A SQUARE BUILDING. THE SALE OF A MARE.

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 11, 12 July 1930, Page 15

A SQUARE BUILDING.

THE SALE OF A MARE.

A square building of one floor was divided into nine square rooms, eight of which were occupied 'as sleeping apartments at a college,, the ninth room being used as a gymnasium. Each of the eight*rooms contained eight single beds, but at this time there were not sixty-four students in residence. There were three rooms on each side of the buildings but the boys preferred tho eastern side, which was tho most remote frOni the house-master's quarters, aud this circumstance suggests a little problem. Let it be assumed that on six consecutive nights all the dormitories were occupied by tho boys. The 'rst night the most favoured sido of tho house had six times as many sleepers as were oh each of the other sides; on the second night there were five times as many; on the third four times as many; on tho fourth three times the number; on the fifth occasion twice as many, but on the sixth night each side of the house had the same number of occupants. What is the least number who could have occupied the dormitories on these six occasions? •

When offered- for sale in the yards the marc's age could not be definitely fixed, neither by the owiter nor by the prospective buyers, though everyone agreed that the animal was '' aged,'' that is to say, more than seven years old. Twenty-five pounds was the price wanted by tho owner, but he agreed to allow three pounds off that figure for every year that tho mare was over seven years. This condition was accepted, and the animal sold. How much did the owner receive if the mare's age was afterwards proved by the fact that exactly one year prior to the sale sho was three times as old as her only foal, which will be half its mother's age two years after she was sold as.stated?