing puzzles. A formula can be found for a particular case (say on No. 375 or 376) that would apply to any number of individuals under the restricted conditions; but it is not of much use, for some little added stipulation will entirely upset it. As in the case of the measuring puzzles, we generally have to rely on individual ingenuity.

374.—CROSSING THE RIVER AXE.

Here is the solution:—

{J 5) G T8 3 5 ( J } G T8 3 5 {G 3) JT8 53 ( G } JT8 53 {J T) G 8 J 5 (T 3} G 8 J 5 {G 8) T 3 G 8 (J 5} T G 8 {J T) 53 JT8 ( G } 53 JT8 {G 3) 5 G T8 3 ( J } 5 G T8 3 {J 5)

G, J, and T stand for Giles, Jasper, and Timothy; and 8, 5, 3, for L800, L500, and L300 respectively. The two side columns represent the left bank and the right bank, and the middle column the river. Thirteen crossings are necessary, and each line shows the position when the boat is in mid-stream during a crossing, the point of the bracket indicating the direction.

It will be found that not only is no person left alone on the land or in the boat with more than his share of the spoil, but that also no two persons are left with more than their joint shares, though this last point was not insisted upon in the conditions.

375.—FIVE JEALOUS HUSBANDS.

It is obvious that there must be an odd number of crossings, and that if the five husbands had not been jealous of one another the party might have all got over in nine crossings. But no wife was to be in the company of a man or men unless her husband was present. This entails two more crossings, eleven in all.

The following shows how it might have been done. The capital letters stand for the husbands, and the small letters for their respective wives. The position of affairs is shown at the start, and after each crossing between the left bank and the right, and the boat is represented by the asterisk. So you can see at a glance that a, b, and c went over at the first crossing, that b and c returned at the second crossing, and so on.

ABCDE abcde * .. 1. ABCDE de .. * abc 2. ABCDE bcde * .. a 3. ABCDE e .. * abcd 4. ABCDE de * .. abc 5. DE de ,, * ABC abc 6. CDE cde * .. AB ab 7. cde .. * ABCDE ab 8. bcde * .. ABCDE a 9. e .. * ABCDE abcd 10. bc e * .. ABCDE a d 11. .. * ABCDE abcde

There is a little subtlety concealed in the words "show the quickest way."

Everybody correctly assumes that, as we are told nothing of the rowing capabilities of the party, we must take it that they all row equally well. But it is obvious that two such persons should row more quickly than one.

Therefore in the second and third crossings two of the ladies should take back the boat to fetch d, not one of them only. This does not affect the number of landings, so no time is lost on that account. A similar opportunity occurs in crossings 10 and 11, where the party again had the option of sending over two ladies or one only.

To those who think they have solved the puzzle in nine crossings I would say that in every case they will find that they are wrong. No such jealous husband would, in the circumstances, send his wife over to the other bank to a man or men, even if she assured him that she was coming back next time in the boat. If readers will have this fact in mind, they will at once discover their errors.

376.—THE FOUR ELOPEMENTS.

If there had been only three couples, the island might have been dispensed with, but with four or more couples it is absolutely necessary in order to cross under the conditions laid down. It can be done in seventeen passages from land to land (though French mathematicians have declared in their books that in such circumstances twenty-four are needed), and it cannot be done in fewer. I will give one way. A, B, C, and D are the young men, and a, b, c, and d are the girls to whom they are respectively engaged. The three columns show the positions of the different individuals on the lawn, the island, and the opposite shore before starting and after each passage, while the asterisk indicates the position of the boat on every occasion.

Lawn. Island. Shore. ABCDabcd * ABCD cd ab * ABCD bcd * a ABCD d bc * a ABCD cd * b a CD cd b AB a * BCD cd * b A a BCD bcd * A a BCD d * bc A a D d bc ABC a * D d abc * ABC D d b ABC a c * B D d * b A C a c d b ABCD a c * d bc * ABCD a d ABCD abc * cd * ABCD ab ABCD abcd *

Having found the fewest possible passages, we should consider two other points in deciding on the "quickest method": Which persons were the most expert in handling the oars, and which method entails the fewest possible delays in getting in and out of the boat? We have no data upon which to decide the first point, though it is probable that, as the boat belonged to the girls' household, they would be capable oarswomen. The other point, however, is important, and in the solution I have given (where the girls do 8-13ths of the rowing and A and D need not row at all) there are only sixteen gettings-in and sixteen gettings-out. A man and a girl are never in the boat together, and no man ever lands on the island. There are other methods that require several more exchanges of places.

