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