HARVESTING} 91 



Ridley, an Englishman residing in Australia, invented a com- 

 bined harvester in 1845 which employed the principle of the 

 ancient machine of Gaul and attracted considerable attention. 

 This type of combined harvester, commonly known as the 

 " stripper, " is still used in Australia, and is especially adapted 

 to the dry harvest seasons prevalent in that country. Strip- 

 pers have been manufactured in Canada and in the United 

 States. They have been tried in California and Washington, 

 but the atmospheric conditions did not seem suited to them. 

 In Argentina, however, their introduction seems quite suc- 

 cessful. 



This machine strips the heads from the stalks of standing 

 wheat by means of a comb resembling the ordinary sickle guard 

 in appearance. Directly above the rear of the comb is a drum 

 about 18 inches in diameter in which works a rapidly revolving 

 beater which aids the comb in the decapitating process and fur- 

 nishes a draft which carries the heads up into the threshing 

 cylinder. This consists of teeth revolving within stationary 

 teeth, and the threshing is more of a rubbing than a battering 

 process. From the cylinder the grain and straw pass to the 

 sieves over a vibrating metal table. Imperfectly threshed 

 grains are returned to the cylinder. The straw and chaff is 

 discharged at the rear of the machine, and the winnowed grain 

 is carried to the top of the machine by a belt and cup ele- 

 vator. Here the grain is screened. The screenings and the 

 perfect grain pass to separate bins, from which they are bagged. 

 A receiving box drops the bags in piles of four or five. Some of 

 the machines discharge the straw and chaff under the middle 

 of the machine, and fill the bags automatically. 



The stripper can be used only in wheat that is ripe, dry, and 

 free from weeds, for otherwise the grain will not thresh clean 

 and the machine will clog. It is suited only to non-shattering 

 wheat, which is not lost in the operation of harvesting. The 

 expense of harvesting in this manner is estimated to be from 

 one-fifth to one-half that of binding and threshing wheat. With 

 a boy to ride the lead horse, one man can operate the machine, 

 and from four to seven horses can easily draw it. A machine 

 taking a five-foot swath will cover from 6 to 10 acres per day. 

 In 1902 the price of these machines was $750 gold in Argentina, 

 but it has since been reduced. 



