See also:

• REAPING (from O.E. rypan, rypan, probably allied to " ripe," mature, i.e. " fit for reaping "; the cognate forms are found in other languages)

REAPING (from O.E. rypan, rypan, probably allied to " ripe," mature, i.e. " See also:

• FIT

fit for reaping "; the cognate forms are found in other See also:

• LANGUAGES

languages)  , the See also:

• ACTION

action of cutting ripe See also:

• GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain crops . Till the invention of the See also:

• REAPING (from O.E. rypan, rypan, probably allied to " ripe," mature, i.e. " fit for reaping "; the cognate forms are found in other languages)

reaping See also:

• MACHINE
• MACHINE (through Fr. from Lat. form machina of Gr. µnxavil)

machine, which came into See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical use only about the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle of the 19th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, See also:

• SICKLES, DANIEL EDGAR (1825– )

sickles and scythes were the See also:

• SOLE (Solea)

sole reaping implements . Of the two the sickle is the more See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient, and indeed there is some See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason to conclude that its use is coeval with the cultivation of grain crops . Among the remains of the later See also:

• STONE
• STONE (0. Eng. shin; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Stein, Du. steen, Dan. and Swed. sten; the root is also seen in Gr. aria, pebble)
• STONE, CHARLES POMEROY (1824-1887)
• STONE, EDWARD JAMES (1831-1897)
• STONE, FRANK (1800-1859)
• STONE, GEORGE (1708—1764)
• STONE, LUCY [BLACKWELL] (1818-1893)
• STONE, MARCUS (184o— )
• STONE, NICHOLAS (1586-1647)

Stone See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period in See also:

• GREAT

Great See also:

• BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain and on the See also:

• EUROPEAN

European See also:

• CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent curved See also:

• FLINT
• FLINT, AUSTIN (1812-1886)
• FLINT, or FLTNTSHTRE (sir Gallestr)
• FLINT, ROBERT (1838- )
• FLINT, TIMOTHY (1780-1840)

flint knives have occasionally been found, the See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of which has led to the See also:

• SUGGESTION

suggestion that they were used as sickles . Sickles of See also:

• BRONZE

bronze occur quite commonly among remains of the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early inhabitants of See also:

• EUROPE

Europe . Some of these are deeply curved hooks, See also:

• FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat on the under See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side, and with a strengthening See also:

• RIDGE (a word. common to many Teutonic languages, meaning " back," whether of a man or an animal, cf. German Rucke)
• RIDGE, WILLIAM PETT (1864- )

ridge or back on the upper See also:

• SURFACE

surface, while others are small curved knives, in form like the See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary hedge-See also:

• BILL

bill, Among the ancient Egyptians toothed or serrated sickles of both bronze and See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron were used . Ancient See also:

• ROMAN

Roman drawings show that both the See also:

• SCYTHE

scythe and the sickle were known to that See also:

• PEOPLE

people, and See also:

• PLINY, THE ELDER
• PLINY, THE YOUNGER

Pliny makes the distinction See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain.' Although both implements have lost much of their importance since the See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general introduction of mowing and reaping machinery, they are still used very extensively, especially in those countries like See also:

• FRANCE
• FRANCE, ANATOLE (1844– )

France where small agricultural holdings prevail . The See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal See also:

• MODERN

modern forms are the toothed See also:

• HOOK, JAMES CLARKE (1819-1907)
• HOOK, THEODORE EDWARD (1788-1841)
• HOOK, WALTER FARQUHAR (1798-1875)

hook, the scythe See also:

• BOOK

book, the Hainault scythe and the See also:

• COMMON

common scythe . The toothed hook, which was in general use till towards the middle of the 19th century, consisted of a narrow-bladed curved hook, having on its cutting edge a See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of See also:

• FINE

fine See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close-set serratures cut like See also:

• FILE

file-See also:

• TEETH (O.E. Eel); plural of tooth, O.E. top)

teeth, with their edges inclined towards the heft or handle . The See also:

