bility, immobile, reasonless, for the
philosophy of the play laboratory is quite unknown to the makers of
play materials, while those who buy are guided almost entirely by
convention and have no better standard by which to estimate what
constitutes their money's worth.

[Illustration: Small wooden toy.]*

On the other hand enthusiasts raise the question, why supply any toys?
Is it not better for children to make all their toys? And as Miss
Pratt says, "getting ready for play is mistaken for play itself."

[Illustration: Small wooden toy.]*

[Illustration: Small wooden toy.]*

Too much "getting ready" kills real play, and if our purpose is to
foster and enrich the actual activity, we must understand the subtle
value of initial play materials, of having at hand ready for the
promptings of play impulse the necessary foundation stones on which a
superstructure of improvisation can be reared.

[Illustration: Transportation Toys]

[Illustration: A trunk line]

When by hook or crook the devotees of floor games have secured a
population and live stock for their block communities, then, as Mr.
Wells reminds us, comes commerce and in her wake transportation
problems to tax the inventive genius of the laboratory.

Simple transportation toys are the next need, and suitable ones can
generally, though not always, be obtained in the shops. A few
well-chosen pieces for initial material will soon be supplemented by
"Peg-lock" or bench-made contrivances.

For railroad tracks the block supply offers possibilities better
adapted to the ages we are considering than any of the elaborate rail
systems that are sold with the high-priced mechanical toys so
fascinating to adult minds. Additional curved blocks corresponding to
the unit block in width and thickness are a great boon to engineers,
for what is a railroad without curves!

Transportation toys can be perfectly satisfactory when not made
strictly to scale. Indeed, the exigencies of the situation generally
demand that realists be satisfied with rather wide departures from the
general rule. Train service, however, should accommodate at least one
passenger to a car.

[Illustration: Play area.]*

LARGE AND SMALL SCALE TOYS

The floor scheme pictured here is a good illustration of our
principles of selection applied to toys of larger scale. The dolls,
the tea set, the chairs are from the toy shop. The little table in the
foreground, and the bed are bench made. The bedding