Scientific American, Vol. XLIII.—No. 1. [New Series.], July 3, 1880 / A Weekly Journal of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, and Manufactures

(Illustrated articles are marked with an asterisk.)


Mr. Sterling A. Millard, of Clayville, N. Y., has invented a scythe blade that contains much less weight of metal and possesses equal or greater strength than the ordinary scythe blades. It is made in the usual manner from what is termed by scythe makers a scythe rod, and is wrought and shaped in such form that a proper thickness is left to serve as the back of the blade. A longitudinal auxiliary rib or supplementary back is formed on the blade, which stiffens the scythe without requiring the same weight of metal as those of the usual construction.
Mr. George C. Winslow, of Kalamazoo, Mich., has patented an improvement in spring harrow teeth, which consists generally in hinging the harrow tooth in the forward end of a rectangular frame bolted to the harrow bar, and combining therewith a spring, which at its back end is clamped to the harrow bar by the same bolts which secure the rectangular frame, and which spring then curves upward and forward, and then down through the slot or opening of the rectangular frame, and is jointed at its extremity, near the bottom of the harrow tooth, so that its tension serves to throw the harrow tooth forward, but allows it to yield to obstruction.

Captain Ingalls, of the schooner Chalcedony, has let slip an opportunity to make a small fortune and at the same time settle the long vexed question as to the reality of the elusive and possibly mythical sea serpent. His story, as told in the Argus , of Portland, Maine, June 8, runs as follows:
Last Saturday, about one o'clock in the afternoon, we were slowly sailing past Monhegan, there being very little wind, about twenty miles southwest of the island, when we caught sight of what looked like a large schooner floating bottom up. As the object lay almost dead ahead, we made directly for it, but before we got very close a Cape Ann schooner lay to and sent a boat's crew to inspect what now plainly appeared to be a monstrous carcass of some species or other. We finally hove to, about a ship's length off, and took a leisurely survey of the thing. It was dead, and floated on the water, with its belly, of a dirty brown color, up. Its head was at least twenty feet long, and about ten feet through at the thickest point. About midway of the body, which was, I should guess, about forty feet long, were two fins, of a clear white, each about twelve feet in length. The body seemed to taper from the back of the head down to the size of a small log, distinct from the whale tribe, as the end had nothing that looked like a fluke. The shape of the creature's head was more like a tierce than anything I can liken it to. I have seen almost all kinds of shapes that can be found in these waters, but never saw the like of this before.