shades of brown, which blend most artistically when worked up. The
little children of the South may gather the long needles that fall from
the southern pine, and combine them with raffia or twine to construct a
basket. Country children have a most adaptable and convenient commodity
in the tough, flexible willows found on the banks of almost every
stream.

The material most commonly used and easiest to begin with, however, is
reed, which is pliable, and readily handled and moulded into simple
forms by even small children. It is available when other materials are
not to be had, for it may be purchased with the school supplies.

Reed is the core or central part of the climbing calamus, a species of
palm found in the jungles of Borneo and adjacent South Sea islands. The
outside of the raw calamus is smooth and is made into commercial cane
used for chairs. The shavings, made by the machine which separates the
cane from the core or inner reed, are utilized for mats, polishing
material, and stuffing for mattresses and furniture. Thus every part of
the raw material is brought into use.

Originally the calamus grew in a limited area and was difficult to
obtain. Only the natives could gather it, as the white man contracted
the jungle fever as soon as he subjected himself to the climate in
which it grew. But within the last fifty or seventy-five years
enterprising men have begun the cultivation of the rattan palm, and
have met with so much success that now there are a number of factories
in the United States making the reed and rattan of commerce, while
Germany and Belgium export to us the best reed that is used.

[Illustration: REED BASKETS]

The teacher should never begin the use of any new material for
construction without having made the child familiar with its history;
nor should a finished article be laid aside until the pupil has given
the teacher a description of how it is made, and of what it is made. If
this method is carried out the child will show a greater appreciation
of what he is doing, will value the finished article more highly, and
will place a premium on the raw material.

Overlook the pupils in their work, but grant them the privilege of
adjusting size and shape, and of selecting material for the
requirements of the design they have in mind. By achieving what he can
for himself, the pupil attains a realization of his own power, and the
logic of size, shape, material, etc., is awakened.

REED CONSTRU