• CURVE (Lat. curvus, bent)

curve is that known to mathematicians as the " See also:

• CISSOID (from the Gr. rcunr6s, ivy, and ethos, form)

cissoid," where tangents at any point form equal angles with lines See also:

• DRAWN

drawn to the middle of the handle: it has been called the " curve of least exertion " because experience has shown that it tires out the See also:

• ARM (a common Teutonic word; the Indo-European root is ar, to join or fit; cf. the Lat. armus, shoulder, and the plural word arma, weapons, Gr. apphs, joint, and the reduplicated apapilKSV, to join)

arm of the worker less than any other curve . Sickles were formerly made of iron edged with See also:

• STEEL, FLORA ANNIE (1847– )

steel; but in See also:

• RECENT

recent times they came to be made of See also:

• CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast steel entirely . Towards the middle of the 19th century the toothed hook was gradually supplanted by the scythe hook or smooth-edged sickle, a somewhat heavier and broader-bladed See also:

• IMPLEMENT (Lat. implementum, a filling up, from implere, to fill)

implement, having an ordinary See also:

• KNIFE (0. E. cuff, a word appearing in different forms in many Teutonic languages, cf. Du. knijf, Ger. Kneif, a shoe-maker's knife, Swed. knif; the ultimate origin is unknown; Skeat finds the origin in the root of " nip," formerly " knip "; Fr. canif is a

knife edge .

Both these implements were intended for " shearing " handful by handful, the See also:

• CROP (a word common. in various forms, such as Germ. Kropf, to many Teutonic languages for a swelling, excrescence, round head or top of anything; it appears also in Romanic languages derived from Teutonic, in Fr. as troupe, whence the English " crupper "

crop being held in the See also:

• LEFT

left See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand and cut with the See also:

• TOOL (0. Eng. tdl, generally referred to a root seen in the Goth. taujan, to make, or in the English word " taw," to work or dress leather)

tool held in the right . A heavy smooth-edged sickle is used for " See also:

• BAGGING

bagging " or " See also:

• CLOUTING

clouting," —an operation in which the hook is struck against the See also:

• STRAW

straw, the left hand being used to gather and carry along the cut swath . The Hainault scythe is an implement intermediate between the scythe and the sickle. being worked with one hand, and the See also:

• MOTION (Lat. motio, from movere, to move)
• MOTION, LAWS OF

motion is entirely a swinging or bagging one . The implement consists of a See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short scythe blade mounted on a See also:

• VERTICAL (from Lat. vertex, highest point)

vertical handle, and in using it the reaper collects the grain with a crook, which holds the straw together till it receives the cutting stroke of the See also:

• INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

instrument . The Hainault scythe was extensively used in See also:

• BELGIUM
• BELGIUM (Fr. Belgique; Flem. Belgic)

Belgium . The common See also:

• HAY
• HAY (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Heu, Dutch hooi; the root from which it is derived, meaning " to cut," is also seen in " to hew "; cf. " hoe ")
• HAY, GEORGE (1729—1811)
• HAY, GILBERT
• HAY, JOHN (1838–1905)

hay scythe consists of a slightly curved broad blade varying in length from 28 to 46 in., mounted on a See also:

• BENT
• BENT (E1. BENI)
• BENT, JAMES THEODORE (1852–1897)

bent, or sometimes straight, wooden sned or snathe, to which two handles are attached at such distances " Of the sickle there are two varieties, the See also:

• ITALIAN

Italian, which is the shorter and can be handled among brushwood, and the two-handed Gallic sickle, which makes quicker See also:

• WORK

work of it when employed on their [the Gauls'] extensive domains; for there they cut their grass only in the middle, and pass over the shorter See also:

• BLADES, WILLIAM (1824-1890)

blades . The Italian mowers cut-with the right hand only " (H . N. xviii . 67) . as enable the workman, with an easy stoop, to See also:

