Under 



123 



PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT. 



Under this industry are listed the woods used for making apparatus or 

 wooden parts thereof that contribute equipment for public parks and play- 

 grounds. Swings, merry-go-rounds, coasting boards, ferris wheels, croquet 

 sets, see-saws, shoot-the-chutes , etc., are examples of the principal ones. 

 Swings, however, were the only commodities manufactured in Pennsylvania. 

 The total of the following table, 1,507,300 feet, represents the amount of 

 material that is required each year for their manufacture. Not all of this 

 material went into playground swings since swings of every description are 

 included and some required more lumber for making than others. Accord- 

 ing to quantity consumed, lawn and porch swings are the most important. 

 The latter answer not only for amusement but are also useful as furniture, 

 a suspended settee for porch appointments. Of late this commodity has 

 grown rapidly in favor. 



Nine woods are listed in Table 78, and those species best suited for swing 

 material, i. e. , those possessing the necessary inherent qualities of strength, 

 hardness, and durability when exposed are the ones included. The oaks, 

 beech, and ashes in the order named, were the most prominent hardwoods. 

 The chief conifers used were longleaf, shortleaf, and loblolly pine, the last 

 named being used in the largest quantities. The pines answered mostly for 

 lawn swings and principally for the staffs and the frame work or super- 

 structure. 



Table 78. Wood for Playground Equipment, year ending June, 1912. 



PRINTING MATERIAL. 



Electrotype backing, woodcut engravings, and wood type are the only 

 products listed under this head. Four woods were demanded for their 

 making. Cherry heads the list as to quantity and went entirely into elec- 

 rotype mountings, which is probably the most exacting use it has. Because 

 it is less liable to warp than any other American woods that possess the 

 other requisite qualities for this use is the reason the electrotypers demand 

 cherry exclusively. Its strength and density, its resistence to splitting, 

 and its property to work smoothly are other important qualities which com- 



