From Chapter 4, The Big Book of the Scythe - Part 1 by Peter Vido and Family
It's May Day 2018, and Peter Vido and his family have released a new book on scythes, titled "The Big Book of the Scythe, Part 1". This comprehensive instructional book is being provided at no charge, as a free download from their Scythe Connection website and related sites. It's still a work in progress, but the information is there, even if it's currently a little "rough around the edges".
The book's contents are based on the Vido family's decades of scythe usage as an integral part of their full-time homesteading and livestock farming. The Vidos have been working on this book during the past few years, and the project will be ongoing, with occasional releases of improved versions of Part 1, along with the future development of the subsequent Parts 2, 3, and 4 (with each part having a different focus, as outlined here).
A paperback version is also being produced as a fundraiser for scythe introduction to small farmers in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Below are links where the book can be downloaded as a PDF file:
To get a wider swath, use a wider stance with more knee bending, as shown below, at right:
Source: ScytheConnection.com
A report from some recent scything instruction: Once all the peening and sharpening was done, I did an experiment with the 12 of us (including me) doing a "group calisthenics" warmup starting with David Tresemer's idea of letting one's arms hang loosely while swinging/twisting hips and torso from side to side. This progressed to doing this while having the elbows bent and hands partially closed, as if holding a scythe. This swinging progressed further to include a shifting of weight from side to side, in sync with the arms. This progressed further to have increased bending of the knee closest to the hands, while the heel of the other leg comes off the ground at the end of each left or right swing. This progressed further to have each foot move forward a couple inches as it is unweighted and the heel is raised. By now, everyone is doing the scything motion, including the forward advance with each stroke. This progressed further by having everyone slow down the pace of swinging so that it matched one's breathing, exhaling during the swing to the left, and inhaling during the return swing to the right. It was like practicing scything without holding a scythe. It seemed to prime everyone for the actual scything that immediately followed. Right off the bat, they were doing it better than I expected, including a guy who never held a scythe before who came along with a friend. So I consider the experiment a success.
Sources: Watson's Manual of Calisthenics: A Systematic Drill-book Without Apparatus, for Schools, Families, and Gymnasiums. With Music to Accompany the Exercises by J. Madison Watson, 1864 Scythe Connection, Mowing Technique
Reviewed by Peter Vido *************** I wrote the review below as a response to Peter Redden's review of the same book, published in Rural Delivery -- a small country living-oriented magazine based in Nova Scotia, Canada. The former owner editor of that publication (to whom we sent the piece) merely responded that he is no longer involved with it. Instead of tracking down some 'still responsible' persona to have this be considered, I chose to take a simpler route and post it here. If truth be told, I care little if my words are printed in any 'official' source (since it often gets edited 'all to hell'...) However, doing this 'partial piece' has inspired me to review The Scything Handbook more comprehensively, along with another recent book in the same field -- Learn to Scythe, by Steve Tomlin of UK. Consequently, I've begun a sort of two reviews under one cover... but during this time of a year here in the Northern hemisphere, writing time is in short supply; it may take a while to get that task done... Interim, may this be of some use to someone 'out there'... Peter Vido ***************** Perhaps The Scything Handbook (by Ian Miller, of USA) indeed deserves Peter Redden's evaluation of "mediocre". I myself am unsure how to average out its score, however, because the various sections of its content so differ in their quality and their merit to scythe users-to-be. The portions meant to be inspirational I have no issue with, even if they take up more than their share of space and closely resemble what anyone doing a bit of research on scythes can find all over the internet, or in the previous two books on the subject in the English language. Same goes for the 20 pages devoted to describing what it took to make a scythe blade during a certain period of history, since the process has gone through many changes since then. Would it not be of more interest to briefly outline how exactly those blades are made now? Then again, the topic might be considered 'trivial' in a rather short book that purports itself to be a comprehensive how-to manual. As for the discussion of the nutritional merits of grains, along with the sourdough-making and bread baking recipes, those have been better covered in numerous other more topic-specific books, and here I view them as a mere filler. But at least they will do no harm... My concern is primarily with the instructional material directly