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 SWITZERLAND of the districts of Chablais and Faucigny had been guaranteed. It demanded from France the cession of these two districts, but as it received little aid from the great powers, its representations were of no effect. The boun- dary question between Switzerland and Italy, submitted to the arbitration of George P. Marsh, United States minister to Italy, was decided on Sept. 23, 1874, in favor of Italy, definitely fixing the Swiss frontier at the point called the Cravaviola Alps, and was promul- gated as obligatory on the two countries, June 11, 1875. In 1875 Switzerland and Italy con- cluded a new commercial treaty for ten years. The principal works on the history of Switz- erland are : Geschichte der schweizerischen Eid- genosscnschaft, by Johannes von Miiller and others (7 vols., 1780-1829), to the end of the 16th century, continued in a French transla- tion by Monnard and Vulliemin to the 19th century (19 vols., Paris, 1837-'51); Heinrich Zschokke's Geschichte des Schweizerlandes (Zu- rich, 1822 ; English translation by Francis George Shaw, embracing Emil Zschokke's con- tinuation to 1848, New York, 1855 ; new ed., 1875) ; Bluntschli's Geschichte des schweizer- ischen Bundesrechts (2 vols., Zurich, 1846-'52) ; and A. Morin's Precis de Vhistoire politlque de Suisse (5 vols., Geneva, 1855-'75). SWITZERLAND, a S. E. county of Indiana, bordering on Kentucky, from which it is sep- arated by the Ohio river ; area, 220 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 12,134. The surface is undula- ting and the soil fertile. The chief produc- tions in 1870 were 132,865 bushels of wheat, 15,020 of rye, 309,183 of Indian corn, 27,970 of oats, 126,116 of potatoes, 19,446 tons of hay, 20,964 Ibs. of wool, 174,821 of butter, and 17,342 gallons of sorghum molasses. There were 3,526 horses, 2,626 milch cows, 3,225 other cattle, 8,473 sheep, and 9,407 swine; 7 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 7 of cooperage, 1 of woollen goods, 6 flour mills, and 8 saw mills. Capital, Vevay. SWORD, a weapon used in hand encounters, commonly made like a large knife, and some- times pointed like a dagger. The ancient Egyp- tians possessed the art of imparting to bronze extraordinary hardness and elasticity, and em- ployed this material for swords and daggers. Wilkinson describes the former as straight and short, from 2 to 3 ft. in length, having generally a double edge and tapering to a sharp point. The Greeks had several varieties of swords of bronze, and at a later period of iron ; and as seen upon coins, vases, &c., they appear to have been short cut-and-thrust blades, leaf-shaped or tapering from hilt to point, and provided with a scabbard, which was attached on the left side to a belt suspended from the "loulder or round the waist. The Lacedse- lonian sword was curved on the sharp side, while the back was blunt, and the end was >ointed obliquely toward the back. The Ro- mans first used the Gallic sword, which had 10 point and was sharp on one side only; but SWORD 533 after the battle of Cannes they adopted the Spanish sword, which was short and straight, made for cutting and thrusting. The Gallic sword was worn on the left side, the Spanish always on the right. The swords used by bar- barian soldiers and by gladiators were curved. 1. Greek Sword, from a Monument. 2. Greek Sword in the Eoyal Antiquarium, Berlin. 3. Lacedaemonian Sword, from a Vase. 4. Greek Sword in Scabbard, from a Vase. 5. Barbarian Sword, from the Column of Antoninus. 6 and 7. Koman Swords, in the Museo Nazionale, Naples. The most famous swords were the Damascus blades of the middle ages, made probably of East Indian wootz, on the shores of the Med- iterranean. (See DAMASCUS BLADES.) Next to these the swords of Toledo in Spain at- tained celebrity. Milan also was famous for its excellent swords during the middle ages. A manuscript psalter of the time of King Stephen gives a representation of two men grinding a sword blade, and there is no doubt of the early manufacture of swords in Eng- land. In the 17th century those made by the Germans were in good repute, and about the year 1689 unsuccessful efforts were made to establish the manufacture in Cumberland, Eng- land. In 1786 Mr. Gill of Birmingham, com- peting with German and English makers for supplying the East India company, produced a large number which bore the required test of bending till the length of the blade was reduced from 36 to 29 in. Swords are still made at Toledo of as good quality as ever, but the manufacture employs only 70 or 80 hands. The best of cast steel is required for good swords. The bars are hammered down by two men striking alternately; and if the blade^is to have concave sides or other peculiarities of shape, these are obtained from the^ dies in which it is swaged. When shaped, it is hard- ened by heating in the fire to dull red and dipping point downward in a tub of cold water. It is tempered by drawing it through the fire until it acquires a blue color, and is then set or straightened by springing it with