Henry Ernest Dudeney/Modern Puzzles/78 - The Miller's Toll/Solution

Modern Puzzles by Henry Ernest Dudeney: $78$

The Miller's Toll

A miller was accustomed to take as toll one-tenth of the flour that he ground for his customers.

How much did he grind for a man who had just one bushel after the toll had been taken?

Solution

$1 \tfrac 1 9$ bushels

Proof

Let $x$ bushels be the total quantity of flour ground.

Then:

$x - \dfrac x {10} = 1$

from which:

$x = \dfrac {10} 9$

The result follows.

$\blacksquare$

Sources

• 1926: Henry Ernest Dudeney: Modern Puzzles ... (previous) ... (next): Solutions: $78$. -- The Miller's Toll
• 1968: Henry Ernest Dudeney: 536 Puzzles & Curious Problems ... (previous) ... (next): Answers: $160$. The Miller's Toll