Reaper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Reaper (disambiguation).
The reaper was a horse-drawn farm implement invented in 1831 and patented by Cyrus McCormick in 1834 to cut small grain crops. It was made obsolete by the binder and later the swather. The mechanical reaper replaced the manual cutting of the crop with scythes and sickles. The Romans had invented a simple mechanical reaper that cut the ears without the straw and was pushed by oxen (Pliny the Elder Nat. His. 18,296). This was forgotten in the Dark Ages.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- U.S. Patent X8277 Reaper: C. H. McCormick
- Gallo-Roman reaper