pertaining to the scythe, because I perceive that a portion of it is likely to have a negative effect on some newcomers' scythe-using experience. What? Such a nicely put together little book and one that comes across in such a holistic manner? And one so beautifully illustrated? On the topic of artwork, I must salute Sandra Pond (the listed illustrator) on her talent. Still, her drawings could not quite save the day; in spite of them, and many other good bits of advice scattered throughout, I consider the instructional portions of The Scything Handbook, hmm... just shy of shoddy. The author obviously tried to do what he thought would be helpful and must have considered himself up-to-snuff. So did the editors and publishers. Unfortunately, their combined efforts do not, in my view, "cut the biscuit". Nevertheless, book-writing projects can take an ungodly amount of time, and this author deserves some credit simply for trying, no? But no worries there; before the book even hit the market he was already showered with praise by the publishers and the rest of the selected promoters who wrote the raving mini-reviews for the book's first page and its back cover. None of them, so far as I can tell, understand much about this tool, and their praise of the author's scythe-related credentials as well as the book's purely instructional content is way overblown. Yes, that will greatly help with the sales of the book, but is it fair, I ask, to its green and innocent prospective readers? You see, had this very book landed in my lap 25 years ago, I likely would have been enamored with it (as I once was with David Tresemer's equivalent) and swallowed its content 'hook, line, and sinker'. The publisher's oh-so-glamorous promo phrases such as "written by a master of the scythe professionally trained in Austria... drawing deeply on research into original German texts" and "brings centuries-old scything techniques into the 21st century" would have had me, back then, rush like mad to get my hands on such a promising treasure. And I suspect that this is what will take place in many cases with the new or 'semi-experienced' scythe crowd, who are still anxious to learn from a 'master' -- because they have no way of knowing to what extent those phrases are hot air. But I have spent a significant amount of time over a span of 15 years (with scythe learning as the very focus) within those European circles where Mr. Miller's credentials supposedly come from, hence a few cautionary notes below. While Peter Redden seems a bit put off by the length/wordiness of the text, my take is that not enough of certain useful details are presented in order to make Mr. Miller's guidelines be as practical and self reliance-oriented as the promos make it out to be. Beyond what I consider omissions, the book also contains numerous blunders. Here is a brief sampling: One category of blunders concerns those historically or technically inaccurate bits that may have little to do with what a person actually needs to know in order to learn how to cut some grass, but I reckon they have no place in a treatise by a "master". A prime example -- a portion of which was surely borrowed from The Scythe Book by Tresemer (one also flawed in numerous respects) : "American and English scythes are stamped (and thus not possible to peen) and were developed to harvest sugar cane and reed and are therefore not suitable for hay and small grain harvesting" That statement is simply humbug, and given that this topic has been addressed by numerous voices on the scythe scene for more than a decade (and David Tresemer's uninformed notions thereby presumably corrected) I wonder where Mr. Miller has been... Taking his above statement at face value implies that millions of hectares of grass and grain in the British Isles, North America, and Australia were cut with a version of a scythe "not suitable" for the task. Hmm... (I'd have thought this would get Peter Redden's goat, because when I met him in 2005, both he and his wife entered the mowing competition in Truro with American scythes -- and back then I could not convince them that there is an easier version of the thing to use... a version in front of their nose -- one that our son won the first place with, and his 15 year old sister put a big man with a professional steel-bladed "brush saw" to shame... So not even a word in defense of this continent's generations-old standard in Redden's review??) Although for more than 20 years my family has been advocating the use of the scythe's "Continental" version, opinions as to which principle design is preferable (and I mean for harvesting hay and small grains, not sugar cane or reeds) still do vary. Interested readers can google, for instance, Benjamin Bouchard (the most prominent among contemporary advocates of the American scythe), and those among RD's readers attending the N.S. scything competitions can ask the oldest participant -- a 90 some year old -- what his take is on the issue... Another category of The Scything Handbook's blunders are the grossly exaggerated statements that are likely to move a newcomer to be either needlessly cautious or overly optimistic. Among them, these two top the list: "A scythe, improperly handled or treated with too little respect, could maim or kill you or someone