SCY 



SCY 



SCORE. 20 pieces, or 20 pounds. 



SCORLE. Cinders, especially of 

 the forge. 



SCORZONERA. Scorzoncra His- 

 pavka. " Tills plant lias lonfr hecn 

 raised in British gardens for culinary 

 purposes, and especially as an ingre- 

 dient in soups, on account of its pal- 

 atable and nourishing roots. Sonne 

 boil and eat them like carrots, &c., 

 in which case they should be depri- 

 ved of tlieir rind, and immersed in 

 cold water for half an hour, or they 

 \\\\\ he hitter. They are raised pre- 

 cisely in the same manner as salsify. 

 If the seeds be sown in April, in a 

 good deep soil, the roots will attain 

 perfection in autumn, and continue 

 good all the winter. They last from 

 three to four years, according to the 

 quality of the earth and the care be- 

 stowed upon them ; but it is better 

 to raise a few from seed every year." 

 — {Bridgcman.) 



SCOURING. Excessive purging. 

 See Ox, Sheep, &c. 



SCRAPER. An implement to 

 scrape roads, like the mouldebeart. 



SCREEDS. Wooden rules for 

 running mouldings. 



SCREENING. Sifting by pass- 

 ing through a screen such as masons 

 use. 



SCROFULA. A disease of the 

 glands about the neck, followed by 

 debility and skin diseases. 



SCRUPLE. Twenty grains ; the 

 third of a drachm. 



SCUFFLER. A light scarifier, or 

 horse hoe. 



SCUTATE. Protected by large 

 scales. 



SCUTELLIFORM. Of the figure 

 of a shield ; leaves having the foot- 

 stalk terminating in the centre of the 

 lamina. 



SCURVY GRASS. Cochkarla of- 

 ficinalis. A plant belonging to the 

 same genus as the horseradish, and 

 sometimes cultivated for its leaves. 

 It is propagated by seed, and prefers 

 a moist soil. 



SCUTCHING. Breaking flax or 

 hemp. See Flax. 



SCYTHE. " The common scythe 

 is an instrument too well known to 

 6S6 



require a minute description, but as 

 much of its utility in agriculture de- 

 pends on a correct adjustment of its 

 parts, we sliall briefly advert to them. 

 The blade of the scythe, which is al- 

 ways curved, with the cutting edge 

 on the concave side, is fixed to the 

 handle at an angle both to the plane 

 of the blade, and to the tangent to 

 the curve. It is on the nice adjust- 

 ment of these angles that the perfec- 

 tion of the instrument depends. A 

 scythe must cut the corn or grass, 

 especially the latter, as near to the 

 ground as possible, and where the 

 land lies flat and the stones have been 

 removed from the surface, a good 

 scythe, in the hands of a skilful mow- 

 er, will cut the grass so near to the 

 ground that little or no stubble is left. 

 Every farmer knows well that an inch 

 of the grass near the ground adds 

 more to the weight of the hay than 

 several inches higher up, and that a 

 skilful mower, with a good scythe, 

 can easily add much more to the value 

 of the crop than his earnings amount 

 to, however liberally he may be paid, 

 and that it is of the greatest impor- 

 tance that none but the best mowers 

 be intrusted with the W"ork, and that 

 attention be paid to the form of their 

 scythes, and to their being frequently 

 whetted. 



" 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 |;osition of 

 the handle in this case must be such 

 that when the scythe is 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 side, 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 soft 



