138 



SKETCHES OP RURAL AFFAIRS. 



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groweth up ; in the evening it is cut down and 

 withereth." (Psalm xc. 6.) The change thus wrought 

 in a few hours, also forcibly recalls to mind the follow- 

 ing inspired declaration : " As for man, his days are as 

 grass ; as a flower of the field so he flourisheth. For 

 the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place 

 thereof shall know it no more." (Psalm ciii. 15, 16.) 

 If, however, there is a feeling of regret in seeing the 

 meadows thus shorn of their beauty, it can only be a 



temporary one. 

 The considera- 

 tion of the im- 

 portance of hay 

 as affording nou- 

 rishment to a 

 great number of 



valuable animals, and thus advancing 

 the interests of their owners, is suf- 

 ficient to make the operations of the 

 hay-field a source of pleasure, inde- 

 pendently of the natural attractions 

 of the scene, and in spite of the 

 recollection that with the sweep of the 

 mower's scythe, the productions of 

 spring are vanishing, and the loveliest 

 part of the year is passing away. 



The implements used in hay- 

 making are few and well known. The 

 mower's scythe is one of the simplest 

 implements employed in husbandry. 

 The cutting part is a long thin blade 

 of steel, well tempered, and having 

 a rim of iron along the back to within 

 a few inches of the point. This pre- 

 HAY-MAKING IMPLE- vents the blade from bending out of 

 MENTS. its proper shape, which is that of a 



slight curve. The handle is of wood, and is either straight 

 or crooked, usually the latter; indeed the natural bending 