• SWING, DAVID (1830-1894)

swing the scythe blade along the ground, the cutting edge being slightly elevated to keep it clear of the inequalities of the surface . The grain-reaping scythe is similar, but provided with a See also:

• CRADLE (of uncertain etymology, possibly connected with " crate " and " creel," i.e. basket; the derivation from a Celtic word, with a sense of rocking, is scouted by the New English Dictionary)

cradle or short gathering See also:

• RAKE (O.E. rata, cognate with Du. raak, Ger. Rechen, from a root meaning to scrape together, heap up)

rake attached to the See also:

• HEEL

heel and following the direction of the blade for about la in . The See also:

• OBJECT

object of this See also:

• ATTACHMENT

attachment is to gather the stalks as they are cut and See also:

• LAY

lay them in See also:

• REGULAR

regular swaths against the See also:

• LINE

line of still-See also:

• STANDING

standing See also:

• CORN (a common Teutonic word; cf. Lat. granum, seed, grain)
• CORN (fromm Lat. corms, horn)

corn .

The reaping scythe, instead of a See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long sned, has frequently two helves, the right hand branching from the left or See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main helve and the two handles placed about 2 ft apart . The best scythe blades are made from rolled sheets of steel, riveted to a back See also:

• FRAME

frame of iron, which gives strength and rigidity to the blade . On the continent of Europe it is still common to See also:

• MOULD

mould and See also:

• HAMMER, FRIEDRICH JULIUS (1810-1862)

hammer the whole blade out of a single piece of steel, but such scythes are difficult to keep keen of edge . There is a great demand for scythes in See also:

• RUSSIA
• RUSSIA (Rossiya)

Russia, chiefly supplied from the See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German See also:

• EMPIRE

empire and See also:

• AUSTRIA
• AUSTRIA, LOWER (Ger. Niederosterreich or Osterreich unter der Enns, " Austria below the river Enns ")
• AUSTRIA, UPPER (Ger. Oberosterreich or Osterreich ob der Enns, " Austria above the river Enns ")

Austria . The principal manufacturing centre of scythes and sickles in the See also:

• UNITED

United See also:

• KINGDOM

Kingdom is See also:

• SHEFFIELD
• SHEFFIELD, JOHN BAKER HOLROYD, 1ST EARL

Sheffield . It was not until the beginning of the 19th century that any See also:

• ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt was made to invent a reaping machine on anything like the lines that have been adopted since . In 1826 the Rev . See also:

• PATRICK, SIMON (1626–1707)
• PATRICK, ST

Patrick See also:

• BELL
• BELL, ALEXANDER MELVILLE (1819—1905)
• BELL, ANDREW (1753—1832)
• BELL, GEORGE JOSEPH (1770-1843)
• BELL, HENRY (1767-1830)
• BELL, HENRY GLASSFORD (1803-1874)
• BELL, JACOB (1810-1859)
• BELL, JOHN (1691-178o)
• BELL, JOHN (1763-1820)
• BELL, JOHN (1797-1869)
• BELL, ROBERT (1800-1867)
• BELL, SIR CHARLES (1774—1842)

Bell of Carmylie in Fifeshire brought out the first successful machine . He had worked at the making of it when a See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man on his See also:

• FATHER

father's See also:

• FARM

farm, and the principle he adopted, that of a series of See also:

• SCISSORS

scissors fastened on the " knife-See also:

• BOARD (O. Eng. bord)

board," was followed for a long See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time . There had been many trials during the See also:

• THIRTY

thirty ar See also:

• FORTY

forty years before his time both in this See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country and in See also:

• AMERICA

America, but his invention was the first practical success . After many modifications, however, the See also:

• PRESENT

present or recent form of the common reaper was evolved by C . H .

