. Elements of practical agriculture; comprehending the cultivation of plants, the husbandry of the domestic animals, and the economy of the farm. 216 PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THEIR SEEDS. three slightly bent pieces of ash, mortised into a piece of wood, which is attached to the end of the lower part of the handle, so as to be vertical when the scythe is at work, and the upper part is fixed by a rod or cord passing from it to the handle. The three pieces of ash stand above the scythe, and parallel to it, and are of such a length as to extend over half the blade or more. In place of the common scyt
. Elements of practical agriculture; comprehending the cultivation of plants, the husbandry of the domestic animals, and the economy of the farm. 216 PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THEIR SEEDS. three slightly bent pieces of ash, mortised into a piece of wood, which is attached to the end of the lower part of the handle, so as to be vertical when the scythe is at work, and the upper part is fixed by a rod or cord passing from it to the handle. The three pieces of ash stand above the scythe, and parallel to it, and are of such a length as to extend over half the blade or more. In place of the common scythe here described, there has been recently introduced one with two handles, which, by placing the mower in a less constrained position, is more easily worked. The mower cuts from right to left. In some parts the prac- tice is, for the mower to cut towards the standing corn, on which, accordingly, the cut corn rests, assistants following close to remove it. But the better practice is, for the mower to cut towards the open side. In this manner, the corn is laid down with considerable regularity. Each mower is followed by one person, to make the bands, and lay the corn upon them. A person follows immediately, and binds up the sheaves, precisely as is done in the case of reaping with the sickle. Another person follows every two mowers with a large rake, with curved-iron teeth (Fig. 123), to rake the stubble. Fig. 123. In place of the hand-rake, rakes drawn by horses may be employed. The following is an example of one of this class of instruments, so formed that each tooth moves independently of the other. The teeth are of iron, fixed each to a separate handle of wood, and all the handles are attached by their ex- tremities to a rod of iron, on which they are moveable. Fur- ther, the handles are all separately attached by chains to a common bar, and this bar being attached by chains to handles held by the workman, the whole teeth can be lifted from the ground at once, and the collec
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1830, bookleafnumber236, bookyear1838
