THE USES OF WOOD 



WOOD IJN THE TOY INDUSTRY 



BY HU MAXWELL 



MANY toys are made partly or wholly of metal, 

 rubber, or celluloid, yet the use of wood for that 

 purpose shows no tendency to decrease, but it 

 probably increases from year to year in this country. The 

 principal consideration which holds wood in its place as 

 toy material is not cheapness, though that has something 

 to do with it. Articles of large size would be too heavy 

 if made of cast metal, and if of sheet metal, there is 

 constant danger that the raw edges will become exposed 

 and cut the 

 hands of the 

 child that plays 

 with the toy. 

 Many articles 

 are made of 

 wood because 

 it is best, irre- 

 spective of cost 

 or weight. 

 Sleds are a 

 good example 

 of such. Some 

 very handsome 

 and serviceable 

 sleds are of 

 metal, but a 

 visit to toy 

 stores in win- 

 ter will show 

 that dozens of 

 wooden toy 

 sieds are sold 

 to one of 

 metal. 



The story of 

 this industry, 

 told by statis- 

 tics, is instruc- 

 tive. The fol- 

 lowing list gives the woods and their amount used annual- 

 ly in the United States in the manufacture of toys: 

 Wood Feet Used Wood Feet Used 



Basswood 8,739,242 Red gum 523,000 



Cottonwood 257,000 



Hemlock 241,000 



Cypress 150,000 



Sycamore 91,343 



Butternut 10,000 



Tupelo 5,ooo 



Cherry 2,000 



Spruce 1,300 



THINGS THAT ROLL 



It is easily seen that the toys which 

 as part of their duty in furnishing amu 

 ad< 



are passing through this factory are intended to do much rolling 

 nusemcnt for children in all parts of the country, and the story 

 of how they are made is a very interesting one. 



Maple 3,964400 



Beech 3,221,506 



Birch 3,123,950 



White pine 2,367,131 



Elm 2,042,055 



Oak 1,444,057 



Chestnut 066,268 



Ash 895,300 



Yellow poplar 882,000 



Total 28,926,552 



At first thought, it might seem that toys make up an 



aggregate mass, a miscellaneous collection without rank, 



order, or division, yet this is far from the fact. Toys 

 fall into groups. The groups are net many, and the dis- 

 tinctions between them are prettv clear. Children are 

 the arbiters of toy kinds and style; They imitate what 

 they see around them and toy make:s recognize this fact 

 and conform to it. At school the child sees objects of a 

 particular kind and learns their u-^. The manufacturer 

 supplies what the child wants by ir.iiking a class of objects 

 which may be designated as educ \tional. Another class, 



imitating things 

 seen in real 

 life, is recog- 

 nized as archi- 

 tectural. 



A third has 

 to do with 

 trades and the 

 tools and ma- 

 chines for car- 

 rying them on, 

 and toys in 

 that line are 

 listed as be- 

 longing to that 

 class. 



A well de- 

 fined group is 

 based on the 

 use of musical 

 instruments. 



Boats, rafts, 

 canoes, and 

 such things as 

 float and are 

 useful have 

 been responsi- 

 ble for toys 

 based on water 

 craft. 



Children are familiar with furniture and they early 

 recognize two classes, one for the kitchen and one for 

 the living room, and these go under the list of furni- 

 ture toys. 



Animals, birds and creeping things form another class 

 grouped as natural history. 



Still another kind which is clearly defined is very com- 

 mon, and it belongs in the list of games and amusements. 

 Each of these classes is entitled to special considera- 

 tion, for they show the lines along which the child 

 thinks and acts. The schoolhouse and its furniture 



m 



