(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved. Contact us for information about using this image.
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Taken in Deerfield, Massachusetts, in the very early years of the 20th century, this Allen Sisters photograph shows the care given to a farm tool to allow it to work well. The scythe, a long blade with handle attached at a right angle, must be razor-sharp so that when swung in front of the worker, it will cut the grain or the brush easily. The bearded man dressed in work clothes is using a whetstone to sharpen the blade of his scythe. He is set to cut the grass in the apple orchard, showing more than one use of a piece of land in this hand-tool time.