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, 
however 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 
