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„ nislies a motive power for manufactures. 

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V(; The moving genius of the institution which 



on has brought this important agricultural imple- 

 lel ment at North Wayne to its best perfection is 

 j Mr. J. F. Titylor who has had the entire charge 

 iyc of these works for the last seven years. This 

 er gentleman served his apprenticeship at the cele- 

 *'} brated Farwell establishment in Filchburg, 

 Mass., whose scythes of our own personal re- 

 si collection run back full fifty years: his last pre- 

 >m vious employment was at the well known estah- 

 ' K lisbment of Gov. Colby and Company in New 

 London, whose first reputation, we understand 

 e was gained for them by Mr. Taylor. 

 m During our short stay at Nurth Wayne, the 

 works were not in operation ill their full extent; 

 yet an opportunity was given us to see the whole 

 = _ process of scytlie making. 



"The system of division of labor has here 

 been successfully adopted. First the welders 

 mark and cut the bars of iron and steel in por- 

 " tions of suitable length for each scythe. A por- 

 ICC ' tion of iron about five inches or more in length 

 lne is folded over another of steel, when both are 

 ■"" heated and drawn to the proper length for a 

 "' scythe. It then passes into the hands of the 

 mi pointer, whose business is to harden, draw, and 

 >ie break a small portion of the point, to see that 

 nc the steel has not been overheated — that the iron 

 S has not been drawn over the steel, and to exam- 

 al ine the whole process thus far. The plater then 

 ' spreads the rod to a proper width, leaving the 

 full thickness at the back. It then passes a pro- 

 cess of fitting for the machine hammer, when 

 the finisher turns the back and gives its general 

 shape. One fashions and finishes the point, an- 

 other turns and finishes the heel, when it passes 

 the hardening process by a different hand, from 

 ° whom it is taken to the tempering forge, and 

 'I*' then into the hands of the grinders." 



At these works scythes are manufactured for 

 all parts of the country, as well for the Western 

 and Southern States as for the British provinces 



of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 

 si 



„ We were amused at the difference between the 

 ill 



.. scythes made for and used in the different sec- 

 tions: no where is this instrument made so deli- 

 cate and light as the scythe used about the rough 

 New England bills. The Western New York 

 scythe was much heavier — that of Pennsylvania 

 in the German, use still more heavy ; and the 

 scythe of the slave country further south yet 

 more unwieldy. Some of the New York corn 

 scythes are fifty inches in length, while the 

 southern rice scythes are about twenty inches. 



Mr. Dunn in 1840 manufactured 500 dozen 

 scythes; in 1841, 1500 dozen; in 1842, 2800 

 dozen ; in 1843, 3000 dozen ; in 1844, 5000 doz- 

 en; in 1845, 8000 dozen ; in 184(3, 11,000 dozen i 

 in 1847, 12,000 dozen ; and the year ending July 

 1849, presented an increase under the new ar- 

 rangement and the extended works at Fayette, to 

 15,000 dozens. The company had received or- 

 ders from August 1848 to the first of March 

 1849, to the amount of $60,000; and it was be- 

 lieved the sales at the close of the year would 

 amount to from 430,000 to 140,000 dollars. 



There are three dams at North Wayne, and 

 the Scythe shops contain nineteen large trip 

 hammers, with the usual number of small ham- 

 mers or ponies. The machinery, forges and 

 tools are in excellent condition, so that the work 

 is carried through its various stages with perfect 

 accuracy and order. 



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Scythe shop No. 1, is built of brick; is two 

 ■stories high, 75 by 30 feet. It contains, on the 

 lower floor, four large and two small hammers; 

 on the second floor is a room for painting and 

 ornamenting the scythes; one blower, a straw 

 twister for making straw ropes, to do up scythes 

 into rjozen bundles, which is an ingenious and 

 labor-saving machine, and a room for the last 

 named operation. Adjoining shop, No. 1, in the 

 rear, is a shop where heels are turned and rods 

 pointed, and on the north end is a shop contain- 

 ing one large hammer. Next adjoining is a 

 wooden shop, 80 by 28 feet, two stories high. 

 On the lower floor of this building are eleven 

 immense grindstones, on which the scythes are 

 ground. This department requires men of 

 great muscular strength, and skill, to determine 

 when nothing but the steel remains on the edge. 

 The grinders are enabled, by (heir great strength 

 and the rapidity with which these stones (weigh- 

 ing from four thousand to five thousand pounds 

 each) are driven, to grind these scythes with as- 

 tonishing rapidity. 



Shop No. 2 is a wooden building 28 by 150 

 feet, and contains eight large and four small 

 hammers, and two blowers. 



Shop No. 3 is a wooden building, of the same 

 dimensions as No. 2, and contains six large and 

 two small hammers, two blowers, together with 

 rooms for hardening and tempering the scythes. 



