spent lavishly, as it seemed, just because he hated to save. He threw money away without return. It fairly seemed as if he was unhappy with money in his pocket. The oldest child was anxious to gather up and save everything, as well as money. It hurt him to see anything wasted, or even given away. His room was a regular curiosity shop of treasures that others had cast away.

To account for these idiosyncrasies, we investigated not only the ancestors, from whose history we obtained no clue, but the life of the parents, and there found what seems to explain, at least partially, the problem.

The parents were poor when married, but full of hope. The wife had been brought up without any financial burdens. They economized in every possible way, and with great interest in the saving. Every scheme to economize and hoard was studied, for their business opportunities gave little chance to earn; to save was their only outlook. Result, the oldest child parsimonious.

But years of saving grew irksome to the wife, and during the pre-natal life of the second child she was rebellious against the hard conditions of poverty. She hated the word economy, and cast it to the winds. It made her happy to spend needlessly and lavishly; the child reflected this nature.

The third child came when affairs were bettering themselves, and while there was not now such need of economy, the spending was not so extravagant. The wife simply spent what her husband gave her, without question as to the limit of expenditure. Business improved, and when the last sunny-haired darling came into the home the atmosphere was one of loving and giving. Generous hospitality prevailed and the child reflected it.

Treatment of individual cases.

So much for probable causes. But as to remedy. Shall all these children be put under the same course of training in regard to judicious use of money? Will the same motives be equally efficacious? It will be readily seen that where the same action springs in different individuals from entirely different causes, the methods of treatment must be radically differ

In this family the parents, seeing the springs of action, which but reflect the secret springs of their own thoughts of years gone by, will realize that in order to do the best they must give each child the benefit of particular

and careful study, and form their regime accordingly.

These children need to be fed differently, to s be dressed with different degrees of warmth of clothing, to be developed after different physical methods, to be influenced morally by appeals to different motives, and this family problem is no more complicated than that which confronts hundreds of parents.

How many problems are presented to the average parent that are puzzling, that are even beyond his powers of solution! How many parents, more unfortunate, do not even dimly perceive that there are problems! To them, bringing up a child means to feed and clothe, to dictate to and domineer over one moment, to caress and indulge the next, all the while looking forward to the time when, in some mysterious way, the ungoverned, unruly, mischievous, active, tormenting child shall develop into the wellregulated, self-directing adult.

It is the aim of this series of articles to present clearly and simply some of the problems of child-training, to indicate some of the potentialities of the child in general, to prompt to a study of each individual child in particular, and to show how, through right training, the child may become a source of joy in his childhood, a comfort to himself as well as to his friends, and how he may grow into that noble maturity which insures safety to the nation through a noble citizenship.

Above all, it is hoped that the study will arouse in our minds such a reverence for childhood, such a realization of the important place of the child in this world of ours, that the selfish motives that have too often influenced us in our dealings with children in the past will be completely lost sight of, and we may so grow into that broader comprehension of God's plan as to see that we are here for the guidance of the child, for his good, not for our own comfort and pleasure.

MARY WOOD-ALLEN, M. D.
ROSE M. WOOD-ALLEN.

along this line, the writer concluded to make a collection and study of the drawings of the children from this vicinity. Eleven hundred papers, from children between the ages of five and fifteen, inclusive, were collected and examined. They were obtained in the following manner: At some convenient time, usually the regular drawing period, paper and pencils were given to the children, but instead of drawing from object or copy, they were told to draw anything that they wished. The utmost free dom of design was allowed. At the close of the period the papers were taken up and examined, and those of fifty boys and fifty girls of each age were tabulated as given below.

Most prominent among other objects drawn were ships by 19 boys, 9 girls boats, 13 boys. 14 girls; bicycles, 7 boys, 3 girls; the sun, 5 boys, 7 girls; moon, 6 boys, 2 girls; stars in great numbers, 3 girls; landscapes, 6 boys, 14 girls.

In the above table the term "utensils" was used to include household goods, tools, farm implements, etc. Under conventional designs were classed all stereotyped forms, model designs, or other objects showing instruction. The rest of the table is thought to be self-explanatory. After each rubric the upper row of fig ures represents boys and the lower, girls.

Favorite drawings.

