422 FARM MACHINERY 
of Wisconsin completed the development of the twine binder, 
and in 1880 placed it on the market. This did away with 
hand labor entirely as far as the cutting and binding opera- 
tions are concerned. The binder, more than any other ma- 
chine, made the production of wheat possible on its present 
enormous scale. A man with this machine in the harvest 
field can do the work of seventy or eighty men in the days 
of the hand sickle. 
Other Machinery. — It is a long way from the hand sickle 
to the self-binder, and it is difficult to believe that we covered 
that distance so recently and in so short a space of time. 
During the early part of the same period the mower took 
the place of the scythe, the threshing machine took the place 
of the flail, the gang plow displaced the walking plow, the 
grain drill took the place of hand seeding, and the horse- 
drawn cultivator practically displaced the hoe. Even more 
recently most of the back-breaking work with the pitch- 
fork has been eliminated by the hay loader and hay stacker; 
the equally hard but necessary drudgery with the staple 
farm fertilizer has been abolished by the power fork and 
manure spreader; and the tedious work of corn husking 
has been taken over by the husker and shredder, which at 
the same time converts the coarse stalks into palatable feed 
for farm animals. 
Most of this machinery is usually operated by the muscular 
power of horses, but for some purposes it is more convenient 
or economical to use windmills, gas or steam engines, or 
electrical motors. The increasing employment of these farm 
motors is another evidence of the elimination of man power 
for the performance of hard physical labor, and it also re- 
lieves horses of some of their heaviest work. 
Women’s Work. — Women were our first farmers. Among 