377.—STEALING THE CASTLE TREASURE.

Here is the best answer, in eleven manipulations:—

Treasure down. Boy down—treasure up. Youth down—boy up. Treasure down. Man down—youth and treasure up. Treasure down. Boy down—treasure up. Treasure down. Youth down—boy up. Boy down—treasure up. Treasure down.

378.—DOMINOES IN PROGRESSION.

There are twenty-three different ways. You may start with any domino, except the 4—4 and those that bear a 5 or 6, though only certain initial dominoes may be played either way round. If you are given the common difference and the first domino is played, you have no option as to the other dominoes. Therefore all I need do is to give the initial domino for all the twenty-three ways, and state the common difference. This I will do as follows:—

With a common difference of 1, the first domino may be either of these: 0—0, 0—1, 1—0, 0—2, 1—1, 2—0, 0—3, 1—2, 2—1, 3—0, 0—4, 1—3, 2—2, 3—1, 1—4, 2—3, 3—2, 2—4, 3—3, 3—4. With a difference of 2, the first domino may be 0—0, 0—2, or 0—1. Take the last case of all as an example. Having played the 0—1, and the difference being 2, we are compelled to continue with 1—2, 2—3, 3—4. 4—5, 5—6. There are three dominoes that can never be used at all. These are 0—5, 0—6, and 1—6. If we used a box of dominoes extending to 9—9, there would be forty different ways.

379.—THE FIVE DOMINOES.

There are just ten different ways of arranging the dominoes. Here is one of them:—

(2—0) (0—0) (0—1) (1—4) (4—0).

I will leave my readers to find the remaining nine for themselves.

380.—THE DOMINO FRAME PUZZLE.

[Illustration:

- - - - - - - -+ 2 2 5 5 6 6 6 6 1 1 4 - + - - - - - - - - 2 4 - - 2 3 - - 6 3 - T H E - 6 3 - - 3 3 - - 3 1 - D O M I N O F R A M E - 1 - - 1 - - 5 1 - -S-O-L-U-T-I-O-N- - 5 4 - - 3 4 - - 3 6 - - 2 6 - - - - - - - -+ - 2 1 1 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 2 2 + - - - - - - - -

]

The illustration is a solution. It will be found that all four sides of the frame add up 44. The sum of the pips on all the dominoes is 168, and if we wish to make the sides sum to 44, we must take care that the four corners sum to 8, because these corners are counted twice, and 168 added to 8 will equal 4 times 44, which is necessary. There are many different solutions. Even in the example given certain interchanges are possible to produce different arrangements. For example, on the left-hand side the string of dominoes from 2—2 down to 3—2 may be reversed, or from 2—6 to 3—2, or from 3—0 to 5—3. Also, on the right-hand side we may reverse from 4—3 to 1—4. These changes will not affect the correctness of the solution.

381.—THE CARD FRAME PUZZLE.

The sum of all the pips on the ten cards is 55. Suppose we are trying to get 14 pips on every side. Then 4 times 14 is 56. But each of the four corner cards is added in twice, so that 55 deducted from 56, or 1, must represent the sum of the four corner cards. This is clearly impossible; therefore 14 is also impossible. But suppose we came to trying 18. Then 4 times 18 is 72, and if we deduct 55 we get 17 as the sum of the corners. We need then only try different arrangements with the four corners always summing to 17, and we soon discover the following solution:—



The final trials are very limited in number, and must with a little judgment either bring us to a correct solution or satisfy us that a solution is impossible under the conditions we are attempting. The two centre cards on the upright sides can, of course, always be interchanged, but I do not call these different solutions. If you reflect in a mirror you get another arrangement, which also is not considered different. In the answer given, however, we may exchange the 5 with the 8 and the 4 with the 1. This is a different solution. There are two solutions with 18, four with 19, two with 20, and two with 22—ten arrangements in all. Readers may like to find all these for themselves.

382.—THE CROSS OF CARDS.

There are eighteen fundamental arrangements, as follows, where I only give the numbers in the horizontal bar, since the remainder must naturally fall into their places.