953 nut 55,189 #1 Posted March 22 The Threshing Bee Wheat and oat plants have a head of edible grain at the top of a long stem. After the grain is cut and dried, the seed heads must be removed from the stems. This is called threshing. Threshing on farms with small amounts of grain was done using a tool called a flail. A flail has a long handle connected to a short heavy club with a flexible joint. It is used to break the seed heads apart. Bundles of grain are laid on a tarp or a tight fitted floor and the heads are beaten with the flail. A man with a flail could thresh about 7 bushels (420 pounds) of wheat a day. When the threshing was completed, the straw was raked away and used as bedding. As farmers put more land into production and the size of wheat fields grew, cutting, binding, and threshing grains by hand was too slow. Between 1850 and 1900, harvesting equipment and methods changed and became more efficient. The grain cradle was replaced with the mechanical reaper–a horse-drawn machine that could harvest 10-12 acres a day! The threshing machine didn’t seem to take off after one core design breakthrough. There isn’t a single individual who is always called out as “the inventor of the threshing machine,” nor a single date, Instead it was a series of inventions across decades: Andrew Meikle built the first successful machine in Scotland in 1786, but Joseph Pope invented a popular one in the US in 1820. Joseph Pope contracted with an engine maker to be his manufacturer. From May through October 1823, the Philadelphia National Gazette ran advertisements stating that “Messrs. S. V. Merrick & Co. Engine Manufacturers, Philadelphia,” had been invested with the privilege of making and selling his machine; prospective customers were encouraged to “apply” to them to obtain one. The days of the standalone thrasher were short-lived. Larger thrashing machines incorporating fanning mills were soon gaining popularity. By 1900, threshing machines had increased in size and were powered by steam engines instead of horses. Neighbors often went together to buy a thrasher and held trashing Bees where everyone helped out or they would hire engine crews and threshing machines to share costs. Because of these changes, the labor required to harvest of grain dropped from 23 hours per acre in 1850 to 8 hours in 1900. Modern combines thrash grains in minutes. 5 6 3 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
