Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 November 2016
I am not acquainted with any investigation of the problem of dissecting two given rectilineal figures of equal area, by straight lines, so that the parts of either will fit on the other, and the results given here are new to me. The problem is one which suggests a variety of interesting geometrical constructions. It is natural to consider first how, and in how many different ways, a dissection can be made so as to give the smallest possible number of parts ; but types of dissection which do not give the smallest possible number of parts may also be worth attention. I exclude cases of dissections depending on some accidental or unspecified coincidence of dimensions in the given figures.