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The Canterbury Puzzles, and Other Curious Problems

3.—The Miller's Puzzle.

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3.—The Miller's Puzzle.

The way to arrange the sacks of flour is as follows:—2, 78, 156, 39, 4. Here each pair when multiplied by its single neighbour makes the number in the middle, and only five of the sacks need be moved. There are just three other ways in which they might have been arranged (4, 39, 156, 78, 2; or 3, 58, 174, 29, 6; or 6, 29, 174, 58, 3), but they all require the moving of seven sacks.

Illustration from The Canterbury Puzzles, and Other Curious Problems
Illustration from The Canterbury Puzzles, and Other Curious Problems
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