There is on the middle dam a grist mill, 

 which is a model, not so much for its size, as 

 for the order in which every thing is kept and 

 vvniked. It is a very valuable and necessary 

 appendage to the establishment. It contains 

 four runs of stones, two of which are burr, 

 three bolts, two smut machines, and one corn 

 and cob cracker. In the basement story is a cir- 

 cular saw, and another in the chamber, with all 

 necessary tools for making boxes, in which 

 scythes, shipped to other States, are packed. 



W r e visited the works at Fayette, situated iu a 

 beautiful fanning country near the Readfield lit- 

 erary institution, which, under the direction of 

 eminent Methodist teachers and supported upon 

 the manual labor plan, has sent forth distinguish- 

 ed and to become eminent in the world many 

 young gentlemen: of this institution, Mr. Dunn 

 has been among the generous patrons. The 

 Wesleyan seminary near Mr. Dunn's Fayette es 

 tablishment lies upon an elegant sloping hill, 

 being the height dividing the Androscoggin and 

 Kennebeck waters: it constitutes a farm of two 

 hundred acres, and originated in a donation of 

 this farm made in 1822 by Mr. Luther Sampson, 

 whose present was considered then worth ten 

 thousand dollars. An elegant brick edifice has 

 been lately erected for the seminary. For seve- 

 ral years this institution flourished asasuccessful 

 self-supporting manual labor school ; but under 

 men of too much speculation and theory, it 

 injght not be expected in that interior practically 

 to succeed as have other independent communi- 

 ties whose only business is the education of 

 work. Mr. Smart, late member of Congress 

 from Maine, was educated at the Readfield sem- 

 inary, as were Messrs. Larabee, Collins, Caldwell, 

 anil some others who are eminent us professors 

 and instructors beyond the limits of the State. 



The Fayette works are two miles above those 

 at North W.nype and stand upon the line of 

 lakes. These works are new, having been built 

 in the summer of 1848. They are in full opera- 

 tion, and perfect in every department. In build- 

 ing these works, Mr. Dunn availed himself of 



all the improvements suggested by his long ex- 

 perience in scythe business. The company own 

 attached to these works, about twelve acres of 

 land, with a barn standing on it. The factory 

 building is 36 by 206 feet, containing eight large 

 and four small hammers, eight grindstones, pol- 

 ishing works, straw twister, room for painting 

 and ornamenting; and all machinery and tools 

 for completing the scythes independent of the 

 works at North Wayne. The water is conveyed 

 to these works in a canal built of solid stone 

 masonry in the most permanent manner. 



The machinery in the works at Fayette is so 

 arranged that the raw material (iron and steel) 

 enter at one end of the building and progress 

 through the different departments of the work, 

 till the finished scythes, straw ed into dozen bun- 

 dles, are taken out at the opposite. The iron 

 and steel necessary for a scythe are from four to 

 six inches in length in the. liars, and are drawn 

 out into the length of the scythe in the process 

 of welding. In perfect systematic arrangement, 

 this shop cannot be excelled. The water which 

 propels all the works both at North Wayne and 

 Fayette has all the power required in the busi- 

 ness at all seasons of the year, and is so warm 

 as to prevent the formation of anchor ice, and 

 there is no trouble arising from ice forming on 

 the wheels. 



Nearly every operation in the manufacture of 

 scythes requires men of skill, which can only 

 ho the result of long experience and thorough 

 apprenticeship. 



The entire works, including the large factory 

 recently built iu Fayette, are capable of tnrniirg 

 off" more than 200,000 scythes annually, and af- 

 ford constant employment to at least one hun- 

 dred and thirty hands. The iron, steel, coal, 

 &.<•., which is required for these scythes, conies 

 by way of the Kennebeck river, and weighs in 

 the aggregate about 2500 tons. 



The young men who are learning the sevthe- 

 making trade, are taken as apprentices usually 

 are. The workmen perform faithfully their du- 

 ties in their various departments, having con- 

 stantly in view the approbation of their employ- 

 ers. The whole amount of wages paid to men 

 annually is about thirty-two thousand dollars, of 

 which ohetquarter to one-half is paid by their 

 own choice at the company's store. Iu all mat- 

 ters of morality, the workmen are exemplary, be- 

 ing removed from the many temptations which 

 frequently lead young men astray. 



We have no where seen so smart and active 

 men at work, minding the business they were at 

 and working the hot steel and iron as true as 

 mathematical calculation into its destined shape, 

 as the scythe-makers of Mr. Dunn's great estab- 

 lishment. The village of North Wayne is the 

 abode of health and temperance, no ardent spirit 

 being used about this or the Fayette settlement. 

 Here we would think was no place or occupa- 

 tion for lawyers or idle men of any sort : here 

 are few or no genteel pr Sessional men whose 

 hands are too good for labor. 



Knowing the value of Mr. Dunn's scythes 

 from his former presents, the very timely one of 

 the sixth of July, just as four and six mowers 

 were commencing in our field, of a bunch of 

 eight steel-backs, together with an elastic spring 

 grain-cradle, not yet used, was most of all grati- 

 fying. The gentleman of this establishment 

 honored the editor with his present for his poor 

 exertions to contribute to the scythe-maker's 

 employment He must respect the young men 



