228.—­THE TEN APPLES.

[Illustration]

The family represented in the illustration are amusing themselves with this little puzzle, which is not very difficult but quite interesting.  They have, it will be seen, placed sixteen plates on the table in the form of a square, and put an apple in each of ten plates.  They want to find a way of removing all the apples except one by jumping over one at a time to the next vacant square, as in draughts; or, better, as in solitaire, for you are not allowed to make any diagonal moves—­only moves parallel to the sides of the square.  It is obvious that as the apples stand no move can be made, but you are permitted to transfer any single apple you like to a vacant plate before starting.  Then the moves must be all leaps, taking off the apples leaped over.

229.—­THE NINE ALMONDS.

“Here is a little puzzle,” said a Parson, “that I have found peculiarly fascinating.  It is so simple, and yet it keeps you interested indefinitely.”

The reverend gentleman took a sheet of paper and divided it off into twenty-five squares, like a square portion of a chessboard.  Then he placed nine almonds on the central squares, as shown in the illustration, where we have represented numbered counters for convenience in giving the solution.

“Now, the puzzle is,” continued the Parson, “to remove eight of the almonds and leave the ninth in the central square.  You make the removals by jumping one almond over another to the vacant square beyond and taking off the one jumped over—­just as in draughts, only here you can jump in any direction, and not diagonally only.  The point is to do the thing in the fewest possible moves.”

The following specimen attempt will make everything clear.  Jump 4 over 1, 5 over 9, 3 over 6, 5 over 3, 7 over 5 and 2, 4 over 7, 8 over 4.  But 8 is not left in the central square, as it should be.  Remember to remove those you jump over.  Any number of jumps in succession with the same almond count as one move.

[Illustration]

230.—­THE TWELVE PENNIES.

Here is a pretty little puzzle that only requires twelve pennies or counters.  Arrange them in a circle, as shown in the illustration.  Now take up one penny at a time and, passing it over two pennies, place it on the third penny.  Then take up another single penny and do the same thing, and so on, until, in six such moves, you have the coins in six pairs in the positions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.  You can move in either direction round the circle at every play, and it does not matter whether the two jumped over are separate or a pair.  This is quite easy if you use just a little thought.

[Illustration]

231.—­PLATES AND COINS.