Reaper

**Hand Reaping:**
– Various methods of hand reaping include plucking grains by hand, cutting stalks with a sickle, using a scythe, or a scythe with a grain cradle.
– Reaping differs from mowing, which is cutting grass for hay, due to the different blades required for cereal plants and grasses.
– Reaped grain stalks are tied into sheaves and dried in stooks before being stacked for threshing.
– Stacks of sheaves are traditionally called ricks or corn ricks, and are later threshed to separate grain from straw.
– Collecting spilt grain after reaping is known as gleaning, done by hand or with animals like chickens or pigs.

**Mechanical Reaping:**
– Mechanical reapers are semi-automated devices that harvest crops, playing a key role in mechanized agriculture and productivity.
– The introduction of mechanical reapers significantly changed agriculture and increased efficiency.
– Mechanical reapers evolved into related machines like self-raking reapers, harvesters, and grain binders.
– Modern mechanical reapers cut and gather grass, thresh seeds, winnow grain, and deliver it to trucks or wagons.
– Innovations in mechanical reapers led to increased crop yields and transformed farming practices.

**Mechanical Reapers in the U.S.:**
– In the 19th century, inventors in the United States, such as Obed Hussey and Cyrus McCormick, made significant contributions to mechanical reapers.
– Obed Hussey patented a reaper in Ohio in 1833, improving reaping efficiency with a design that required minimal manpower.
– Cyrus McCormick patented the McCormick Reaper in 1834, which featured a unique design with elements like a cutter bar and a divider.
– Hussey and McCormick reapers competed in the marketplace, with Cyrus McCormick eventually acquiring the rights to Hussey’s cutter-bar mechanism.
– The gradual acceptance of mechanical reapers in the U.S. was influenced by factors like cultural conservatism, field conditions, and concerns about job displacement.

**Late 19th and 20th Century Reapers:**
– Champion Reapers and Mowers by Champion Interest group in Ohio were successful in the US in the 1880s.
– In 1896, an estimated 400,000 reaper-binders were harvesting grain.
– The reaper-binder, invented in 1872, bound crops into sheaves.
– The swather and combine harvester eventually replaced reapers for harvesting.
– Reapers were common in Central European agriculture until the mid-20th century.

**References and Further Reading:**
– The History of the Gallic Reaper by Petr Chuksin.
– Sources like agricultural history books and scientific journals provide insights into reaper innovations.
– Notable figures like Cyrus Hall McCormick are key to the reaper’s history.
– Publications like ‘Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time’ discuss the impact of reaper inventions.
– Books such as ‘Dream Reaper’ shed light on the evolution of reapers in modern agriculture.
– Works like ‘The Century of the Reaper’ by Cyrus Hall III McCormick offer in-depth knowledge on reapers.
– ‘The American Reaper: Harvesting Networks and Technology, 1830-1910’ by Gordon M. Winder explores the technological advancements in reapers.