else" "... no effort whatsoever is required of your arms to produce the mowing stroke" Upon reading the first of these statements I did not know whether to laugh or cry... Regarding the second: Wouldn't "not much effort" (...is required) be enticing enough?? Peter Redden did also wonder about the validity of comparing the dynamics of a scythe in use under varied field conditions to the action of the den-den daiko, which Ian Miller chose as an underlying analogy to promote his preferred (and somewhat odd) mowing movement. While expressing his doubts, open-minded fellow as he is, Redden promised to settle the issue this season out there in the field; let's see what he comes up with and I'll keep my mouth shut on this one for now. The third sort of blunders are actual instructional hints inviting potential disappointments, lack of efficiency or edge-shaping mishaps. Those blunders may be the least forgivable in a book which -- according to Dr. Ross Mars' (author of The Permaculture Transition Manual) review -- "...will enable you to proficiently master... (the use of a scythe)". One of many examples (which, interestingly, Peter Redden reviewed on a positive note) is the 'troubleshooting' section on page 64 and 65, dealing with consequences of improper peening. In my view, all 'explanations' as to reasons for the troubles (illustrated in figures 47-49) are either partially or wholly flawed (mostly the latter). Yes, it could be claimed that the issue is 'subjective' and a matter of opinion. And yes, a portion of the whole subject on how best to apply this tool is just that. But while the multitude of blade patterns, snath designs, hammer/anvil versions, honing and peening methods, etc. have long been expressions of regional and/or personal preferences, there are certain aspects of all this about which there has more or less been consensus among the really experienced mowers. One instance in this regard would be the distance of forward advance at a stroke -- which this book's guidelines suggest to be 1 ½ inches (or about 4 cm). Could it have been a typo (say, he meant 4 inches instead 4 cm)? If not, I'm quite certain that anyone who has swung a scythe over much more ground than (seemingly) has the author of that advice, would shake his head in disbelief or think it is meant as a joke. Taking such a very narrow sliver off the face of the stand may be fine for the very first few strokes during a beginners' course. But beyond that? To the (4 cm) suggestion Mr. Miller adds, in brackets, "somewhat more for experienced mowers and for longer blades" but he does not specify what "somewhat" and "longer" mean, in this context, to him. Nor does he anywhere suggest an average blade's length recommended for the general task of today's beginners. That is a serious omission. Nor does he suggest a good/comfortable/efficient width of a cut/swath. That is another serious omission. Yes, both of these (the width of swath in good mowing conditions and the average blade length to be recommended to beginners) are examples where opinions vary. But not to even address the topic? Who then, if not a master, can help enlighten us all? Although throughout the book the author does expound on certain sub-topics, a portion of it remains rather useless without more solid experiential background on his part and subsequent hints of merit. The haymaking chapter is the most glaring example, to me. Because so little has been written (and so much forgotten) about the art of haymaking, on the one hand I applaud him on including what he did on that theme, especially as he brought into the discussion the concept of curing hay on "racks". Still, I cannot in good conscience give him an "A" for anything more than trying... So far as I can see, he has spent far more time reading about how to best employ the various styles of racks than actually curing hay on them. And because those old texts from which he copied the info and the attractive photos (of hay curing in the field) were written for members of a culture that already understood the basics of 'loose' haymaking, they skipped certain crucial bits of advice, and so did Mr. Miller. And, as we eventually often learn -- "the devil is in the details"... As a hay-making connoisseur (though still by no means a "master") who has spent the past 40 years learning how to bring in the leaves (as opposed to mostly just stems) for the winter's hay supply, I pray that God would not someday play a prank and transform me into a cow or a goat that is to subsist on the hay made by Ian Miller in the rain, putting freshly cut grass on the "Swedish wire rack" (or any other rack, pole, tripod or whatever structure standing under the open and rainy sky). All in all, I think that if he re-reads his own scythe-using and haymaking guidelines several years hence (provided he does not -- as did David Tresemer -- leave the scythe-related learning to become just a short spell in his life's story), he will want to do a major revision of the text. Unfortunately, in the meantime the book will have influenced the on-the-ground experience of countless people -- something that cannot ever be 'taken back'... In other words, my overall impression is that he ought to have learned a whole lot more before taking on the task of writing a widely promoted book.