The favorite topics, as gleaned from their spontaneous drawings, show a strong preference for expressing life, motion, and human interests. Especially is this true of the smaller children. They seem to put their own activity into their drawings. They represent children as running or playing, birds as flying, all animals as if moving. Objects of still life are. seldom represented, except in connection with

other interests. In the five and six-year-olds almost every paper shows a house. In many of these mamma is represented, and sometimes she is the only object found there. Again are seen children at play, or baby sleeping in its tiny bed, with all appearance of ease and comfort. Some of these home pictures show much of the furnishings of the modern house, while others, the products of less prolific brains, perhaps, show only the objects connected with the picture story. A study of these papers causes one to appreciate the simplicity of the childartist, whose lack of scientific correctness affords us many scenes of inner life. A wider range of subjects.

With the seven and eight-year-olds we find a greater variety of subjects, owing, perhaps, to their wider field of experience. Street and playground scenes now prevail. The human figure, with its interests and surroundings, still predominates, but much of the motion is furnished by engines puffing, boats paddling, street cars running, horses prancing. Children are now represented as playing ball, flying kites, riding, or driving. Several of this age drew street parades, and the first ideas of patriotism, no doubt, are revealed in the immense tin horns and floating flags. The first gleams of literature and folk lore are shown in the picture stories of Washington, Santa Claus, and others. Decrease in number of objects.

The papers of children of nine and ten years show a dropping off in the number of objects; also an increase in per cent of conventional designs. Many of the drawings now are based upon cube, cylinder and sphere, according to the school curriculum. Why this falling off in number? All observers will agree that this is a period of great activity, yet 41% of the nine and 57% of the ten-year-olds drew either one or two figures. The table, owing to the drawings of a few very prolific young artists, does not impress one with so great a change as the examination of the papers indicates. Arrest of growth.

Dr. Lukens, in his excellent article on Children's Drawings,* says that the critical point about a child's development lies in the possible arrest of growth at some of the low stages of skill, and claims that lack of practice and absence of sympathetic suggestion and help from those around would cause a cessation of healthy

Ped. Sem., iv : 79.

normal development. Do our schools furnish practice enough? Does the prescribed course give the variety needed? Are the objects chosen those in which children are interested? In the 1,500 spontaneous drawings made by the children of California public schools and tabu lated by Mrs. Maitland, it is shown that 45% of the drawings made by children between the ages of five and seven years represented the human figure; 23% showed animals; 35% plants. In the ages from eight to ten years the figures are but slightly changed. A glance at the table above will show that Nebraska children prefer the same objects, yet how few drawings of this kind are made in our schools. May not this in some measure account for the decrease in the number of drawings? Children are made to follow our ideas and interests, rather than their

own.

Conventional designs and landscapes.

The ages of eleven and twelve show greater decrease in the scenes that represent life and action and increase of conventional designs. This is more noticeable in the girls than in the boys. There is also more tendency toward decoration in the former than in the latter. The boy's love of action seems to cling to him in spite of the conventional. In the papers of the thirteen and fourteen-year-olds the most notable change is the increased number of landscapes. The boys still continue to draw adventurous or heroic scenes. Some can be traced directly to their historical readings.

Lack of originality.

In the papers of pupils of fifteen years one finds few designs except those of the every-day lessons in drawing. Only a few pupils show any originality, or a desire to draw more than one object.

Agreement and difference.

The papers examined agree with the authors cited; in the smaller children using size as a means of emphasis; in their attempts to represent the invisible; in their transparent houses; in their inability to appreciate the third dimension before the eighth or ninth year; also in finding the boys, generally, more expressive than the girls. But these papers show a steady decrease in number of designs, beginning with the girls of eight years. Professor Barnes found a steady increase in number of drawings from the age of six to thirteen. Why this difference?

Drawings of Indian children.

Three hundred papers, the spontaneous drawings of the children of the Indian school at Pipestone Agency, showed much similarity, with a few marked differences from the white children. Their drawings contain more life and action. More stories are told in pictures than in the same number of other drawings. Very few of these stories have any reference to their past life. Of the numerous persons drawn, but one or two show the Indian dress. The flowers are all potted, or at least cultivated plants. The tendency toward adornment is very marked, and begins with the earliest drawings. The boys draw many engines, ships, and boats, while the girls draw houses, flowers, and ornaments.

