CHILDREN’S PLAY GROUNDS. 455 
CHILDREN’S PLAY GROUNDS. 
PROF. S..B. GREEN, MINN. STATE EXP. STATION. 
In many of the cities of Europe and this country one will notice 
-with surprise the pains taken to furnish playgrounds for children 
and young people. The wants of the little tots are well looked after 
in a variety of ways, but nothing seems to please them quite so well 
as a few loads of sand that when slightly moist can be moulded and 
dug into all sorts of shapes. One of the most interesting sights to 
me is a group of children watched over by parents or nurses, amus- 
View in Hyde Park, London. 
ing themselves in this way. While it may not be thought necessary 
in the rural districts to furnish a pile of sand for this purpose, yet 
I know very well that there are many country schools that would 
‘be much more attractive to the children if they were supplied with 
a few loads of sand for the younger pupils to play in, and it will 
be found that even the older children will often get much pleasure 
from it. 
The parks of our great cities are great blessings, being, as they 
are, sort of “breathing spots” where man may have a little chance 
to breathe and think in a natural way, out of the “hurley burley” of 
every’ day city life. I notice with pleasure the quite general doing 
away of signs forbidding one to walk on the grass. This is as it 
should be, and with the exception, perhaps, of a few small areas 
where something special is attempted there is no need of holding 
