Horses pull a grain reaper at Hilltop Farm, Deerfield, Massachusetts, in the 1920s. Although gas-powered tractors were widely available by then, many farmers continued to use their horses. The reaper pictured here follows a design from the 1880s, based on ideas first pioneered by Cyrus McCormick. It cuts grains, bundles using twine, and then the bundles are allowed to dry for a few days. Later, they will be threshed (a process that separates the seeds from the stalks).
Reaping Grain. Photograph. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1996-23-34/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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