Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-08

toys requiring lightness and strength COM
bined. The next best woods are the oak,
chestnut and species of Eastwood called
whitevood by the manufacturers. The ash
hoop costs more money than the other
kinds, and is worth it, as it really Outlasts
two made out of inferior woods. Great care
is taken in selecting logs for the hoople
factories. They must be from trees of Sec
ond growth, straight and free from knots.
The logs are hauled to the mills in the tall
and early winter. The hoop-making season
begins in December and ends in MAY.
The largest hoops sold are As inches In
diameter The smallest ordinary size is %
inches. There are intermediate sizes all the
way from one limit to the other. When
the logs have been selected they are sawed
into boards half an inch thick. This is 8
little thicker than the hoops, to allow for
planning. These boards are then sawed into
proper lengths, which are inches longer
than the hoops, to allow the ends to be
Tapped one over the other at their !uncture.
The boards are put on a table from the top
of which protrude the sharp edges OF 6, 8,
10 or u circular saws which are set half an
inch apart. Over these the boards are run.
They 60 in whole and come out amid
shower of sawdust in clean, smooth sticks
Just half an inch square. After this they
are planed fiat and smooth and the ends are
tapered down to fine edge SO that when
they are Joined together there will be no
lump to prevent their rolling smoothly.
steaming the sticks for Bending
Now they are ready for the steam boxes.
The steam boxes are long closets made
either of wood or iron. Steam pipes empty
into each end of them. The slender strips
are piled in and the steam is turned on. In
this Russian bath, so to speak, the wood Is
kept from one to three hours, depending
upon its age and quality. The older the
wood is the more steaming it needs. When
it has become softened and plant the steam
is turned off and the workmen take out the
sticks one by one and shape them over the
'forms." These forms are wooden cylin-
ders about feet long and varying from %
to 48 inches in diameter. For every size OF
hoop there is a separate form. The work
man fastens one end Of stick in a clamp on
top of the form and winds the stick around
the cylinder until the other end joins the
ciamped one. Then he takes a tack from
between his lips, the hoopmaker's tack box,
and nails the ends firmly together. He
then slips it off of the form and the hoop IS
put away to dry.
Most of the painted hoops are merely
dipped in watts of paint, and then hung upto
dry. The higher-priced or 'iancy" hoops
plest of all the 'iancy" hoops is called the
''plain chime" Along the inside of the rim
four to eight sleighbells are fastened, at
equal distance apart. When this hoop IS
rolled the bells give out a tuneful jingle
W hich gives pleasure to the ear
scme o. the Fancy Designs.
The chime hoop with handle is an alto
rether different affair The hoop has
he
there is a bolt to which handle is attached.
This hoop is pushed like one-wheeled baby
carriage. The handle is handmade and
painted The spokes are brightly colored
and the bells are set into the handle instead
of being in the hoop itself These hoops are
made in variety of styles One of the pref
tiest has four wire spokes, on each side OF
which there are two pretty spools with lit
tie tin washers between them. As the
wheel revolves these spools slide from one
end of their spokes to the other, while the
tin jingles merrily.
A rolling hoop of real beauty is the "star
chime" The hoop is made precisely the
same as the ordinary kind The only dit
ference consists of a series of colored cords
which are rigged from the inner edge OF the
hoop so that they can form a hve-poin.ed
star in the center. The middle of the star
is piece of wood, star-shaped, and gayly
painted Sleigh bells are fastened in the cord
ut the points of the star, and when this
hoop is rolled it is the loudest and most
musical of all.
Little girls who like pretty things often
use ribbons instead of cord and make stars
md other designs inside their hoops, with
huttering bows at the center and at the
crossings of the ribbons.
In the way OF games with hoops, Amer
can boys and girls are tar behind the
French In this country these sports are
confined almost wholly to simple trundling
md an occasional race. JAMES NORTON.