ave two weights, identical in shape,
size, and appearance, weighing respectively 3 and 15 grams.[50] If
manufactured weights are not at hand, it is easy to make satisfactory
substitutes by taking stiff cardboard pill-boxes, about 11/4 inches in
diameter, and filling them with cotton and shot to the desired weight.
The shot must be embedded in the center of the cotton so as to prevent
rattling. After the box has been loaded to the exact weight, the lid
should be glued on firmly. If one does not have access to laboratory
scales, it is always possible to secure the help of a druggist in the
rather delicate task of weighing the boxes accurately. A set of pill-box
weights will last through hundreds of tests, if handled carefully, but
they will not stand rough usage. The manufactured blocks are more
durable, and so more satisfactory in the long run. If the weights are
not at hand, the alternative test may be substituted.

[50] The weights required for this test, and also for IX, 2, may be
purchased of C. H. Stoelting & Co., 3037 Carroll Avenue, Chicago,
Illinois.

PROCEDURE. Place the 3- and 15-gram weights on the table before the
child some two or three inches apart. Say: "_You see these blocks. They
look just alike, but one of them is heavy and one is light. Try them and
tell me which one is heavier._" If the child does not respond, repeat
the instructions, saying this time, "_Tell me which one is the
heaviest._" (Many American children have heard only the superlative form
of the adjective used in the comparison of two objects.)

Sometimes the child merely points to one of the boxes or picks up one at
random and hands it to the examiner, thinking he is asked to _guess_
which is heaviest. We then say: "_No, that is not the way. You must take
the boxes in your hands and try them, like this_" (illustrating by
lifting with one hand, first one box and then the other, a few inches
from the table). Most children of 5 years are then able to make the
comparison correctly. Very young subjects, however, or older ones who
are retarded, sometimes adopt the rather questionable method of lifting
both weights in the same hand at once. This is always an unfavorable
sign, especially if one of the blocks is placed in the hand on top of
the other block.

After the first trial, the weights are shuffled and again presented for
comparison as before, _this time with the positions reversed_. The third
trial follows with the blocks in the same p