"I am proud," said the old man, "to have a son who can do what I failed to do." This McCormick reaper dates from 1831; but it represented merely the beginnings of the modern machine.

It performed only a single function; it simply cut the crop.

When its sliding blade had performed this task, the grain fell back upon a platform, and a farm hand, walking alongside, raked this off upon the ground.

A number of human harvesters followed, picked up the bundles, and tied a few strips of grain around them, making the sheaf.

The work was exceedingly wearying and particularly hard upon the women who were frequently impressed into service as farm-hands.