276' Elementary Principles of Agriculture 



to be called tools, has made the modern farmer a 

 mechanic. Modern haying implements, consisting of 

 mowers, rakes, hay-loaders, stackers and presses, have 

 greatly reduced the hand work in hay-making. It has 

 been estimated that the farmer of 1850 spent eleven 

 hours in cutting and storing a ton of hay, while, under 

 modern methods, the time has been reduced to one hour 

 and thirty-nine minutes. There are machines for every 



Fig. 176. McCormick reaping machine, 1834. 



class of farm work : Threshing-machines for threshing 

 grain; shellers, for shelling corn from the cob; huskers 

 and shredders, for removing the ears from the corn- 

 stalk and converting the latter into palatable food for 

 farm animals, and many others. This is true to such an 

 extent that large farms have nearly as much invested 

 in machinery as some factories. Many forms of machinery 

 used on the farm require considerable power. Wind- 

 mills, gasoline engines, and even steam-engines, are not 



