The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-12
PRINCIPLES IN TOYS.
WHY PLAYTHINGs ARE PERENNIAL
AND FUNDAMENTAL.


Ball" and Kites to Flying Ma
chInes-Games in Science and in
History-What franklin and Con-
fucius Played with in Their Back
yards.
From New York Commercial Advertiser.
Eyes," said the philosophical toy dealer,
my business is certainly one of the most
ancient and honorable in existence, dating
back at reasonable computation to the
| food. l have no doubt Noah in his day
patronized the local toy sellers, little
thinking probably that he himself would
furnish an immortal model to that same
ingenious parsonage AS for the Egyp-
tians and Chinese, we know that they
played ball and few kites thousands of
years B. c.
Besides the antiquity of the toy bust
ness, only consider the benefits it-has con-
ferred upon mankind. The end and aim of
il is recreation. Games for the child,
| sports for the boy and man-these make
over and give new life and spirit to the
brain and body. You see, am entitled to
consider myself just as much a public
benefactor as physician or surgeon.
Rightly conducted 1t is evident to a per-
son who has studied the principles of trade
| and human nature that there must always
be profit as well as pleasure in this bust
ness. Games are one of the few things
| that people, no matter what their circum-
|
character of this trade varies little from
| year to year. OF course, we introduce GER
tain small novelties, such as puzzles, but
the great staples are just what they were
when was a boy, and when Confucius
was boy, for that matter. And the rea
son of this l will explain TO you pres
emily.
THE only variation that really is felt in
| this trade is the natural one of the sea-
| sons. In the fall and winter we sell, OF
course, mostly indoor games puzzles,
cards, floor croquet sets and such things.
| In the spring, beginning now, we send out
! balls, marbles, tops; a little later skipping
ropes, fishing tackle. Then come tennis,
golf and scroquet and later foot ball.
These last four games, being used
mostly by adults, are influenced more or
less by the caprice of fashion The boys
and girls are steady, year after year, to
the old favorites. Croquet you know, is
coming into fashion again. Golf, of course,
grows in favor. Foot ball holds is own,
but as to tennis. il has got bad blow.
And do you know what is responsible?
The bicycle. e.ssf
Yes" pursued the toy man, placidly ig-
noring the names and fame of Larned
Chace, Hovey, ct al, you know tennis is
a lady's game. And now that men have
taken to the bicycle. why, the ladies don't
care 10 play by themselves, and so they
take after the men. Yes tennis is tempo
rarily out of ii. but the game will come
back in some form or other, for a reason
which 1 will state later. Now, here's an
illustration" and the toy man pointed to
a set of hattledore and shuttle-cock.
That's only another form of tennis, one
that used to be popular in the middle
ages and hourished before that in the
shadow of the pyramids and King Rame-
SEES. 1t doesn't sell now. Why? Because
women nowadays are too muscular and
energetic; they care more about developing
a good biceps than looking graceful and
picturesque.
"These are some of the tendencies of
modern life that we have to meet. Then
there's the taste for puzzles, which re-
qulres perpetual novelty Here's a new
thing now, that we call Nerve Croquet.'
It's along the line of the Pigs in CLOVER
you see. The idea Is to test the steadinesS
OF your hand That's the principle of a
good many puzzles. The rest require only
a quick eye or little ingenuity to solve
them. That's why they don't last. Then
here's a variation on the top-a pencil in
serted at the point, so that when the top
is spun on sheet Of paper IL produces
beautiful spirals and curves. We some
times Introduce these Variations. but
must say we find the boys as a rule prefer
the same old thing that they had last
year, and that their fathers had before
them.
Il promised to tell you why II is that
such games as tops, marbles, kite-hying
and ball-tossing are ancient and perma-
nent Institutions" continued the philoso-
pher. well here's the reason: They
I are all founded upon a definite mathemat-
teal principle, and no game that isn't can
last.
Take marbles. for instance. They and
billiards and croquet are variations of the
same thing It's a question of the calcu-
lation of angles of incidence and refec-
ton. The little gutter urchns down .on
Hester street don't know that when they
fire black marble at white one they
ATE calculating angles just as a man who
makes a masse shot with a cue but so 4
is. The various games of bali, including
polo and Golt differ in principle only as
they take into account curves as well as
angles.
''The kite, now, is built on the principle
| OF the inclined plane which is the very
thing that Langley has been experiment