. ; 





(Ut and Ute utonm bare been removed from the surface, good scythe, 

 in the hand* of a skilful mower, will cut the grass BO near to the 

 ground that little or no stubble is left Every farmer knows well that 

 an inch of the gran near the ground add* more to the weight <>i~ the 

 hay than several inches higher up, and that a nkilful mower with a 

 good scythe can easily add much more to the value of the crop than 

 nU earning! amount to, however liberally he may he paid, and that it 

 it . f the greatest importance that none but the bout mowers bo 

 entrusted with the work, and that attention be paid to the form of 

 their scythes and to their being frequently whetted. 



It U the custom in England for the mowers to stoop much in 

 mowing, by which they imagine that they have a wider sweep. The 

 angle at which the handle is fixed U very acute to the plane of the 

 blade. In other countries the mowers stand more upright, and a 

 longer handle gives them a greater radius. Habit makes that position 

 TIMJIIT to which we have been long accustomed ; but it is probable that 

 a man can endure fatigue, and continue his exertion the longer, the 

 more nearly his position is erect In some countries the handle of the 

 scythe is nearly straight, and the end of it passes over the upper part 

 of the left arm. The position of the mower is then nearly erect, and 

 his body turns as on a pivot, carrying the blade of the scythe parallel 

 to the ground, and cutting a portion of a considerable circle. The 

 position of the handle in this case must be such that when the scythe 

 u in the middle of its swing, and the blade parallel to the ground, it 

 rests naturally on the left arm above the elbow, while the mower is 

 nearly in an erect position. By turning his body to the right, and 

 stooping towards that aide, he begins his cut, and by raising himself 

 up, the muscles of his back greatly assist in swinging the scythe 

 round. 



The blades of the scythes on the Continent are mostly made of 

 natural steel, such as is found in parts of Germany, and they are so 

 soft that the edge can be, hammered to sharpen it and keep it thin. 

 In England the scythes are forged thin and well tempered, and to 

 prevent their bending they have a rim of iron along the back to within 

 a few inches of the point. This saves much time in sharpening, and 

 they very seldom require the grindstone. 



Host scythes have two projecting handles fixed to the principal 

 handle, by which they are held, and these are variously put on, 

 according to the fashion of the district. The real line of the handle is 

 that which passes through both the hands and ends at the head of the 

 blade. This may be a straight line or a crooked one, generally the 

 latter, and by moving these handles up or down the main handle, each 

 mower can place them so as best suits the natural size and position of 

 his body. Hence it is that a man can seldom mow well with another 

 man's scythe. 



In mowing corn when ripe, which is an economical mode of reaping, 

 the scythe need not have so great a sweep, nor is it necessary to cut 

 the straw s4 near to the ground. The great difficulty here is to lay 

 the cut corn evenly, so that the binders can readily collect it and tie it 

 into sheaves. This is most effectually done by adding to the bottom 

 of the handle a small hoop at right angles to the line of cutting, and 

 by mowing always towards the standing corn, which is easily done by 

 beginning at one end and going round toward the left in an irregular 

 spiral to the centre of the field. The straw is thus laid leaning against 

 the standing corn, and is readily collected with the arm by the binder, 

 who follows the mower. As the straw is not always upright, but fre- 

 quently bent to a side, this mode of mowing is not always practicable. 

 When the corn is only slightly bent down, a scythe with an addition 

 of a cradle, as it is called, collects the slanting straw more easily. The 

 cradle is a species of comb, with three or four long teeth parallel to 

 the back of the blade, and fixed in the handle. This inserts itself 

 behind the straw to be cut, raises it up, and by a peculiar twist of the 

 scythe after the stroke, it is left so as to be easily collected. Those 

 who are accustomed to use the cradle-scythe do the work rapidly 

 and well. , 



When the corn is much laid and entangled, it is impossible to use 

 the common scythe, even with a cradle. This has probably suggested 

 a scythe to be used with one hand, while a hook in the other gathers 

 the straggling com. The most perfect of these scythes is called the 

 Hainawlicyttie, from a province of that name in Belgium, where it 

 waa first noticed. It is commonly used in different parts of the Con- 

 tinent. The Hainault scythe is swung by the power of the wrist 

 principally. It does not cut the straw by so oblique a stroke as the 

 common scythe, but rather as a bill-hook or axe would do, meeting the 

 straw nearly at right angles. The hook collects a small bundle, which 

 is severed at a stroke, and the left foot assists in holding what is cut 

 and rolled together with the hook, in the hollow of the blade. It is 

 thus laid aside, and lit to be tied up. This instrument is a great 

 improvement on the English fagging-hook, which is used in the same 

 manner, the left arm of the reaper acting the part of the hook ; but as 

 the handle is inserted in the plane of the blade, it causes the reaper to 

 toop low, which is fatiguing to the loins, especially of elderly people, 

 who can more readily reap with the Hainault scythe. 



The scythe is an instrument which should be more generally intro- 

 duced in harvest, and experience has proved that it had many advantages 

 over the sickle or reaping-hook. [HARVEST.] 



SEA and OCEAN are terms by which the whole volume of water is 

 designated which occupies the lower portion of the surface of our 



HI 



globe, and thus separatee the solid and more elevated masses which 

 are called land, and which rise above the level of the sea. 



