BEAN BAGS (See also _Oat Sacks_).--Bean bags are especially useful for tossing games with little children and for use in the schoolroom, where a ball is not easily recovered if dropped; but many bean-bag games are of great interest even to adult players and are suitable for almost any conditions,--playground, parlor, or gymnasium. Bean bags should be made of heavy, closely woven material, such as ticking, awning, duck, or denim, and should be from 6 to 12 inches square when finished. They are stitched around the outer edge (except for a small length through which the beans are inserted). The bag should then be turned and stitched a second time. Hand sewing is preferable, as often better able to withstand the strain put upon it. The bag is filled with dried beans or peas. A bag 6 inches square should contain 1/2 pound of these. A larger bag may contain a few more, but the half-pound weight is good for any sized bag. For little children a 6 or 8 inch bag is very good. It is desirable to have an equipment of bags made of two different colors, half of the bags, for instance, being red and the other half blue; or some of striped material and others of plain. This aids in distinguishing the bags that belong to opposing teams or groups of players. It is easy to improvise a substitute for bean bags under almost any conditions. The writer has known some very good substitutes to be made by placing dried leaves in a square of cloth, gathering up the corners and tying them with a string. Bean bags 7 inches square may be purchased for about $2 per dozen.
For adults, especially for men, the oat sacks make a very interesting implement for play, the weight making them a good substitute for medicine balls. (See _Oat Sacks_.)
CRICKET BALL.--This is the same as a hockey ball, but red instead of white. The official specifications (Marylebone Club) are identical with those of the American baseball, except for 1/2 ounce heavier weight. They call for a ball weighing not less than 5-1/2 ounces, nor more than 5-3/4, with circumference not less than 9 inches nor more than 9-1/4. The construction and appearance differ from baseballs, the cricket balls being of heavy rubber, usually, but not invariably, covered with leather, which is sometimes enameled. The leather is put on in even hemispheres instead of in shaped pieces, as for a baseball. Cost, $1.50 to $2 each.