Anant Chaturvedi of Kanpur, India, is producing a series of scythe tutorial videos with narration in the Hindi language. Here are the first five videos of the series:
As a continuation of an earlier post with American Scythe Instructions, here are some additional sources of information, including discussion about young beginners.
The following Instructions to Young Mowers (from 1840) suggest that boys as young as fourteen can start with a "very light" scythe, for one or two hours per day during the haying seasons, over two or three years while they learn and improve. As stated in previous instructions, the blade should be kept near the ground, and horizontal, throughout the stroke. Also mentioned is how to check for the proper balance:
...Let his snath and scythe be very light, and the scythe of razor-like edge, and so hung that when suspended on the finger by the lower nib, the point and heel of the scythe may be at equal distances from the ground...
Instruct him to stand nearly erect, the hips being further advanced than the shoulders, and under no circumstances to stoop...
...and when inserting his scythe into the grass, be sure to keep the heel nigh the ground; and when cutting the clips and after, let the point be equally near it...
...let the body turn with the scythe as on a pivot the heel of the scythe passing within two or three inches of the advanced foot. This will relieve the arms, and so divide the effort, that he will mow with as little fatigue as he can perform light work, and soon laugh at the "six footer" who stoops to reach his...
...Let the boy also at first be instructed to clip only ten or twelve inches of grass until his erect posture and the horizontal position of his scythe become habitual...
-- quoted from The Farmer's Cabinet, Volume 4, No. 12, 1840, Philadelphia
Here's a different set of instructions which echo the admonition to swing the blade horizontally, level with the ground:
To mow with ease, the scythe should be swung gently, in a horizontal line, or parallel with the surface of the ground, entering the grass nearly on the right of the mower, and leaving it or cutting the last part nearly on the left; so that the standing grass in the swath will be nearly in a semicircular form.
-- quoted from New England Farmer, Vol. 2, No. 14, 1850, Boston
Another article in the New England Farmer states that beginners should not get inferior scythes:
The cast-off scythe should not be put into the hands of the boy who is learning to mow -- he wants in his feebler and and unpracticed hand, a sharper edge than is required by the man. Give him a good and a light tool; or else excuse him from this work.
-- quoted from New England Farmer, June 23, 1831, Boston
In closing, here's an article titled "Hay Time", in which the author recalls the first scythe he owned:
I remember the first scythe I ever had. I was about 16 and as puny a lad as you would wish to see. But I wanted a scythe. So I walked four miles to a store where they had a good assortment of them, and picked out one that I liked. It was but about three feet long, and I got a light snath to go with it, and then went to a grindstone that was turned by water, and got it ground. I then had it nicely hung so that it balanced just right, and got me a new rifle that exactly fitted my hand, and then I was a man, every inch of me.
I had learned how to whet a scythe, and I took especial care to keep it sharp. I soon got a knack of swinging it easily, without a great outlay of strength, for this I had not, so I made up for want of strength by sleight of hand.
-- quoted from New England Farmer, Vol. 8, No. 9, 1856, Boston
Illustration from The Gentleman's and London Magazine, by John Exshaw, November 1763
A book published in 1744 describes the "misfortunes" and "bad mowing" that result from scything grass without using "even, round, low, sweeping" strokes:
Lopping In This is done when a mower heaves up his scythe eighteen Inches or more from the ground, and generally with a swing from the right first, lops in before him to the left, by which he is sometimes forced to chop twice instead of once, and then part of the grass is so small that the rake can't take it, which causes a considerable loss in a large field...
