SIDE SHOWS 155 



In this connection certain schemes suggest themselves 

 which are sure to please children, and which have proved 

 well adapted to school gardens. A little arbor, for instance, 

 or a pergola thatched with leaves that cast dappled shadows 

 on the even paths, or the simplest of summerhouses, — these 

 are sometimes constructed in gardens not a block away from 

 the clanging cars. A summerhouse, to answer every purpose, 

 does not need to be a large and spacious structure like that 

 which the Clinton Park children enjoy in New York. No car- 

 penter ought to be required except for consultation. Here is 

 offered, in fact, the very occasion where the children's own 

 woodworking bench comes most handy. The one rule to 

 be observed now and always is that every bit of carpentry, 

 hpwever rude, should be built not in fragile and earwiggy 

 fashion but substantially enough to withstand the stress of 

 the weather and the seasons. Two " chunks " and a board, 

 for instance, will make a seat ; and, wonderful to relate, a 

 stump is transformed into a table. Such woodworking fan- 

 cies, if carried out, can turn a sober, homely spot into a real 

 pleasure ground. 



Properly directed, this desire for outdoor beauty may favor- 

 ably react upon the home. In the hurry and rush of American 

 life many phases of domestic enjoyment remain incomplete. 

 The interior of the house itself is often truly a world-famous 

 example of modern invention and convenience, but the setting 

 of the house leaves usually much to be desired. According 

 to the 'American custom," each city and suburban house 

 has, of course, its front grassplot shaven and shorn into im- 

 maculate greenness, and conforming as exactly as possible to 

 that of its neighbors. The little lawn may be broken by a 

 border of flowers or a bush or two, but it is seldom improved 

 by a haphazard addition of this sort. Although this style of 

 yard is conventional and uninteresting, still, improvement is 



