As a general rule, the method of procedure should be: First: From the model. Second: From model and drawing. Third: From drawing alone.

Fourth: From the children's own suggestions guided by the teacher.

Correct working positions should be insisted upon; self-reliance and generosity should be fostered, and it must be remembered that the finished product should represent the child's own effort.

There is often a vague idea as to what is meant by the educational value of manual training. I would suggest, to make this subject clear, that, while the children are at work, the following questions should be satisfactorily answered by supervisors, teachers, or visitors:

First. Are the child's positions and movements while working such as are likely to be injurious or beneficial to his physical development?

Second. Is he doing his own thinking, unprompted and uninterrupted by the teacher?

Third. Is his work so carried on that self-respect is developed rather than vanity?

Fourth. Is he learning to recognize and to love excellence of workmanship, as shown by becoming more and more critical of himself and his own achievements?

Fifth. Is he learning to recognize good form and to avoid unsuitable decoration?

Sixth. Is he getting some training in good citizenship by working for others?

Seventh. Does the finished product represent the child's own effort, and is the workmanship good; or was the problem too difficult?

Although the models and the directions here outlined have been planned with great care, it must be understood that they are not recommended as a fixed and unalterable plan of work. Teachers should always change the methods and models in the interest of general improvement or adapt them for special needs.

It is hoped that the suggestions here given may prove of service to teachers as well as to pupils, and meet the demand of a genuine need.

A variety of native woods suited to the character of the objects made should be selected. Wood is conceded to be superior to any other manual - training material. It has, so to speak, more life than such materials as clay, paper, or metal. The material itself excites an interest in the children. The structure or grain, as well as the great variety in coloring, gives an opportunity to study nature's way of decoration. From a physiological standpoint, also, there is no material to meet the requirements quite as adequately as wood does. It gives a measured resistance to the muscles, and can be adapted to the individual strength of the worker.

The teacher should have a good knowledge of the different kinds of wood suitable for sloyd work, especially of those kinds most easily obtained in the vicinity of the school.

The various woods are recognized by their texture, color, weight, and odor. The texture is best studied in the transverse, radial, and tangential sections. By a transverse or cross section is meant a cut across the fibres of a tree or board. A tangential section is cut in the direction of the fibres and at a tangent to the rings of the annual layers. A radial section is also made in the direction of the fibres, but forms a radius of the rings. It is this last cut which gives the beautiful figures found in oak, beech, and maple, and is commonly called quartered wood.

In studying the cross section we find in the centre a column of cellular tissue called the pith or medulla, and around this centre a number of concentric rings called the annual layers. By counting the number of these rings we find the age of the tree. Heartwood is the darker and firmer part around the pith and sapwood is the outer, lighter, and sappy part of the trunk. The heartwood is more fully developed, and, consequently, more durable than the sapwood. Between the bark and the last annual layer is a ring called the Cambium. This is in a transition state, and consists of a number of very small cells, which during spring, summer, and autumn undergo many changes in composition and form, and ultimately form a new annual ring consisting of two distinct textures known as spring wood and autumn wood. Spring wood is lighter and more porous, while autumn wood is darker and more durable. This is partly the reason for the shifting color in wood. Small lines or fibres leading from the centre to the bark are called medullary rays or silver grain. These bind together the annual layers and help in the distribution of moisture through the tree.

The best season for felling trees is during midwinter when the sap is at a standstill. By the seasoning of wood is meant the driving out of the sap or moisture which the wood contains. We call wood seasoned when the quantity of moisture contained coincides with that contained in the atmosphere. A fence, for example, would not need wood as well seasoned as that used for inside furniture. If too well seasoned, the wood will swell; if not sufficiently seasoned, it will shrink. We can generally tell whether wood is well seasoned by its weight. Another way of testing is by knocking on the wood, and, if it is well seasoned, it gives forth a ringing sound. Various methods of seasoning are employed. The best method is to place the wood in the open air in such a way as to permit the air to circulate freely about it. Previous to this the logs are often placed in a stream of water to draw out the sap more quickly. Another process of hastening the seasoning is by artificial means. The lumber is placed in a gradually rising temperature in a kiln, hence the name, kiln-dried wood. The rapidity with which the moisture is evaporated depends on the size and quality of the wood. Soft wood will usually dry in a kiln in four days, while hard woods take longer, some requiring years to season. The drying must always be done gradually and carefully, or the wood may split.

Lumber stored up for sloyd work should be placed in such a way that the air will circulate freely around it, that is to say, if placed on shelves, strips of wood should be placed between the boards.

Shrinking occurs whenever the wood loses moisture. The shrinkage is least with the length of the fibres, and two or three times more in a tangential than in a radial direction.

Swelling is caused by the absorption of moisture, as a drop of water placed upon a dent in a sloyd model, will readily prove. Warping is unequal shrinking or swelling.

Winding is unequal warping caused by unevenness in grain. First-class lumber is carefully selected and well seasoned, and it is this grade which is required in sloyd.

Lumber used in sloyd is generally ordered by the square foot, with a statement of kind, quality, thickness, and approximate width of boards wanted, and whether they are to be rough or planed.