ribes. These are the "_Hill Floor
Blocks_," manufactured and sold by A. Schoenhut & Co., of
Philadelphia. They are of hard maple and come in seven sizes, from 3"
squares to oblongs of 24", the unit block being 6" in length. There
are 680 pieces in a set. Half and quarter sets are also obtainable.
They are the invention of Professor Patty Smith Hill of Teachers
College, Columbia University, and are used in The Teachers College
Kindergarten and in many other schools.

[Illustration: Useful alike to builders and cabinet makers]

[Illustration: Advanced research in Peg-Lock construction]

The School of Childhood at the University of Pittsburgh makes use of
several varieties of blocks, some of commercial manufacture, others
cut to order. The list given is as follows:[C]

A. Nest of blocks.

B. Large blocks made to order of hard maple in five sizes:
Cubes, 5" X 5".
Oblongs, 2-1/2" X 5" X 10".
Triangular prisms made by cutting cube diagonally into two and
four parts.
Pillars made by cutting oblongs into two parts.
Plinths made by cutting oblongs into two parts.
Light weight 12" boards, 3'-0" to 7'-0" long.

C. Froebel's enlarged fifth and sixth gifts.

D. Stone Anchor blocks.

E. Architectural blocks for flat forms.

F. Peg-Lock blocks.

As children become more dexterous and more ambitious in their block
construction, the _Peg-Lock Blocks_ will be found increasingly
valuable. These are a type of block unknown to Mr. Wells, but how he
would have revelled in the possession of a set! They are manufactured
by the Peg-Lock Block Co. of New York. Cut on a smaller scale than the
other blocks described, they are equipped with holes and pegs, by
which they may be securely joined. This admits of a type of
construction entirely outside the possibilities of other blocks. They
come in sets of varying sizes and in a great variety of shapes. The
School of Childhood uses them extensively, as does The Play School.

[Footnote C: See University of Pittsburgh Bulletin, "Report of the
Experimental Work in the School of Childhood."]

[Illustration: Small wooden toy.]*

FLOOR TOYS

The "Do-with Toys" shown in the accompanying cuts were designed by
Miss Caroline Pratt some years ago to meet the need generally felt by
devotees of the play laboratory of a consistent series of toys to be
used with floor blocks. For if the market of the present day can offer
something more adequate in the