The younger children show much more interest in their drawings than the older ones. This is shown by the great number of designs on the page. As the per cent of conventional drawings increases the number of designs decreases. Papers from children of the same age, but in different schools, show great differences in their drawings. For instance, one girl of ten may draw an apple or cylinder of good proportion,

shaded as directed in some former lesson, finished neatly, but she will draw but one design. Another child of the same age will draw a playmate, or an imaginary little girl, then she will give her a mamma and papa, brothers and sisters, perhaps, a house to live in furnished in an ideal manner, grounds adorned with trees and flowers. Thus she continues to add object after object as long as the page will admit. What constitutes the difference between them? Another observation is that smaller children seldom draw a present object. They desire, rather, to express the images with which their memories are filled.

From these studies of spontaneous drawings it seems that our present method of teaching this important branch is not the correct one. It fails to accomplish that which we most desire an ever-increasing interest in art. An experiment which increased interest.

A desire to bring the teaching of drawing more in harmony with our present knowledge led me to use the following plan witl. a school of forty pupils of seventh grade during the last year. Drawing was year. Drawing was correlated with other studies, especially with language work. Suitable stories were read for reproduction, and the pupils were encouraged to illustrate, by draw

ings, the points of greatest interest to them. Here was a test of the pupil's ability to determine the salient points of the story. Some were diffident at first, especially when representations of human figures were required, but soon overcame this when they learned that their best efforts were appreciated, no matter how crude. The best reproductions were read in class and the fittest illustrations were commented upon, and placed where all might see and study them. Supplementary readings in history and geog raphy were treated in much the same way. The reproductions showed lively sketches of Indian life, adventures of the colonists, early industries, primitive life, modern civilization, inventions, commerce, and progress. Here was found a ready way of correcting the misconceptions of fact and wrong interpretation of words which frequently occur in teaching children. They were so plainly visible when expressed in drawing that few suggestions were required to rectify the errors.

Spontaneous drawing introduced.

The prescribed course being finished, the drawing period, twenty minutes twice a week, during the last semester was devoted to spontaneous drawing. The only direction was "draw what you want to." The first lesson caused some confusion. Several knew not what to do with their new-found liberty. Four drew conventional designs remembered from former lessons. Those appeared only once. Interest grew intense. What I shall draw next became the topic of conversation. The subjects en larged so that they could not be completed in the allotted time. Then came requests for permission to finish them at home. They were always returned completed at the next session. Every one who could find spare time wanted to draw, and some pupils, otherwise indifferent, eagerly prepared their lessons in order to have spare time. This work was corrected and criticized in the same manner as the illustrations before mentioned. Individual suggestions were given. The best drawings were placed before the class. The more correct features were discussed and faults noted. In this way they studied the relative proportion of objects and the laws of perspective. No directions were given until the pupil saw the defects and desired the means of improvement.

Color introduced.

were the objects drawn. Color was then introduced. Without hint or suggestion, almost every pupil had procured a box of either crayon or water colors within two days. When asked separately why they brought paints into school, the reply was almost invariably: "Just because I wanted to color my drawings." In our study of birds we were often obliged to use pictures, but this was not quite satisfactory. Every effort was made to find a caged bird or a stuffed specimen to bring into the schoolroom. The trees and byways were watched for a glimpse of the songsters, that their color might be more faithfully represented. This led to some very animated discussions as to the proper color, and each member of the class became an acute observer. In this way the stock of bird lore was much increased; interest grew with acquaintance until bird and boy were real friends. As one of them expressed it: "The birds come so much nearer to me this year than ever before." Flowers in drawing.

Flowers as drawings had less interest for the pupils than birds had. They enjoyed the poems and legends read and told concerning them, and almost always personified the flower in their reproduction work. Yet there was not such marked admiration, such eager interest shown them as characterized the birds. Was this because they lacked action?

Original designs.

The best results of floral drawings were found in original designs. in original designs. Usually each was given a flower and a leaf, with the privilege of arranging as they pleased. Much originality was shown and some very artistic designs were produced.

Of course some of the results were crude, but they were the pupil's very own; they represented his best efforts to portray a grow ing image of beauty; they were genuine, honest, revealed an æsthetic sense, and a strong impulse toward art.

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