SCYLLA 



5278 



SEA ANEMONE 



the meeting point of the Drin and Boyana 

 rivers, the latter of which is navigable for 

 small ocean vessels. The people of Scutari 

 export skins, woolen goods, grain, tobacco, su- 

 mac, and a kind of sardine caught in the 

 Boyana, and engage in the manufacture of fire- 

 arms and cotton goods. Until 1913 Scutari was 

 the capital of the Turkish vilayet of Scutari, 

 but in that year, during the Balkan War, it was 

 captured by the Montenegrins and became a 

 part of the independent principality of Al- 

 bania (see BALKAN WARS, page 554). In 1914, 

 during the War of the Nations (which see), 

 Scutari was again occupied by Montenegrins, 

 but was recaptured by the armies of the central 

 powers. In 1914 it had a population of about 

 32,000. 



Scythes were used formerly for cutting grain, 

 but the work was very tedious, and they have 

 been supplanted by modern reaping and mow- 

 ing machines. The scythe consists of a long, 

 curved blade with a sharp edge, attached to the 

 lower end of a long, upright handle called a 

 snath. This is set at the proper angle for 

 swinging the blade against the standing grass. 

 Two short handles are made fast to the straight 

 or crooked snath, some distance apart. As they 

 are adjustable, the mower can place them up 

 or down the main handle to suit his height. 

 The cradle scythe has a blade about three and 

 one-half feet long, attached to a four-foot 

 handle on which another shorter handle, or 

 helve, is also fastened. The cradle is a piece of 

 wood with several teeth, joined to the heel of 



VARIOUS FORMS OF SEA ANEMONES 



SCYLLA, sil'ah, in the Greek myth, a fa- 

 mous, six-headed sea. monster, who was once a 

 beautiful maiden, but was changed by Circe 

 because of the latter 's jealousy. She lived in a 

 cave in a great cliff, so high that the top could 

 never be seen. It was her custom to thrust 

 her heads out of the cave and seize the animals 

 and men that passed. From every ship each 

 head took toll. Opposite the cliff of Scylla was 

 Charybdis, another monster who continually 

 drew in the water and threw it out again. The 

 ancients located the rock Scylla and the whirl- 

 pool Charybdis in the strait of Messina. The 

 difficulty of steering between the rock and the 

 whirlpool gave rise to a popular expression, 

 "between Scylla and Charybdis," as indicating 

 two dangers, or evils, one of which must be 

 chosen. "Between the devil and the deep sea" 

 is a similar expression. 



SCYTHE, sythe, a mowing implement, used 

 principally for cutting tall grass and weeds. 



the blade. It catches the grain as it falls and 

 lays it in even rows for binding. See MOWING 

 MACHINE; REAPING MACHINE. 



SEA ANEMONE, anem'one, a group of in- 

 teresting sea animals having much the appear- 

 ance of flowers, from which fact the name is 

 derived. They are second lowest among the 

 great divisions in the animal kingdom, and with 

 the jellyfishes and corals are placed in the 

 branch Coelenterata (which see). As may be 

 seen by the illustration, sea anemones differ 

 somewhat in size and form, but in general the 

 body is vaselike, with fringes of tentacles about 

 the mouth. The average diameter is three 

 inches, and they show varying hues of bright 

 colors. These animals usually remain fixed 

 through life to rocks or other places of attach- 

 ment, but they have the power of slowly mov- 

 ing along on the base of the body. They are 

 found in tide pools and on piles of wharves in 

 harbors, as well as in deep waters. 



