An amusing periodical got up by the boys of a certain college gives a
capital skit on the style of examination-papers frequently presented
for the torture of pupils. Here are a few examples:--
Supposing the River Murray to be three cubits in breadth--which
it isn’t--what is the average height of the Alps, stocks being at
nineteen and a-half?
If in autumn apples cost fourpence per pound in Melbourne, and
potatoes a shilling a score in spring, when will greengages be sold
in Brisbane at three-halfpence each, Sydney oranges being at a
discount of five per cent.?
If two men can kill twelve kangaroos in going up the right side of a
rectangular turnip-field, how many would be killed by five men and a
terrier pup in going down the other side?
If a milkmaid four feet ten inches in height, while sitting on a
three-legged stool, took four pints of milk out of every fifteen
cows, what was the size of the field in which the animals grazed, and
what was the girl’s name, age, and the occupation of her grandfather?
If thirty thousand millions of human beings have lived since the
beginning of the world, how many may we safely say will die before
the end of it? N.B.--This example to be worked out by simple
subtraction, algebra, and the rule of three. Compare results.
72. Find two numbers in the proportion of 9 to 7 such as the square
of their sum shall be equal to the cube of their difference.