Ribbing Grass This is occasioned by the mower's saving himself some labour at first and therefore he strikes short strokes; whereas, if he took a round, even, sweeping cut, it would prevent this loss; for by this sort of bad mowing, there is a great deal of grass left uncut, as appears by the ribs or semicircles remaining behind...
Also described are the problems arising from not honing the blade frequently enough:
Driving a Scythe in Mowing This is likewise thought to be wrong management; for if a scythe is mowed too long with, before it is whetted, they must whet so much that it soon acquires a thick edge, and then there must be the more labour and time employed in mowing, besides mowing the grass, very much to the farmer's disadvantage...
Later, the lay of the blade and the hafting angle are addressed with an example of a young man who couldn't keep up with the rest of the mowers due to his ill-fitted scythe:
...an old mower took pity on him, and altered his scythe, by hanging it wider and flatter for mowing; whereas, before, he had hung it so that the edge cut too low, and the scythe hung too narrow, which obliged him to strike three strokes to the company's two, to keep up with them. But after this alteration, he mowed as well as the best of them.
Quoted from: The Modern Husbandman, or The Practice of Farming, by William Ellis, 1744
Below are instructions for using an American scythe, quoted from articles written in the 1800s. Emphasis has been added (in bold type) to some portions that are similar to present-day instructions for Continental European scythes. How to Mow with an American Scythe
The most important instructions in teaching a beginner to mow grass are:
1.
To stand erect and walk up as near to the standing grass as you can and
still have room to cut it all off with the heel of the scythe.
2. Keep the scythe as flat on the ground as possible from heel to point.
3.
Point in low, and point out low, and let the scythe swing back and forth
on a horizontal line, and avoid raising the heel a foot high when
pointing in; and be careful to keep the point down close to the ground
when pointing out. Avoid a scooping motion, by which the stubble is left
high where the scythe sets in and comes out, and low in the middle of the
swath.
Where the surface of the ground is even tolerably smooth it will
be difficult to determine which way the swaths were made if they have
been well mowed.
4. Every beginner should he taught to make every
clip with scythe with a drawing cut, by sliding the edge of the scythe
along the grass, instead of handling it in such a way as to cut the grass
with a crushing stroke -- straight across the grass. This is one of the
most important considerations in handling a scythe of any kind. The
scythe should be handled in such a manner as to cut all its length from
heel to point. When the clips are made in such a manner as to cut square
across the grass much more strength will be required to mow, and the
grass will not be cut as well as it will be to cut with a drawing
stroke.
The correct motion of a scythe when cutting grass may be
illustrated in this way: Take a piece of chalk in one hand and bend
forward to the floor and describe a half circle on the floor. Now move
forward six inches at a step and make a half circle at every step. These
areas will represent the clips made by the scythe in mowing, and the
motion of the hand when describing the circles will furnish a correct
idea of the proper motion of the scythe.
-- by S. Edwards Todd, from The Country Gentleman, July 7, 1864
With good rigging and a good scythe kept sharp, a gentle swing of the
scythe will be sufficient to do as much as is performed by those who
get along by main strength instead of wise management. The motion of the
scythe on even ground should be horizontal, by pointing in and pointing
out as the saying is, cutting the grass square at each side of the swath,
Some mowers who labor hard, waste half of their strength, and do bad work,
strike it over the tops of the grass, cutting it off lower and lower as
the scythe approaches the middle of the swath, then rising as it goes to
the other side; so that the middle of the swath for only about one third
of the width is sufficiently low...
-- from Yankee Farmer article reprinted in The Farmers' Register, April 1, 1838
How to Sharpen and Hang an American Scythe
A man cannot mow easily nor mow well unless his scythe is in good order and properly hung. Every farmer should have a copy of the Young Farmer's Manual and learn how to grind and whet his scythes correctly.
The first thing in hanging a scythe correctly is to put the nibs or tholes in the right place on the snath. The right hand nib should be fixed at the highest point in the bow of the snath, and the left hand nib should be about one foot from the other. For boys, 10 inches will be about the correct distance.
Now fasten on the scythe [blade], and if the bow of the snath inclines too much forward towards the scythe, it must be adjusted by shaving the snath at the heel until the bow of the snath will stand just right when the scythe and snath are lying on the ground.
