WHIP TOPS, PEG TOPS, HUMMING TOPS AND SOME TOP GAMES
Why it happens, no one knows, not even the boys themselves, but that
it does happen we all know. Tops come in when the marble game is in
full blast, and gradually it drives out, till another spring, its
beloved rival. Tops are of great antiquity, and the Chinese and their
neighbors, the Japanese, are famous for the variety of their tops. I
have seen adults in those countries enjoying the game with all the
zest of American boys in springtime.
It is a good idea for boys, where they have any facilities for so
doing, to make their own play tools. In the old days, they whittled
out tops, but it hardly pays to do so to-day when well-shaped spinners
can be had in every toy shop at a very low price. However, good little
tops can be made from the wooden spools on which sewing thread comes.
Two tops, that will amuse the younger children, can be made from each
spool, by whittling down from the rims to the middle of the spool till
the parts break at the opening. A peg driven through answers for a
spindle. These can be made in a few minutes, and may afford some fun
for a winter evening.
WHIP TOPS
If not the very oldest, these tops are certainly the most widely
distributed. If a good whip top cannot be bought, a first-rate article
can be made from a section of a rounded timber, either natural or
turned. It may be of any size, but from two to three inches in
diameter, and about a half inch or more in length is the best. Whittle
this, with care, to a blunt point, into which drive a smooth-headed
tack, and there you are. With colored crayons, or paint, the top may
be decorated, so as to add to its effect when spinning.
Tough rags, or leather thongs fastened to a handle about a foot in
length, will make an effective lash, but the best whips are made from
pliant leather thongs, or still better, from a dried eelskin.
To spin the top, put your whip under your left arm--I have seen boys
grasp it between their teeth--then with the flat of the fingers of
both hands on either side of the top, give a smart twirl. As soon as
the top is in motion, ply your whip along the sides, drawing the lash
quickly away at each stroke.
Playing whip-top alone soon gets to be monotonous, but where there are
two a "fight" can be arranged for. At the word "go," two boys spin
their tops, and then lash them till they crash together. The tops must
be kept within a described ring, and the one that knocks the other out
is regarded as the King top. If a boy strikes his opponent's top, it
is a "foul," and he loses the game. Another contest is where, after
the lashing, one calls "stop." The one that "dies" first, is naturally
out.
Racing is done by drawing a taw line, from which the whip tops start
for a designated goal, the first one in winning. This is an exciting
game and not so easy as at first appears.
The tin or wooden humming top is but an interesting toy. The Japanese
make them with a slit in the point which fits into a string or a thin
wire, and on such supports they can be made to do remarkable feats.
THE PEG TOP
The Peg Top is, after all, the King of the top family, and the
greatest source of joy to the youth with a sure eye and a steady
hand. The "Plugger" is the top you spin; the "bait" is the top you
strike with the plugger. A "Giggler" is an unsteady top that goes
dancing and hopping about. Boys love their "old reliable taw" in
marbles, but their pride in this is never so great as that which they
take in a conquering plugger. This should have what is known as a
screw peg, which prevents splitting. It can be made, but on the whole,
I think it better to buy the pegs.
A good, stout, pliant cord is quite as necessary as a well-balanced
top. It should have a button, never a loop, to keep it from slipping
through the fingers, and it should be of a thickness to fill, without
overlapping the grooves. The end should be frayed and moistened to
insure a firm grip when starting to wind. It requires much practice to
become expert in spinning the peg, but, as in everything else, it pays
to learn accuracy.
As with whip top, playing alone soon ceases to be good fun, but the
game makes for enjoyment. Mark out a bull ring about six feet in
diameter. Put as many tops inside the small ring as there are players,
then toss up, or in any other way decide on the order of play. After
winding up his peg, the first player, with his left foot toeing the
outer ring, strikes for the tops in the center. If he misses and fails
to spin, or if he strikes outside the inner circle, he must put
another top within the circle and await his turn. If he strikes the
tops with the big end of his plugger, it is a miss, and he must
replace any top knocked out; but if the peg of the plugger hits a top
and knocks it out of the center ring, he pockets it and has another
whack. If in spinning in the center ring the plugger jostles out a top
or tops, it counts as a hit, and the player is entitled to another
"try." If the plugger spins and dies in the ring without knocking out
a top, it is a miss, and the player must add another top.
Sometimes a crack player throws with such force and accuracy as to
split a bait top. This is the acme of the game and the crowning glory
of the player. Often the bait consists of toothless, battered wrecks,
but this does not lessen the fun of the game.