The San Francisco call., 1898-01-30

ond to the ninth are taken. The rooms are suitably furnished with low tables and chairs, and each child makes her self a red sewing bag, on which her number and initials are etched.
 Some of the work done by these pu-. pills, most of them under 15 years, is remarkable. In the fifth grade they begin with the making of small gar ments-either for dolls or small broth CTS and sisters. They learn the differ ent kinds of seams, how to gather even- ly, to patch, darn tears and the Vari- ous methods of catch-stitching, felling, hemstitching, binding and the like. Later undergarmentS are made. Stm- pie dresses cut and fitted and little embroidery and drawn work taken up.. Along with these lessons the teachers give talks on the raising of cotton, the manufacture Of wool, the use of the spinning jenny, and during the fair called the children's attention especial ly to the weaving done there. At the end of the first year no one repeats the mistake of the little girl who said that Abraham Lincoln invented the cotton gin, and when the definition of 'sel- wage" is asked no one answers sec ond time, Its when you have whole lot Of nice things and keep 'eEn all to yourself"
 The expense to the Board of Educa- tiCn is light. It furnishes needles, thread, scissors and darners, and per haps a bolt of cotton on which to learn. But the rest of the material is entirely furnished by the pupils them selves. Flour sacks come in especially handy, and in one school a hundred neat little hemstitched handkerchiefs were made cut of some salt sacks. In most of the schools the Sloyd work or samplers is diSliked by the children, who wish to make something which can be used. In the Rincon Grammar and Horace Mann there are 450 girls each, these being the largest classes in sew ing. In the Irving Scott the girls were SC eager preparing for the exhibit which took place just at Christmas time that for three weeks before they begged for extra time, often arriving in the early morning before the teacher herself. One girl, hitherto noticeably indolent was completely changed by her sewing lessons. After she had com pleted her first garment she would come to school at o'clock in order to get a few moments in which to sew before schoolJime, as the work is not allowed to be taken home. When the parents saw the completed sewing at the exhibit some could not believe that it was really the work of their chil- dren. One lady graSped the teachers hand and said: "Oh, you are doing such a splendid work herel Thank you so much for what you have done for my daughter!"
 This sentiment is re-echoed by pa rents in all the schools. The doubtful ones become almost as enthusiastic as the girls themselves when they see for themselves the work which their chil- dren have accomplished. Many moth CTS declare that they wish they them selves might learn to sew as we'll
 It was Lillie Bjorn of Bryant street. a child II years, who took the second prize of S15 offered by the recent doll show at the Palace Hotel for the best handmade doll suit by a girl under 15. Lilie is a pupil of Mrs Graef at the Columbia, where she has been studying sewing only two years. Her costume was composed of six pieces of delicate white lawn, with drawn work, feather stitching, hemstitched ruff1es and lace. This work took her just a year to com- plete in school.