The nibs should not stand too far forward, nor too far back or too erect. If the left nib stands too far forward, a mower will not be likely to point out good when mowing, and if it stands too far back he will not point in well. Let the nibs be adjusted until they stand just right.
The edge of the scythe should stand so that a straight line from the snath between the nibs will just touch the cutting edge and the back of the scythe on the wider side. A man will mow much easier when the edge stands on a line with the snath between the nibs, than he will if it hangs either above or below that point. And another thing is if the edge hangs too low, a scythe is very much more liable to be dulled than if it stood higher. If the edge hangs too low when the grass is heavy, much more strength will be required to mow.
-- by S. Edwards Todd, from The Country Gentleman, July 7, 1864
Wisdom and Humor
We have seen some very stout hardy men toil and sweat all day and do but
a small day's work, while other men of much less strength would cut more
grass and yet not exert themselves to fatigue. From this it is evident
that some mowers exert twice the strength that others do in performing
the same work, and those who use the least strength usually do their
work the best, though they may not render the field so smooth by cutting
off the tops of knolls, stumps, stones and other impediments that
intrude themselves among the thick grass.
There are several reasons why there is so great a difference in expense
of labor; there is a difference in sneade and scythes as to their
hanging well, and there is so great a difference in scythes [blades] as to their
cutting with ease and holding their edge, that some are better worth
five dollars than others are worth one cent. [Adjusted for inflation, $5 in 1838 = $116 today; a penny then = 23 cents today.]
Some men keep their
scythes in prime order, and in mowing they lay their strength out to the
best advantage; they use a gentle motion that will not fatigue; they are
less liable to strike stones, etc. than those who make greater
exertions, and when they do strike them less injury is done.
A scythe should hang light and easy, so that in mowing no
exertions will be necessary excepting to swing the scythe and hold it
steady. We have seen some scythes and sneads, or things that had these
names, so rigged that the strength of one man was necessary to hold them
in a proper position, while that of another was needed to swing them; of
course, by having a good scythe well hung, one half of the labor will be saved.
-- from Yankee Farmer article reprinted in The Farmers' Register, April 1, 1838
Image from: Asher and Adams, Pictural Album of American Industry, Philadelphia, 1876; appearing at: http://www.ediblegeography.com/in-the-time-of-full-mechanisation/
An article titled "Secrets of the Scythe" was published in the July 1938 issue of The Countryman magazine.Perhaps some forgotten aspects of the English scythe can be "rediscovered". Here are some excerpts:
On setting the tang of a new blade:
When a new scythe-blade is bought the tang is flat in the same plane
as the blade. If it were attached to the snath without any adjustment
it would be at a sharp angle to the ground, and the first essential is
that the sole should lie flat on the ground when the mower takes up
his stance. We must therefore take our new scythe to be hung by a
blacksmith...
The instructions regarding the swing (keep the blade level, without raising it at either end of the stroke) and the stance (shift weight from right foot to the left foot as the swing progresses) sound remarkably similar to how present-day "continental" scythes are typically used, although here the swing is limited to about 90 degrees:
Now about stance and swing. The mower stands with his feet about
2 ft. 6ins. apart and facing slightly to the right of the line of the swathe
he is about to cut. He should balance on his toes, bending slightly
forward.
The scythe should remain at the same height from the ground,
with the blade level throughout the cut. Swing the scythe to the right
until the point is in line with the shoulders, and take the cut by
swinging to the left, smoothly without slashing.
As the weight of the body is transferred on to the left foot at the end of the swing,
advance the right foot about 5 ins. The left foot is advanced the same
distance on the return swing. This is what the countryman means when
he says, 'Keep the left foot back so as not to cut your leg'...
Both arms should be used equally during the swing. The
feeling to the mower should be that the left arm is drawing the blade
through the crop, while the right arm, supporting most of the weight,
holds the scythe balanced.
The full text of the article appears at this site and a PDF file can be downloaded there.
