of social problems an argument as to the necessity for recreation in the 

 culture of well-rounded manhood and womanhood. Yet this problem 

 of recreation remains one of the vital rural problems. The city also 

 has its recreation problem, but the initial terms of the problem are not 

 so serious as in the country, for congestion lends itself to the solution 

 more readily than isolation. 



It is not our present purpose to attempt anything more than a descrip- 

 tion of existing conditions, which will include a discussion of the types 

 of recreation offered and the agencies by which offered. All of the 

 county except the Sandy Spring neighborhood will be considered. 



Types of Recreation 



Athletics. Baseball is played quite generally throughout the county. 

 The larger schools have organized teams, playing with each other and to 

 some extent with teams from Washington City. Rockville, Gaithersburg, 

 Brookville and Sandy Spring High Schools are the most important in this 

 respect. There were last season eight organized town teams, playing 

 one game each per week; admission was charged and crowds of 100 or 

 more were usually in attendance. Four of these teams were organized 

 into a league; this, however, will not be the case this year. Probably, 

 there is more playing in Clarksburg, Boyds, Germantown, Gaithersburg, 

 Washington Grove, Rockville and Kensington than elsewhere in the 

 county. Laytonsville town usually has one game a month. In Pooles- 

 ville, Colesville, Darnestown, Potomac, Barnesville, Damascus and 

 Bethesda Districts, there is little or no organized playing, but there are 

 scrub teams which play in the fields on Saturdays or Sundays, and at the 

 picnics. 



Basketball is played in several of the schools; there are also two town 

 teams, in Rockville and Gaithersburg. Football is played in the Rock- 

 ville and Gaithersburg schools to some extent, and Kensington has a 

 town team; this game, however, is not very popular. Soccer is played 

 to an even less extent. The larger schools do more or less track work, 

 occasionally entering teams in State meets. A meet is held at Washington 

 Grove every summer, in which not only the county athletes but athletes 

 from various parts of the State and from neighboring States participate. 



Tennis is played in various sections, particularly in the Rockville, 

 Darnestown, Olney, Gaithersburg, Wheaton and Bethesda districts. 

 Tournaments are often held, both for particular sections and for the 

 county. Croquet (if this can be called a form of athletics) is played in 

 the Potomac District, and here and there throughout the county. 

 Roque and quoits are played at Washington Grove. 



Theatricals. Home-talent plays are very popular in at least eight dis- 

 tricts in the county. These are given by churches, schools, lodges or 



47 



