The public nurseries are charitable institutions for the children of the poor. The middle-class working women, who earn enough to pay a little for the care of their babies, are not permitted to leave their little ones in them. But, even if they are permitted to do so, no intelligent mother would be willing to do so. For these nurseries attempt to minister only to physical wants. Although the needs of the child at infancy seem to be largely physical, we know, that from the day of its birth, the infant is getting impressions and forming habits. The manner in which we satisfy his needs, the habits which he forms under our care, shape his future character,—and yet, the training of the so-called trained nurses in charge of the average nursery, enables them to attend to the physical needs only. We all realize the need of professionally trained teachers for the kindergarten and school age. Is it not equally important to have trained specialists at infancy, the most important stage of Childhood? Though the present day nurseries need improvement, their charges fare better than those left at home, to the mercy of hired servants. The collective work of an institution carries with it a sense of social responsibility for those entrusted to its care. What sense of responsibility can we expect from an ignorant hired servant? The self-supporting mother of moderate means has no alternative. She must either give up her work and sometimes deprive her family of the necessities of existence or else abandon her babe to the hands of an ignorant servant. Women of means can hire trained specialists for their babies. The poor are helped by settlement nurseries, but the intelligent self-supporting mothers, such as school-teachers and journalists, are utterly helpless, each groping blindly with her own individual problem that can no longer be solved individually. These women, while compelled to do a man’s work, never can have that singleness of mind that a man has while attending to his business. The problem faced by these mothers can be solved only by social co-operative measures. The establishment of a new type of public nursery to meet the demands of intelligent mothers is now under way. To distinguish it from the prevailing nurseries it is to be called “the baby garden.” The children are to be divided into the following groups according to age: Infants of one year or less; babies from a year to two years; those from two to four years. Only experts in baby culture specially trained to meet the needs of each of these individual groups are to be placed in charge. The baby garden will be surrounded by open-air balconies so that the children may be out of doors the greater part of the day. Mothers who are so tied up that they cannot go to the doctor or the dentist or attend to their necessary shopping for the family without dragging baby along, will be permitted to bring their babies for a few hours each day.