the slide is dangerous because of its height. One experienced play director reports, however, that in thirteen years' constant experience with the use of school playground slides, no accident of serious nature has ever occurred except by slivers from carelessly made slides, where cheap material was used. Mothers sometimes object to the use of the slide as play apparatus, saying that it is hard on clothes. This, however, is disputed by those who are familiar with its use, especially if the slide is made of smooth material and kept in good condition.

Unlike the sand bins, the see-saws and the swings, the making of the slide should probably not be underInstallation of the slide

taken as a piece of home construction. It can be bought for as little as it will cost to make it, and for less if a carpenter has to be hired for its construction. Steel slides have been devised and are found in operation in various playgrounds. They are, however, not entirely satisfactory, being at all times subject to rust, and in the winter proving too cold and in the summer too hot for comfort. Probably the best slide is that made of maple. This material sometimes warps slightly but it never slivers and can be finished very hard and smooth. The cost of these slides can be estimated from the fact that a Chicago firm sells a nine-foot slide for seven dollars and fifty cents and a fifteen-foot slide for twenty-five dollars. Although the slide costs slightly more for first installation than some other pieces of apparatus, it is really highly economical, as almost any number of children can use it, following one another in rapid succession. One slide will thus serve many times the number that can use a swing or a teeter board.

The horizontal bar should be a part of every school playground equipment. Half-grown boys always have

The slides and giant strides on the Whiting School playground, Whiting, Indiana

acrobatic tendencies, and desire to show their muscular strength and agility in the various performances possible with the horizontal bar. These The horizontal bar bars are easily set either in substantial wooden posts or on steel supports similar to the standards for the swings. It is well in a school of some size to have several bars, one five and a quarter feet, one six feet, and one six and a half feet high. Since it is usually impossible to have mats under these bars as is the rule in gymnasiums, the solid earth should always be dug out from under them and the cavity filled with fresh sand, so as to reduce the danger from falling. The bar itself should be detachable from the posts so that it can be taken in and kept free from rust when not in use. 'Suspended rings for acrobatic performance can also be easily and cheaply installed. These should be of standard make, and so securely fastened that no accident from breakage is possible. If, in addition, several two-inch climbing ropes are included in the equipment, this phase of the playground apparatus will be fairly well provided for.

Besides such equipment for play, the school ground should provide an adequate equipment for certain games. Equipment for It has already been suggested that a games baseball diamond should be permanently laid out on the school ground. If the school is consolidated and hence has a considerable number of larger boys, a football field will also be desirable for fall use. Basket ball is coming to be a favorite game with both boys and girls, and a basket-ball court may well form a part of the equipment of the school playground. Where space will permit, the girls will find the game of

hockey highly interesting and well adapted to the type of play that should engage their attention.

Indoor baseball

Many schools are at present introducing indoor baseball played out-of-doors. This game is suitable for girls as well as for boys. The regulation diamond is thirty-five feet square, but the game can be satisfactorily played, at least by girls, on a twenty-seven-foot diamond. Bases are made of sacks filled with sand, and a seventeen-inch ball is used. The diamond should be so placed that the ball will not be batted over the fence or against the school windows.

Volley ball is coming to be one of the favorite school games, especially for schools that have not sufficient room for all kinds of games upon the playVolley ball ground. It is a game that requires but very little space and one which children of all ages can easily learn to play. It demands constant activity, quickness of perception, and accuracy of judgment; and it has a tendency to correct the effects of bad postures in the schoolroom. The equipment costs next to nothing. Closely related to volley ball is another ball game called "tether" ball. This game also requires but little space and is adapted to people of various ages and to both sexes. The rules for laying out all these grounds and for playing games can be had from any athletic library, such as the Spaulding Library, of Chicago, for ten cents for each set of rules.

It is doubtful whether any weight-throwing such as the discus or the shot or even quoits should be allowed on the school playground on account of the danger to the children engaged in other sports. However, every rural school could easily provide a running track and a jump

The running track