McCormick in America in 1831 . A See also:

• TRUCK

truck or See also:

• CARRIAGE

carriage is carried on two travelling wheels some 30 to 36 in. high, with spuds or teeth on the circumference to make them " bite " the ground and thus give motion to the machinery without skidding; two horses are yoked in front with a See also:

• POLE (FAMILY)
• POLE, REGINALD (1500-1558)
• POLE, RICHARD DE LA (d. 1525)
• POLE, WILLIAM (1814—1900)

pole between, with martingale ,and surcingle belts as See also:

• PART

part of their See also:

• HARNESS (from O. Fr. harneis or harnois; the ultimate origin is obscure; the Celtic origin which connects it with the Welsh haiarn, iron, has phonetic and other difficulties; the French is the origin of the Span. arnes, and Ger. Harnisch)

harness, to ease the backing of the machine by the horses; the knife-board is fixed out at right angles to the side of the carriage and in front, while the knives consist of a series of triangular " sections " on a See also:

• BAR
• BAR (0. Fr. barre, Late Lat. barra, origin unknown)
• BAR, CONFEDERATION OF
• BAR, FRANCOIS DE (1538-1606)
• BAR, THE

bar which travels backwards and forwards in slots in the " fingers," as the dividing teeth are called . The motion was given to the knives by a connecting See also:

• ROD (O.E. rodd, probably related to Norw. rudda, stick, rodda, stake)
• ROD, EDOUARD (1857-1910)

rod and See also:

• CRANK

crank driven by suitable gearing from the truck wheels . The cutting was thus done by a straight shearing action and not by clipping like scissors as in Bell's machine . There were many modifications tried before the favourite form was ultimately adopted: thus the horses were yoked behind the truck or carriage of the machine so that they pushed it before them; a revolving See also:

• WEB (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Du. webbe, Dan. vaev, Ger. Gewebe, all from the Teutonic wabh—to weave)

web of See also:

• CLOTH

cloth was placed behind the knives so as to deliver the cut corn in a continuous swathe at the side; revolving " sails " or " rakes " pushed the standing grain against the knives as the machine advanced—some of which arrangements have been revived in our modern stringbinders—and so on . In the early days—from about 186o to 1870—See also:

• MACHINES

machines were fitted with a tilting board behind the cutting bar which caught the corn as it See also:

• FELL
• FELL, JOHN (1625-1686)

fell, and it was held there until enough for a sheaf was gathered, when the load was " tilted " off by a suitable rake handled by a man who sat and worked the tilting board simultaneously with his See also:

• FOOT

foot and dropped the corn, to be lifted and tied into a sheaf by hand afterwards . The same machine was generally used for mowing (grass) by an interchange of parts, and the " combined " reaper and mower was in common use in the 'seventies and 'eighties . Later, various devices were adopted to do the tilting or sheafing mechanically, and the self end-delivery and self side-delivery have long been in use whereby through the See also:

• ADOPTION (Lat. adoptio, for adoptalio, from adoptare, to choose for oneself)

adoption of revolving rakes on frames the sheaf-lots are delivered in sizes ready for tying up by hand . The subsequent tying or binding was done variously in different parts of the country . In the See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

south of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England it was customary for five men to make bands, lift the sheaf-See also:

• LOT
• LOT (Lat. Oltis)

lot, See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place in the See also:

• BAND

band and tie, and leave the sheaf lying on the ground to be set up after-wards, the gang of five being expected to keep up on a reaper cutting See also:

• ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round the four sides of a See also:

• FIELD (a word common to many West German languages, cf. Ger. Feld, Dutch veld, possibly cognate with O.E. f olde, the earth, and ultimately with root of the Gr. irAaror, broad)
• FIELD, CYRUS WEST (1819-1892)
• FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY (18o5-1894)
• FIELD, EUGENE (1850-1895)
• FIELD, FREDERICK (18o1—1885)
• FIELD, HENRY MARTYN (1822-1907)
• FIELD, JOHN (1782—1837)
• FIELD, MARSHALL (183 1906)
• FIELD, NATHAN (1587—1633)
• FIELD, STEPHEN JOHNSON (1816-1899)
• FIELD, WILLIAM VENTRIS FIELD, BARON (1813-1907)

field . In the See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

north and in See also:

