62 AGRICULTUEE OS THE RHINE. 



press their milch-cows into the yoke, may perhaps be 

 explained by the combination of distilling with farming, 

 to which we alluded when noticing the gain aiforded by 

 fattening oxen on grain and potato-ma^h. It is however 

 a proof that no pressure towards great economy is felt ; 

 not that the farmers are rich enough to be able to dis- 

 pense with it, but they can get on without it, and no very 

 brilliant success achieved in other spheres of industry 

 spurs them to seek lor more. The harrows used have 

 little to deserve notice ; iron teeth are everywhere in use. 

 But we must particularly notice a remarkably shaped 

 scythe, which is in use on the rich soils on both banks ol 

 the Lower Rhine, and is chiefly used in getting in the 

 oat-crop. The blade is lighter than that of a grass-scythe, 

 but of the same shape, and is fixed at an acute angle to 

 the thick stick about three feet long, from which a wooden 

 handle projects at a right angle to the blade at the other 

 end. This scythe is swung with one hand while the 

 reaper holds his stick in the other, and after a kind of 

 slashing cut gathers the grain on the scythe and lays it 

 over. We were assured that a reaper with this instru- 

 ment could get over half as much land again as with the 

 sickle. To us it appeared a fatiguing tool, and scarcely 

 applicable to barley, which it must cause to shed. 

 The cradle-scythe in use in Belgium and other parts 

 of Germany seems in every way to deserve prefer- 

 ence. Sowing-machines are little used on the Lower 

 Rhine, nor are thrashing-machines in use. Hand-screens 

 are used for winnowing, but the implements of this dis- 

 trict present nothing choice or very interesting. 



We shall have occasion to speak more fully and more 

 favourably of German agricultural implements when we 



