78 Arithmetic & Algebraic ProblemsCan you find (I) the number the Irishman selected and the man at whom
he began to count, and (2) the number he ought to have used and the man
at whom the counting ought to have begun? The smallest possible number is
required in each case.- BLENDING THE TEAS
A grocer buys two kinds of tea-one at 32¢ per pound, and the other, a
better quality, at 40¢ a pound. He mixes together some of each, which he
proposes to sell at 43¢ a pound, and so make a profit of 25 per cent on the cost.
How many pounds of each kind must he use to make a mixture of a hundred
pounds weight?
- THE WEIGHT OF THE FISH
The Crackhams had contrived that their tour should include a certain place
where there was good fishing, as Uncle Jabez was a good angler and they
wished to givll him a day's sport. It was a charming spot, and they made a
picnic of the occasion. When their uncle landed a fine salmon trout there was
some discussion as to its weight. The Colonel put it into the form of a puzzle,
saying:
"Let us suppose the tail weighs nine ounces, the head as much as the tail
and half the body, and the body weighs as much as the head and tail together.
Now, if this were so, what would be the weight of the fish?"
- CATS AND MICE
One morning, at the breakfast table, Professor Rackbrane's party were dis-
cussing organized attempts to exterminate vermin, when the Professor sud-
denly said:
"If a number of cats killed between them 999,919 mice, and every cat
killed an equal number of mice, how many cats must there have been?"
Somebody suggested that perhaps one cat killed the lot; but Rackbrane re-
plied that he said "cats." Then somebody else suggested that perhaps 999,919
cats each killed one mouse, but he protested that he used the word "mice."
He added, for their guidance, that each cat killed more mice than there were
cats. What is the correct answer?