arms the older children seem to be considered
chiefly as an economic asset. Overwork and little or no time to satisfy
the innate tendency of children to play, inevitably produces a dislike
of farm life and is one of the most obvious reasons why many of them
leave the farm as soon as possible.

Many parents have forgotten how to play and have lost the "feel" of it.
It is important for them to play themselves in order to appreciate the
needs of their children, and to have a real sympathy with them. Picnics,
play festivals, and sociables, at which every one is compelled to "get
into the game," are valuable for this purpose. Many a man recovers his
youth in a picnic baseball game. Others have never had much play in
their own lives and do not appreciate its value for the best development
of their children. Play festivals or demonstrations and local athletic
meets in which their children participate may appeal to their parental
pride. Furthermore, when such play days are community affairs, they give
the sanction of public opinion to the games played and to those
participating in them. The play idea is popularized.

_Play in the Home._--Although the small family does not furnish
opportunity for group games, which are necessary for the satisfaction
both of children and adults, yet the movement for better play facilities
for the community should not overlook the fact that the home is the
fundamental social institution of rural life and that play and
recreation in the home are essential to its success and happiness. Home
games bind the family together, and parents who play with their
children find it much easier to secure and maintain their confidence.
The community may well give attention to the encouragement of games and
play in the homes as well as in the community gatherings. We need a
definite movement on the part of pastors, teachers, and especially by
such organizations as granges and farm and home bureaus for the
promotion of play by young and old in the farm home.

_Influence of the Automobile._--One of the values of the automobile is
that by its use many a farmer has been given a new realization of the
value of recreation. The new desire for recreation thus created is a
great gain for farm life. There is no reason why the farmer and his
family should not have as much enjoyment of life as town and city
people, and if they cannot, then only the poorer class of people will
remain on the farms. Occasionally one hears a co