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which have a practical use and value under conditions similar to those which existed on the plains of Gaul. Toward the close of the eighteenth century, the social, economic and agricultural conditions in England, on account of increasing competition and the higher value of labor, were ripe for the movement of invention that was heralded by the printed account of the Gallic header. The first header was constructed by William Pitt in 1786. It was an attempted improvement on the ancient machine in that the stripping teeth were placed in a cylinder which was revolved by power transmitted from the wheels. This "rippling cylinder" carried the heads of wheat into the box of the machine, and gradually evolved into the present day reel.

Nearly all of the principles involved in the header seem to have been developed mainly in connection with other machines, such as the reaper and combined harvester, in connection with which they will be discussed. Before 1823 only four inventors of harvesting machinery placed the power in front of the machine. This involves either a side cut or driving the power through the grain. On account of the great width of cut in the header the side cut would give great side draft, and as there is nothing to counterbalance this, all headers are propelled in front of the power. Omitting minor details, the evolution of the header was completed in Haines' celebrated machine of 1849, which was widely known as the "Haines Illinois harvester." It was thoroughly successful, and was practically the same as the machine of today.

The modern header has a cutter with a reciprocating and advancing rectilinear motion; the reel brings the grain upon a traveling canvas apron which delivers it to an elevating apron on one side, and this in turn discharges it into the header-box placed upon a wagon driven along with the machine; it has a swiveled steering wheel, operated by a suitable tiller; and an evener, to which the four or six animals are hitched, is pivoted forward of the steering whcel. The header ordinarily clips the stalks a few inches below the heads of the grain, but it can be run very low for lodged or short grain. It saves binding and shocking, but it is essential for the wheat to be dry before it is cut, as it must immediately be either threshed or stacked. If slightly damp, green, or weedy, it cannot be threshed at once,

and may stack-burn if stacked. This confines the use of the header largely to the western part of the United States, where peculiar conditions exist which make it possible to let wheat ripen completely without much danger of loss, though the machine is used to some extent in the Mississippi valley. Some wheat growers cut with binders until the grain is ripe, and then use the header. It cuts from 12 to 20 feet in width, and from 15 to 50 acres a day. In Washington three headers and one threshing machine usually work together. From 50 to 75 acres a day are thus harvested. Three header-boxes, or barges, are usually used with one header. These are often unloaded at the stack or machine by horse power. A peculiarly arranged netting is laid in the box, and by means of ropes and a derrick the whole load is hoisted to the stack or feeder.

The header was used very extensively on the Pacific coast before the combined harvester came in use. Sixteen-foot headers drawn by six mules were used. The grain was usually threshed as fast as it was headed. The ordinary crew for a 44-inch cylinder thresher and 26-horse-power engine was as follows: Seven headers operated by 42 animals and 14 men; 21 header-boxes, requiring 42 animals and 21 men; and at the machine there were 11 animals and 32 men; this made a total of 95 animals and 67 men. In 1880 such an outfit averaged 3,800 bushels per day in California. Many headers are in use in South America, and a machine similar to an American header is also being used in Russia. The stripping header is still used in Australia. About 20 per cent of the headers manufactured in the United States are sold in foreign countries.

The Reaper. Under the reaper are included all machines designed to cut the grain and gather it in bunches, gavels, or rows. While the header was the first harvesting machine that was invented, it was not the subject of so many improvements, nor did it have, in modern times, such wide and early practical utility as the reaper. The ingenuity of man is well shown by the numerous devices that were invented to accomplish the two objects of the reaper. Nearly all of these inventions were made in England. Two forms of motion were utilized in cutting the grain, circular and rectilinear. Both forms shared the continuous advancing motion of the machine to which they were fastened. The type now universally used, except in stripping

headers, is acciprocating rectilinear motion. As perfected, this type involves the principles of both the saw and the shears.

In Pitt's "rippling cylinder" were combined the first use of the circular motion, the first forerunner of the reel, and the first utilization of the principle involved in transmitting power from the wheels of the machine to operate some of its parts. The latter principle has been utilized in practically all harvesting machines ever built, excepting some of the combined harvesters constructed since 1903. Some form of the reel is also found on every harvesting machine which has had any success. In consideration of these facts, Pitt's name holds high rank among inventors of harvesting machinery.

The first patent on a reaping machine was granted in England to Joseph Boyce in 1799. Its only title to fame is priority.

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A year later an unsuccessful attempt was made to adopt shears as a cutting apparatus. This machine was unique in being operated by human power. Outside and inside dividers to separate the swath from the grain left standing, now found on all harvesting machines, were apparently first used in 1805. With Gladstone's machine (1806), the first to be drawn instead of pushed, appeared the side cut and the platform upon which the severed grain falls. Salmon (1808) first utilized the reciprocating cutter combined with the advancing motion of the machine. His reaper was also the first to have a self-delivering apparatus for the grain. Dobbs, a theatrical genius, invented a reaper (1841) and introduced it to the public in a play adapt

ed to this purpose. The stage was planted with wheat which was harvested by the machine during the course of the play. While English genius invented the essential contrivances of the reaper, American ingenuity must in the main be accredited with the rapid perfection of the machine for practical use. The first patent issued in the United States on an invention in this line was in 1803. The inventions of Hussey and McCormick çame before 1835. McCormick's machine (patented 1834) was first used in the harvest of 1831. It was drawn by one horse, and seems to have possessed in crude form all of the essentials

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of a modern reaper. The grain was raked from the platform by a man walking behind the machine. Developing the reaper of today consisted solely in perfecting contrivances for utilizing the principles already discovered. The devices for automatically removing the grain from the platform were many, and they varied greatly in principle and crudeness. The revolving vane, the first form of which was invented by Hoffhein (1852), finally became established as the most advantageous method.

The reaper was virtually perfected by 1865, but in the United States other forms of harvesting machines soon entirely supplanted it in cutting wheat. It is widely used in Europe at

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