• SCOTLAND
• SCOTLAND, CHURCH OF
• SCOTLAND, EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF

Scotland the cutting was only done on one side at a time, the 945 1 machine See also:

• RIDING

riding back empty, and three boys made the bands (" straps "), three See also:

• WOMEN

women lifted the lots and laid them on the bands, and three men See also:

• BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound the sheaves and set up in stooks . Thus three gangs of three each were required to keep a machine going, and only about five acres per See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day could be reaped in this way .

The development of the modern binder to reduce all this labour has been a very See also:

• GRADUAL (Med. Lat. gradualis, of or belonging to steps or degrees; gradus, step)

gradual See also:

• PROCESS

process . There was no great difficulty in cutting the corn and delivering the stuff, but the tying of it into sheaves was the problem to be solved . As early as 1858 See also:

• MARSH (O. F. mersc, for merisc, a place full of "meres" or pools; cf. Ger. Meer, sea, Lat. mare)
• MARSH, ADAM (ADAM DE MARISCO) (d. c. 1258)
• MARSH, GEORGE PERKINS (1801-1882)
• MARSH, HERBERT (1757–1839)
• MARSH, NARCISSUS (1638-1713)
• MARSH, OTHNIEL CHARLES (1831-1899)

Marsh in America designed and carried out an arrangement whereby the cut grain crop was caught on revolving webs of See also:

• CANVAS

canvas and carried up on to a table, where two men stood who made bands of its own material and bound it into sheaves as it fell in front of them, dropping the sheaves off on to the ground as made, while the machine travelled along . The invention of a tying apparatus was the next advance, and in the 'seventies the See also:

• AMERICAN

American See also:

• FIRM

firm of See also:

• WALTER, HUBERT (d. 1205)
• WALTER, JOHN (1738/9-1812)

Walter A . See also:

• WOOD, ANTHONY A2 (1632-1695)
• WOOD, JOHN GEORGE (1827—1889)
• WOOD, MRS HENRY [ELLEN] (1814—1887)
• WOOD, SEARLES VALENTINE (1798—188o)

Wood & Co. brought out an arrangement for tying the sheaves up with See also:

• WIRE (A.S. wir, a wire; cf. Swed. vire, to twist, M.H.G. wiere, a gold ornament, Lat. viriae, armlets, ultimately from the root wi, to twist, bind)

wire . So slow and expensive had been the process of See also:

• EVOLUTION

evolution, however, that it was reported at the time that the above firm had spent 20,000 in invention and experiment before they had even a wire-binder See also:

• FIT

fit to put on the See also:

• MARKET (Lat. mercatus, trade or place of trade)

market . Binding with See also:

• STRING

string, however, was the aim of all, and it was reserved for J . F . See also:

• APPLEBY

Appleby, an See also:

• ENGLISH

English inventor, to See also:

• HIT

hit on the arrangement now in use, or which was the prototype of all the knotters now to be met with in different varieties of the string-binder throughout the See also:

• WORLD

world . While the string-binder is now in universal use in Great Britain, the See also:

• BRITISH

British Colonies, America and all countries where farming and farm work are advanced, and hand labour is only followed where See also:

• PEASANT (O. Fr. paysant, Mod. paysan; Lat. pagensis, belonging to the pagus or country; cf. " pagan ")

peasant-farming or small farming obtains, it must be noted that in certain regions the See also:

• SYSTEM

system of reaping or harvesting of corn crops has See also:

• DEVELOPED

developed a See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

• DEAL

deal beyond this . In See also:

• AUSTRALIA

Australia and some of the hotter districts in the See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

west of the United States the " stripper " is in use, an implement which carries long grooved teeth which are passed through the standing grain crop and See also:

• STRIP

strip off the heads, leaving the straw standing . The heads are passed backwards to a See also:

• THRASHING, or THRESHING (from " to thrash," O. Eng. llerscan, cf. Ger. dreschen, Du. dorschen, &c.)

thrashing (rubbing) arrangement, which separates the corn from the chobs, See also:

• CHAFF (from the A.S. ceaf, allied to the O. High Ger. cheva, a husk or pod)

chaff, &c., and the grain is sacked up straight away .

