native city the largest municipal organ in the United States. The municipal organ concerts of Portland held under the auspices of the city's music commission are widely known. Portland now has a municipal orchestra, organized last year under the auspices of the commission, with a membership of eighty-five men and women.

Jacksonville's Music Memory Contest.The 1928 music memory contest held under the auspices of the Playground and Recreation Department of Jacksonville, Florida, was by far the largest and most successful ever held in that city. During the six weeks of the contest 4,955 boys, girls and adults became familiar, through victrolas, pianos, organs, radios and special concerts, with the twenty-four selections on which the test was based. Elimination contests were then held in the various schools and the ten best boys and girls were chosen as the school team to represent it in the finals. At the same time the negroes were holding their first music memory contest in which eight schools were represented. Much enthusiasm was shown by the negro parents, teachers and other adults as well as boys and girls participating.

More than 450 boys, girls, men and women took part in the final contest and fifty-seven perfect papers were handed in. Each of the winners received a gold medal donated by the Friday musicale.

The Boys' Band of Elmira Wins State Contest. Before 5,000 people at the Syracuse Airport the Elmira Community Service-Lions' Club Boys' Band won the state-wide contest conducted in May as a feature of the State Convention of Lions' Clubs. In their white uniforms with blue collars and gold-braided caps the Elmira players immediately captured the favor of the large crowd present. The band is composed of more than forty boys ranging from ten to fourteen years of age.

Harmonica Charts Available.-M. Hohner, Inc., 114 East 16th Street, New York City, has issued a series of charts for teachers and schools for the playing of four-part harmony on the harmonica, and a number of popular selections are available in this form, together with suggestions for teaching. The large chart (11" x 154") for the teacher's use, contains the four parts to be played by the pupils in the orchestra as well as the

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piano accompaniment. The set of four small cards (3/4" x 5") contains the soprano, alto, tenor and bass parts respectively for the individual players of the harmony group.

Recreation workers will find these charts exceedingly valuable. They will be glad to know that the company will send one set free on application to the Hohner Company.

A Drama Tournament in Rock Island.Rock Island, Illinois, is the latest city to report on a drama tournament. On April 11th, 12th and 13th, twelve plays were presented, a number of them by church groups, several by Parent Teacher Associations. Tickets were sold at the rate of 35c for single tournaments, 75c for all three evenings. Each group kept whatever money was made over its share of the expenses, and a number of the organizations realized a good profit. The plays were judged on the following basis: Unity .20 points

Gesture and Facial Expression...10
Voice ..

Smoothness

Scenery and Lightning. Costuming

Make-Up

Choice of Play..

10

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To eliminate the necessity of twelve different sets of scenery and the loss of time in changing scenes, each group was required to use grey neutral drapery as a background.

Costume Service in Oakland.-The report of the Costume Service of the Recreation Department of Oakland, California, for the month of April shows a wide use of the costumes which the Department loans to schools and other organizations for their dramatic program. The total number of orders was 34; the number of costumes loaned schools, churches and similar groups 817; the total number of accessories 665.

The Playground in Saving Child Life.— The leading article of the May issue of American Childhood published by Milton Bradley Company, 120 East 16th Street, New York City, is a symposium on playgrounds in which a number of recreation executives and others interested in children's play have taken part. Activities in a numer of cities are described and illustrations are shown. Single copies of the magazine may be secured for twenty-five cents.

What About Those 1,000,000,000 Hours?"Philadelphia children," states the recently issued report of the Playgrounds Association of Philadelphia, of which Charles H. English is executive secretary, have a total of more than 1,000,000,000 leisure hours a year." And yet the report points out the per capita cost for the city's public recreation was only 33 cents while for correctional institution the cost per capita was $187.54.

The report tells what the Playgrounds Association has attempted to do during the past year to promote the proper use of the 1,000,000,000 of leisure hours. Among the accomplishments were the securing of the year-round executive, the organization of a playground and recreation council representing the muncipal and private groups of the city conducting recreation, the establishment of the Recreation Service Bureau and the conducting of four playgrounds. It is the hope of the Bureau to establish at an early date a Drama Department with a full time worker in charge.

When Is a City Big Enough? "When is a city big enough?" was one of the questions asked at the Dallas City Planning Convention.

Among the various answers, the first was, "When it ceases to provide adequately for its people in terms of living."

What size must a city attain to reach the point when the leisure hours of its citizens shall begin to have lessened value?

At what point in a city's growth do citizens begin to have their leisure hours grow less valuable?

Boys' Achievement Exhibition.-On May 3rd, 4th and 5th a Boys' Achievement Exhibition was held in Monrovia, California, under the auspices of the Rotary, Kiwanis, Exchange, Unity and University Clubs. The exhibit was a part of National Boys' Week arranged for the purpose of showing what the boys of the community were doing in their leisure time.

In planning for the exhibit there were committees on location, exhibits, judges, awards, publicity and printing, finance, program, music and decorations. The exhibits were divided into a number of sections-collections, mechanical and handcraft, art, woodwork, livestock and books.

Beautiful ribbons and other special awards were given the winners in the various sub-divisions; a silver cup was awarded the highest scorers in

each age group. The boy who had the most exhibits received a silver cup and a special cup was awarded the boys' club group class or other groups having the best all-round exhibit.

Nature Training School.-From June 2-16 a nature training school was conducted at Waddington, West Virginia, under the auspices of the social and educational institutions of Wheeling. Dr. Bertha Chapman Cady of the Coordinating Council on Nature Activities was director of the school. Waddington, an estate of 750 acres of wooded hills and farm, recently bequeathed to the city of Wheeling for recreational and educational purposes, provided a veritable out-of-doors museum. With its arboretum, greenhouses, great stretches of woodland and interesting geological formations, and its eight miles of trails leading through valleys and ravines, the estate provided an ideal setting for the school.

Rhode Island Observances. For twenty years the Commissioner of Education of Rhode Island has sent each year to the schools of the state a pamphlet containing suggested patriotic exercises in school for May 4th, known as "Rhode Island Independence Day." This attractive booklet contains historical material, poems, songs and addresses.

Rhode Island Arbor Day on May 11th is another celebration in which the schools are vitally concerned. The Commissioner of Education this year issued a booklet entitled "Rhode Island Arbor Day," which contains suggestions for the thirty-seventh annual program for the observance of Arbor Day. In addition to the poems and selections there is a section on construction of bird houses with facts of interest about birds of the state.

A Calendar of World Heroes. The World Hero Calendar Department of the National Council for Prevention of War, 532 Seventeenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C., has issued a calendar of world heroes comprising portraits of the twelve heroic figures chosen by children in schools in more than thirty countries. Each portrait is accompanied by the essay which won the prize in the competition of 1925-1926. The calendar is artistic as well as informational, and children will find it exceedingly interesting. Four copies of the calendar may be secured for $1.00.