CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT. 



lu this departmeut the articles numbered over sixty, which 

 were brought iu by forty different contributors. This number 

 falls considerably short of that of a few years ago, but we 

 think this may be owing more to a lack of children than to 

 a lack of interest among them. Many of our schools are not 

 more than half as largo as they were a few years ago, con- 

 sequently we can hardly expect our Children's Department to 

 rank where it once did among the departments of our Fair. 

 Yet we think if the many little girls, and the many more little 

 boys who have never placed any of their wo.ik on the chil- 

 dren's table would each do even a little, it might be as well, 

 and perhaps better, filled than it has ever yet been. 



Though the quantity of the work is less than it used to be, 

 yet we think it is gaining year by year iu quality. 



The four rugs, braided, knit and drawn, showed that some 

 of our older girls tried a hand at domestic articles, and very 

 successfully, too. 



Tidies, once so common an article on our tables, seem more 

 worthy of mention now that we have only about half a dozen 

 specimens, and some of them of new and pretty patterns. 



The dozen napkins and dolls' suits were remarkably well 

 made by Amy Bates, a little seven-years-old girl, and we 

 expect her to bo a regular contributor now for the next seven 

 years. 