Sea-water has a salt and somewhat bitter taste, and in its natural 

 state U unfit for drinking or for culinary purposes. Its specific gravity 

 is about 1-0277, rain-water being 1-0000. The water of closed seas 

 into which many rivers fall is lighter, as that of the Baltic, which is 

 only' 1 -0067, and that of the Black Sea. But the water of the Mediter- 

 ranean is more salt than that of the Atlantic Ocean. In those part* of 

 the ocean which approach the poles the water is of less specific gravity 

 than in those parte which lie towards the equator, which may be duo 

 to the melting of the enormous masses of ice which are found in tin- 

 higher latitudes. 



Sea-water has repeatedly been analysed ; the latest results are stated 

 under Somux. That of the Baltic contains only 1-18 per cent, of 

 salt, but the water of the Mediterranean contains 4-18 per cent. ; the 

 former being considerably below and the latter somewhat above tin- 

 average of the oceanic water. The sea is therefore a weak brine, from 

 which the salt may be extracted by the heat of the sun and dryness of 

 the climate. 



Besides mineral substances, sea-water contains a slimy fetid matter, 

 which imports to it a nauseous taste, and which is probably the pro- 

 duce of the decomposition of animal and vegetable substances, wliieh 

 abound in the sea. It has been observed that the sea-water, when not 

 agitated for a long time, is very subject to pass into a certain state of 

 putrefaction, and in that state it exhales very unpleasant odours, which 

 are a real nuisance to the seaman. It U likewise known that some low 

 coasts between the tropics are subject to diseases, which arc attributed 

 to the mimmm arising from the sea after a long continuance of calm 

 her. 



It has often been maintained that sea-water has no colour, but it is 

 well known that the sea at a great distance from the land has an 

 exceedingly fine ultramarine tint, which cannot be considered due to 

 reflection from the atmosphere, as the colour of the eea h frequently 

 of a deeper hue than that of the sky, and does not change even w hen 

 the sky is covered with clouds. This colour undergoes some changes 

 in shoals, where it is modified by the colour of the matter which forms 

 the bottom. The greatest variety in the colour of the sea seems to 

 occur in the Greenland Sea, between 74 and 80 N. lat., where it 

 varies from ultramarine to olive green, and from the most perfect 

 transparency to deep opacity. The green colour is liable to changes in 

 its position, but still it is always renewed near certain situations from 

 year to year. According to Scoresby, from whom we take this 

 account, it frequently constitutes long bands or streams, lying north 

 and south, or north-east and south-west, but of various dimei 

 sometimes extending two or three degrees of latitude in length, and 

 from a few miles to ten or fifteen leagues in breadth. This occurs 

 very generally about the meridian of London, and the whales chielly 

 feed in this green-coloured water. When examined by Scoresby, it 

 was found to be replete with minute animals, principally Medusae, to 

 which its colour was due. 



The transparency of the sea-water seems to be connected with its 

 colour. It U much greater than that of river-water, which contains 

 much heterogeneous matter in suspension. It has been said that the 

 light penetrates to about the depth of 60 feet only, but this is a vague 

 estimate, requiring much qualification ; some rays certainly penetrate 

 much deeper. This transparency of the sea-water increases with the 

 distance from the shores, and is generally greater in the higher than 

 in the lower latitudes, which may arise from the circumstance that 

 the number of organic substances in the sea is much greater in warm 

 climates. But there are many remarkable exceptions to the last- 

 mentioned fact. Some parts of the sea between the tropics are dis- 

 tinguished by the transparency of their waters, especially the Caribbean 

 Sea, where zoophytes and sea-plants, though growing on a bottom 

 twenty or thirty feet deep, appear to be near enough to the surface to 

 be plucked by a person in a boat ; indeed some navigators allinu th.n 

 the bottom of the sea may be seen at the depth of 1 50 feet. In the 

 northern seas indeed it is asserted that the bottom may be seen at the 

 depth of from 400 to 500 feet. 



One of the most remarkable properties of sea-water is a certain 

 luminous appearance, which has been observed in all seas, but appears 

 in its greatest splendour between the tropics. In calm weather, wln-n 

 the water is moved by the motion of a vessel, the light assumes the 

 form of brilliant stars, or round masses of a greenish hue, frequently 

 eighteen inches in diameter. They float by the vessel in every part of 

 the water which her bottom has touched, as deep as the lowest part of 

 her keel, and form behind her a long and fiery train. At other times, 

 when the breeze is strong, and the billows break and foam, the light 

 appears like fields of flashing fire, through which the vessel is making 

 her way. When the night is dark, the brilliancy of the water forms a 

 beautiful contrast with the black concave of the sky; but as soon as 

 daylight returns, the splendour disappears, and the sea exhibits only 

 its usual dingy colour. At night, the slight agitation of the water 

 occasioned by the action of a steady breeze upon the surface is 

 generally sufficient for producing it. We ore entitled to believe, as 

 tie result of modern scientific research, that this phosphorescence of the 

 ocean depends exclusively on the presence of myriads of marine 

 animals and animalcula, having the power of producing animal /.'.<//,' 

 (as animals higher in the scale of organisation produce animal I 



