self-eak:i]S"G eeapees. 



161 



Reapers, as usually made, require another man besides the 

 driver, to rake off the bunches of cut grain, which is se- 

 vere labor. Various self-raking contrivances have been 

 used to obviate this labor, several of which have been 

 made to do excellent work, and are coming into general 

 use. 



One of the first successful self-raking attachments to 

 the reaper was tliat used by Seymour & Morgan, of 

 Brockport, ^N". Y. It was one of the kind which sweeps 

 across the platform, in the arc of a circle, delivering the 

 gavel at the side of the machine. The ordinary reel is 

 used with this class of rakes. An objection to them is, 

 that the grain is seized for throwing off at a point behind 

 the cutters. Owen Dorsey introduced an improvement in 

 the form of what are termed reel-rakes, which strike the 

 grain forward of the cutters. A series of sweeps or 

 beaters were employed, combined with one or more rakes, 

 the gavel being delivered from the platform at each cir- 

 cuit of the rake. At first, the horizontal motion of these 



arms prevented the 

 driver from riding 

 on the machine. An 

 improvement was ef- 

 fected, so that the 



The Kirby Self-raher. 



arms and rakes, after 

 passing the platform, 

 were made to rise to 

 a nearly vertical posi- 

 tion, thus passing the 

 driver freely. The 

 accompanying engraving, (fig. 179) representing the self- 

 raker used on the Kirby machine, shows the position of 

 the arms when in motion one of them serving as a rake 

 at each revolution. There are several modifications of 

 this class of rakes, made by different inventors. MarsfCs 

 machine consists of beaters and rakes combined, and de- 