I obtained a physical copy of this issue of The Countryman, and the only information that doesn't appear in the PDF are three figures (redrawn below):
Figure 1 represents "the normal way of cutting a straightaway swathe", with the straight line being the edge of the standing crop (grass, etc.) Alternately, Figure 1 shows a way of cutting along a hedge, with the cut starting at the hedge and the swathe "laid against the uncut edge of the crop" (the straight line). Note that the resulting cut from each swing is effectively limited to 90 degrees.
Figure 2 shows a hypothetical semicircular swing, but this is not possible without "a change of stance, and therefore two cuts to each semi-circle."
Figure 3 shows the recommended way of cutting along a hedge into an uncut field, with two swaths. At first, the cut is made along the hedge and the swathe deposited against the uncut edge of the crop (the straight line). Then, the mower "turn[s] and cut[s] the standing crop in the opposite direction, laying the second swathe on top of the first."
[Note: In the above descriptions, "swathe" is sometimes synonymous with "windrow"]
During the same year that this article was published in The Countryman (1938), a documentary film titled English Harvest was produced. Early in the film, an English scythe is used to open the field for harvesting by a horse-drawn reaper-binder.
Shown below is a book from 1899 containing an essay titled "The Decline of Harvest" which looks with disdain upon this type of self-binding reaping machine (as seen in the video), and recalls scythes with nostalgia:
...there can be nothing more saddening than the change which has come
over the harvest field during the last 30 years. In the 'sixties it was
no uncommon thing -- in spite of the gradual inroads which the mechanic
and his machines had then made into rural industries -- to find a
typical old English harvest scene in the corn-yielding districts. As you
went about the land what time the air was fragrant with the scent of
ripened barley, you came across some broad-acred field where the
standing corn was being cut in the primitive fashion with scythe and
sickle, and where the scene which almost every English landscape painter
has striven to depict on canvas was apparent in its natural truth. You
heard the swish of the scythe...
How different it all is nowadays! ...There is not at first sight a sign
of life in the field. Then you are aware of a curious, whirring,
rattling, peace-destroying sound on the other side of the still standing
corn, and you see across its waving expanse the heads of horses, the
heads of a couple of labourers, and with them a fanlike Thing which goes
round and round and round, striking into the crop with mechanical
regularity. You wait half-fascinated until the Thing approaches you, and
as it draws nearer its roar and rattle becomes harsher and more
terrifying.
...the advent of the "self-binder" has changed everything and to a
certain extent the glory of the harvest time is over... there are times
when one experiences a feeling of vague, restless regret that the old
things have passed away, and that the English harvest-field scenes of
our grandfathers' days are not to be seen in ours.
The full text of The Decline of Harvest can be read here.
Addendum -- February 2, 2014:
The Phoenix Works (T. & J. Hutton & Co. Ltd.) was the last remaining scythe and sickle works operating in Britain until its closure in 1988. This company published an instructional booklet that appears at the Ridgeway History Website, and some photos from that site (from Frank Fisher's collection) are linked below:
Sources: Video and low-resolution screenshot photo (showing details of English scythe with bow) from 1938 film "English Harvest" from Dufay-Chromex Ltd and attributed to Humphrey Jennings in the video description here. Text from "Secrets of the Scythe" article from The Countryman journal issue of July 1938 was found here at newsgroups.derkeiler.com "Secrets of the Scythe", by L.D., The Countryman, Vol.XVII, No. 2, July 1938, p. 554-558. The Countryman, A Quarterly Non-Party Review and Miscellany of Rural Life and Work, Edited and Published by J.W. Robertson Scott at Idbury, Kingham, Oxfordshire. "The Decline of Harvest" essay appears on page 156 of The Journal of the Society of Estate Clerks of Works, Volumes 12-13, by the Society of Estate Clerks of Works, London, 1899 (essay attributed to "Morning Leader"). Full text of book can be read here.
Booklet and photos from the Phoenix Works appear at ridgewayhistory.org.uk in the article titled A History of the Phoenix Works by Tony Rippon, 2008.
