Evening star., 1923-12-23

I annually dedicated to the manufaos
ture Of toys. A fine ship-a perfect
small-scale pattern of a, great ocean
| liner-was also outstanding.
| AS soon as his oldest boy reached
! the age of nine years the former
Washington scientist presented him
! with work bench and a set of car
penter's tools. The lad has reacted
| kindly to the gift and now is busy
making simple toys for his younger
| brothers and sisters.
According to the only availahlA
| compilation Of toy manufacturing sta
| tistics, more than 2S,927000 feet OF
Eastwood, maple, beech, birch, white
pine, elm, oak, chestnut, ash, yellow
! poplar, red gum, cottonwood, hem@
! lock, cypress, sycamore, butternut,
tupelo, cherry and spruce wood are
now used annually in the manufac-
| ture of American toys. In addition
there are millions of other toys, which
are made OF metal, rubber or cellu-
loid. Wood is used in toy manufac-
! ture because It is light in weight,
durable and does not present raw.
rough edges against which the chill
dren may cut their hands.
IN America toy fashions depend al.
most entirely on the foibles and
. fancies of the children who are to
, play with the articles Toys enable
! children to initiate things that they
! see around them. Toy automobiles
| toy animals. toy machines, toy SOL
diers. sailors and policemen are the
| result. The varieties of toys now
offered in the American toy shops is
| extensive and includes educational
| toys such as small maps, globes,
| printing presses and the like.
! Architectural toys constitute an
! other class and are initiative OF
| buildings, machinery, homes and
equipment seen commonly in every
! day life.
! Other toys relate to certain trades
! and are snlall-size models of the ma
chimes of industry. Still other play
/ things take the form of water craft,
! musical instruments, furniture, ami
mails from the pages of natural his
| tory, toys OF the sports, amusements
! and games of childhood. Building
! blocks now enable the child to copy
/ almost everything from the simple
! foot bridge or hut to the stateliest
| capitol or castle.
| The A 3 c blocks of the nursery
[ which will remain popular on the
American toy calendar until the mil
| lennium are among the most common
place wooden playthings which sooner
| or later find their way into the treas
ure chest of every American young
ster. Usually these blocks are made
of basswood, red gum, tupelo, white
| pine or cedar lumber.
Farm buildings, farm machinery
! and farm animals are all suggestive
of country life and, in no small de-
gree. often arouse the desires for ru-
J raj life. which in subsequent years
govern the destinies OF the children
| that once played with such toys.
Wagons are probably the most COM
mon of all toys. just Is they have long
Leen standard vehicles for hauling
and freigtage in rural life. Fire
! fighting engines and equipment of
every type as well as fremen's suits
and helmets are to be found in all
American toy shops at present, as
| these standard articles lend them
: SELVES Icdults " SlGS II.
j Toy makers, as a class, however,
study the wants and desires Of the
town and city children especially as
their parents are the ones who pur-
chase the most toys. Country chill
dren generally require fewer artifi
cial playthines, because they have SO
many real pets such as cats. dogs.
lambs. chickens, calves, pigs, rabbits
and other domestic live stock.
x :: = ::
! IN the category Of musical tops, pi-
amos are the most popular and all
types and sizes OF toy pianos are now
| manufactured. Wooden whistles also
rank prominent among the Juvenile
! playthings that are pre-e1ninenaly
popular in all parts of the United
States The qualities of certain small
bars OF dry. stra;ght-grained wood
have led 20 The perfection of various
| so-called musical toys, which are
played BY striking the keys with
special mallets. The hand clapper lis
the lowest variety of wooden musical
toy while the fife or flute is a modi-
F., fication of the whistle.
i The fact that wood floats has led to
| it's widespread use in the perfection
7, of all kinds of toy ships and other
craft. Many graceful and beautiful
toy ships that really will sail and
float yearly are marketed by the mil
lions from American toy factories
| Noah's arks and their collections of
| animals are extremely popular, but
these toy: usually are grotesque and
! ornamental rather than waterworthy
| when it comes to a matter of expos
! ing them to the violence of the rural
millrace or babbling brook.
| Submarine types of toy boats have
! teen very popular Oh the American
, toy market since the cessation of the
| world war. Then, there are hundred
and one other styles of toy ships.
Indeed. the United States Navy and
| our merchant marine never should
! lack for recruits, IL the Juvenile in
f, terest in maritime toys is any indica-
, ton of the vocations which many OF
/ the youngsters when grown to man
hood will elect to follow. Toy furni-
! ture is always i'll great demand-not
] fragile, upholstered pieces Of parlor
! furniture, but bedroom and library
sets, tables. stands, chairs, chests of
| drawers. dressers, bookcases and
rockers. Camp furniture is always in
demand with the youngsters.
! Every harmless variety of living
! thing that crawls, creeps, flies,
I swims or walks has at one time or
| another been the model. for toy max
| ing activities. In fact, survey OF
the toy animal business is a miniature
| edition of an inventory of the popn-
lation of our leading geological parks