The sacks are dropped off the machine as the work proceeds and are picked up by See also:

• WAGON, or WAGGON

wagon for transport afterwards . It is a significant fact that strippers worked by hand, though pushed through the crop by oxen, were in use on the plains of See also:

• GAUL
• GAUL, GILBERT WILLIAM (1855— )

Gaul in the first c.mixasiamaz the String-binder . century of our era, though this system seems to have been lost sight of till re-invented by the Australians . Again, in the Western states of America, where the See also:

• CLIMATE

climate is not hot and dry enough for stripping purposes, the method followed is to cut the straw as short as possible—just below the heads—and these fall on to a travelling canvas and are carried up into a thrasher and the grain separated and sacked as the work proceeds . An immense combined implement is used for this reaping and thrashing purpose, taking a width of up to 40 ft. of crop at a time, and being propelled by a 50-See also:

• HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as hors, hros, ros; cf. the Ger. ross)

horse-See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power See also:

• TRACTION (Lat. trahere, to draw)

traction See also:

• ENGINE
• ENGINE (Lat. ingenium)

engine See also:

• RUNNING

running on broad See also:

• ROLLER

roller-wheels, though smaller machines pulled by, say, 20 horses are also common . Some-times the " heading " only is carried out, and the cut heads carried on a canvas up into a wagon travelled alongside, and then carted away for subsequent thrashing, the "header" thus being the form of reaper adopted also in the Western states of America . In these regions, as in many other places on the prairies in general, the straw is of no value, and therefore the whole is set See also:

• FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire to and burned off, thus returning a certain amount of fertility to the See also:

• SOIL

soil in the ashes . In the normal and ordinary system of reaping with the string-binder in Great Britain the See also:

• RULE

rule is to " open up " a field by cutting " roads " round it: that is, a headland or roadway is mowed by the scythe and tied up by hand . Then the string-binder is started to cut around and continued till a finish is made at the centre of the field . Sometimes the crop is partly lodged and can only be cut on three sides of the field, and the binder is " slipped " past the See also:

• FOURTH

fourth side . It is customary in some parts to yoke three horses to the machine and keep these at work all day with an See also:

• INTERVAL

interval for the midday See also:

• MEAL

meal only, but a better See also:

• PLAN
• PLAN (from Lat. planes, flat)

plan is to allow two men and four horses to each, andstackyard, where they are built up sheaf by sheaf into round or oblong stacks: that is, they are stored until required for thrashing or foddering purposes . The drying may be a tedious affair, and wet See also:

• WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather in See also:

• HARVEST (A.S. hcerfest " autumn," O.H. Ger. herbist, possibly through an old Teutonic root representing Lat. car pere, " to pluck ")

harvest time is a See also:

• NATIONAL

national disaster from the spoiling of the corn, both grain and straw .

The tremendous development in labour-saving in the See also:

• MATTER

matter of reaping the corn crops is well exemplified in a comparison of harvesting with the hand hook or sickle as compared with the string-binder . With hand-reaping six men (or women) cut the corn and laid it on the bands in sheaf-lots: one man came behind and tied the sheaves and set them up in stooks . Thus a gang of seven worked together and harvested about two acres per day . With the binder three or four men handle say twelve or fourteen acres daily : in other words, there is only one-tenth of the See also:

• MANUAL

manual labour required now in reaping that was necessary only a See also:

• GENERATION (from Lat. generare, to beget, procreate; genus, stock, race)

generation ago, for the string-binder has revolutionized farming as a whole, and given the nations cheap See also:

• BREAD

bread . (P .