clubs, tennis nets, and tennis rackets for tether ball. All of this property is for common use and should be furnished by the school. If a boy brings his baseball to the school, he will get no more good out of it than the 17 other boys that play in the game with him. There is no reason why one boy should furnish such equipment to the school. The same argument applies with still more force to volley balls and basket balls. They are useless to the individual child, and they are awkward to carry from place to place. Adequate play in games such as these can not be had unless the school furnishes the necessary apparatus.

EQUIPMENT FOR ATHLETICS.

School yards are not very well suited for athletics in general in most cases, but there are two or three things that can usually be provided with advantage. It is often possible to put in a straightaway 60-yard running track by the fence, so that it will take up very little room, and the children can practice whenever they please. The different dashes, 25, 50, and 60 yards, should be laid off permanently, and the school should provide a stop watch so that the children can be timed occasionally. There should be a jumping pit about 4 feet wide and 12 to 15 feet long, filled with soft sand to the depth of about 8 inches. The take-off board should be set in the ground flush with the surface. Standards should be furnished for the high jump also, as this is even better liked than the broad jump. The school carpenters are usually able to make very satisfactory standards. There should be one or two horizontal bars, which may be homemade or purchased outright. Horizontal bars are often installed in school yards without any provision to lessen the force of a fall. Such bars are very dangerous; one would not think of exercising in a gymnasium without a mat underneath. The earth should be excavated under each horizontal bar, and sand should be provided. The horizontal bar can be used for "chinning" and for many exercises in which the boys take pleasure.

PLAYGROUND APPARATUS.

School authorities are apt to think that the equipment is the most important thing in making a playground. In matter of fact, it is the least important element of all. The thing of first importance is organization; next in importance is equipment for games; next comes provision for athletics; and last such apparatus as swings, slide, etc. It must not be thought from this that the play apparatus should be left out altogether. It is desirable in order to get the children to come to and stay on the playground, but its importance is easily overestimated.