THRESHING MACHINERY 



205 



were Hiram A. and John A. Pitts, of Winthrop, Maine. A patent 

 was granted to them December 29, 1837, on a thresher, the first 

 of the "endless apron" type. This machine was made not only 

 to thresh the grain, but to separate it from the straw and the 

 chaff. Although this machine as constructed by the Pitts 

 brothers was different from the modern separator, it contained 

 many of the essential features. It had but a single apron. The 

 tailings elevator returned the tailings behind the cylinder over 



FIG. 155 THRESHING MACHINE OF 1867 



the sieves to be recleaned, instead of into the cylinder, as now 

 arranged. 



In the Twelfth Census Report, the following statement is 

 made : "The first noteworthy threshing or separating machine 

 invented in the United States which was noticeable was that of 

 Hiram A. and John A. Pitts, of Winthrop, Maine, and may be 

 said to be the prototype of the machines used at the present 

 time." 



The first machines and horse powers to drive them were 

 satisfactory. The machine was finally made so it could be loaded 

 on trucks, transported from place to place, and set by removing 

 the trucks and staking to the ground. This type of machine 

 received the name of "groundhog thresher." Later the machines 



