THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[September 25. 
I 302 
! Having had occasion recently to refer to drawings illus- 
| trative of the agricultural implements of the ancients, 
we can safely observe that there is not one of those 
implements that has remained without alteration in 
form, or any improvement, so long, handed down as it 
has been from nation to nation, as the scythe. There it 
is on the engraved stones of the Assyrians, Chaldeans, 
and Egyptians, in the manuscripts of the Greeks, 
Romans, and Saxons, with its long straight handle, 
and awkwardly-affixed blade, just as it is to this day on 
the continent, and even in some of the northern counties 
of England. This adherence to the old form and mode 
of fixing is certainly not because that form and mode 
are perfection, for, on the contrary, never was any mode 
of uniting a blade to a handle much more rude. 
Thus convinced, we went to the World’s Exhibition 
with a hope that we should find some improvements, 
nor have we been disappointed, for Boyd’s self-adjusting 
Scythe removes nearly all the objections to the old 
implement. 
There are various scythes for gardening purposes 
contributed to that Exhibition by France, Austria, 
Prussia, Belgium, and America. 
In the Prussian department the scythes are made of 
various lengths, of wrought steel and iron, in the same 
manner as our common scythes. The scythe-blades, 
however, present a concave upper surface; consequently 
the under side is slightly convex, as well as the usual 
rise of the point, which well-made scythes ought to 
have. 
There are some good scythe-blades exhibited, also, in 
j the Belgian department; they are made of cast-steel, 
l with a back to strengthen the blade, rivetted on to the 
plate in the manner of our patent scythes. The forma¬ 
tion of the blade is different, as they present a plane 
surface to the ground, while our English scythes are set 
\ with their cutting edge rising slightly from the surface, 
j The Belgian scythes are concave the same as the 
Prussian, which has the good effect of keeping the edge 
of the blade from stones and earth, as well as leaving 
a close-shorn green surface after the operator; for if the 
edge lays too close to the turf, in the hands of an un¬ 
skilful person, he is liable to score the grass, and give it 
j an uneven appearance. Our reporter, a practical man, 
j likes the make of these scythes very much, and thinks 
1 them equal, if not superior, to the best made scythes we 
' have ; and that it would be well if some of our English 
manufacturers would make scythes in the same form. 
The American scythes are made much like our own 
common scythes, and of various lengths, to suit the 
wants of different persons and districts. 
Fussell and Sons, Mill’s Iron Works, Somerset, ex¬ 
hibit a large quantity of common scythes, of various 
lengths It is remarkable that scythes are used of such 
different lengths in different districts of this country. 
In the north of England they are used of a great length, 
especially for long grass or hay, also a good length for 
short grass; whilst in the midland and southern coun¬ 
ties the scythe-blade gets gradually shorter, and in 
I Somersetshire it is shorter still; yet the south country¬ 
man will cut down as much hay in a day as the northern 
will do with his scythe, though this is nearly as long 
again as the scytho used in Surrey. 
199. —Boyd’s Self-adjusting, op. Double-action 
Scythe 
Is the same in appearance as a common scythe, with 
the exception of the part where the blade is fastened to 
the handle. It is so fastened with two joints, screws, 
and nuts. To the end of the handle or heel, a piece of 
iron is fixed, to which another short piece of iron is 
fastened by means of a screw and nut, which is the first 
joint; at the end of this piece the face of the joint is 
turned at a right angle with the first joint; then at the 
end of the blade the back is flattened and turned up, 
and is fixed to the end of the piece of iron by means of 
a screw, and forms the second joint; by this joint the 
edge of the blade can be turned either up or down, and 
fixed by the screw at any required position, whilst by 
means of the first joint the point can be put at the 
proper working angle, or shut up at pleasure, and is i 
fixed as required by the screw and nut. 
This scythe, as the inventor says, can be put together 
without the aid of a blacksmith; in fact it only requires 
to unscrew the second joint, and a new blade can be put 
on, or the old one taken off for grinding. According to 
our old mode, the temper of the scythe is often spoiled 
by turning the heel, as they never come from the manu¬ 
facturer’s hands in proper order for fixing to the handle. 
We think this scythe a great acquisition, for it not only 
saves much time and trouble now lost in preparing the 
scythe for work, but can be set with facility and certainty. 
To identify a species of plant by its flower or its fruit is 
no very difficult matter, now that botany has had its 
Linnaeus, Jussieu, Decandolle, and Endlicher. These 
able systematists have so arranged the volume of vege¬ 
table nature, and have furnished us with such indexes, 
that it is comparatively easy to turn to the page on which 
is, or ought to be, inscribed the species before us. Un¬ 
fortunately, it is the very reverse with varieties, and 
especially so with the varieties of cultivated fruits. Let 
any one turn to the Fruit Catalogue of the London 
Horticultural Society, and ask if there is any guide by 
which he can discover the proper name to be applied to 
the apple on his table out of the 897 names, and as 
many synonymes, which that Catalogue contains? The 
answer must be—There is no such guide. To discover 
the required name you must consult some one intimate 
with fruit culture; or you may turn over the portraits ' 
in the old Pomological Magazine, or in the works of 
Ronald, Maund, and others, for the chance of finding 
one sufficiently like to justify you in saying—This is the 
fruit. We need not point out how tedious and uncertain 
is this process, and we most earnestly hope that some 
Bornological Linnaeus will arise, who will classify our 
fruits, so as to give us some guide to aid us through 
such a labyrinth as he enters wdio endeavours to identify 
a nameless apple or pear. 
