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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



THE DELIGHT OF THE ABECEDARIAN 



The ABC blocks and the children's work bench go together in pro- 

 viding work and play, and the beginnings of education. The outfit 

 depends almost wholly upon wood, for 'nothing else has been found to 

 take wood's place. Blocks are of basswood, red gum, tupelo, white 

 pine, cedar and others that are light. 



boards. Devices useful in learning the simple principles 

 and fundamental operations of arithmetic are numerous, 

 consisting generally of geometrical blocks. The young 

 child amuses itself with these and gains some knowledge 

 of their names and shapes. The abacus, a toy useful in 

 learning addition, subtraction, multiplication, and divi- 

 sion, is a favorite with children who find amusement 

 while they learn arithmetic by the Chinese method. Some 

 of the more pretentious toys based on the child's interest 

 in school, are complex and include not only HR- r- . 

 the funiture and appliances in the school- 

 room, but the 

 entire school- 



TOYS FOR BUILDING 



Nothing is better than wood as material for toys intended to teach the art of building. Such toys 

 afford amusement to the child and a # t the same time teach useful habits and create a desire for 

 knowledge of more important things in the affairs of life. Children are natural builders. 



and apparatus are successfully imitated by the manufac- 

 turer of wooden toys. ' Most children who enjoy, toys of 

 that kind are not much, if any above the primary grades. 

 The desk and the blackboard appear to be most fre- 

 quently copied, and 

 they are made in all 

 sorts and combina- 

 tions. Charts, of 

 course, come in for 

 liberal consideration, 

 with their maps, pic- 

 tures, and numbers, 

 and color schemes, all 

 patterned after the 

 real objects that do 

 service in the school- 

 room. Sectional maps 

 which are made by 

 pasting on thin blocks 

 of wood, cut in prop- 

 er shape, maps print- 

 ed on paper, are popu- 

 lar and possess con- 

 siderable educational 

 value, for the child is 

 expected to fit each 

 section in its appro- 

 priate place. But this 

 toy comes above the 

 primary grade. Rul- 

 ers, erasers, and chalk 

 boxes, all in minia- 

 ture, go with the 

 charts and black- 



house, outside and in, with the pedagogue at his desk and 

 the classes before him. The complete schoolhouse just 

 described might fall in another class which may be desig- 

 nated as architectural, for toys of that kind are intended 

 to illustrate house and similar structures. Wood lends 

 itself exceptionally well to toys of this kind. The struc- 

 tures are often made in sections, and the children find 

 both amusement and instruction in placing the various 

 parts together. The field is wide and the toy maker has 

 fully occupied it. Nearly all kinds of structures have 

 been copied, from the simplest footbridge or hut to the 

 elaborate capitol and castle. Windmills are modeled upon 

 the clumsy and archaic originals of Holland, and water- 



AN IMITATION WINDMILL 



A toy windmill may run by the force of 

 the wind or it may not; but it affords 

 amusement, and. that is one of its chief 

 purposes when it comes into the child's 

 fife. It suggests scenes on ranches where 

 the wind blows and where horses and 

 cattle roam at will about the ranges, and 

 everything is outdoors. 



THE LAWN SWING FOR CHILDREN 



This is one of the larger toys in which children find amusement. It 

 is not restricted to any particular size or age of the child. Except a 

 few bolts and screws, the article is made wholly of wood, and a 

 little paint adds the finishing touches. The toy maker puts to use 

 many scraps of wood which otherwise would go to waste. 



