TURNBUCKLE AND LATCH.--The figure you have engraved on p. 91 of your
December "Notes," as a _Turnbuckle_, is the common casement _latch_
of the 17th century; which may be found attached to the iron frame of
casement windows in many old farm houses.
A latch is not a turnbuckle, and no ironmonger's apprentice would
confound the two. A latch is a bar moving up and down in a limited
space--or, if backwards and forwards, as in some locks--it is called
the latch-bolt. A turnbuckle, as its name implies, turns round, and
is only limited by the notch, &c. by which it holds. They are chiefly
of two kinds: one is a spindle, with a knob or ring at one end, and
a tongue or buckle at the other; another is a handle with a tongue
attached, moving together freely round, upon a pin or rivets. This
latter kind has taken the place of the casement latch represented in
your "Current Notes" in present use.