Let the quantity of the wine in the cask originally be x litres. Then, quantity of wine left in cask after 4 operations = [ x ❨ 1 - 8 ❩ 4 ] litres. x ∴ ❨ x(1 - (8/x))4 ❩ = 16 x 81 ⟹ ❨ 1 - 8 ❩ 4 = ❨ 2 ❩ 4 x 3 ⟹ ❨ x - 8 ❩ = 2 x 3 ⟹ 3x - 24 = 2x ⟹ x = 24.