Union gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1899-1900, 1899-09-08
HARVEST YEARS AGO.
CHANGES IN METHODS SINCE
THE OLD TIMES.
The Grader and His Attendant Rak-
ers and Binders Half Century Back
Contest for Reputation in Wheat
Fie1d-Present-Day Harvesting.

One needs to be in reminiscent
mood before he can realize how fully
the wonderful changes that have taken
place In the method of harvesting in
the last fifty years. Our earliest recol-
lection Of the harvest field is during
the Mexican war, we believe In 1S47.
The wheat was then cut with cradle.
Three acres a day was a good days
work for one GRADER, and his wages
were from 81 to $1.25. Usually man
and boy took up," that is, raked and
bound, and their combined wages were
about the same as a Graders. Occa-
sionally man would follow" the era
die, that is, would bind all that the
GRADER would cut, but could do 1t only
by keeping up close SO that he would
take the last cut off the fingers of the
cradle. He usually received the same
pay as the GRADER. Then came the
shocking, and after that the raking of
the fields with a horse rake-a primi-
tive affair. revolving with wooden
teeth. The ''piece" was usually
brought out about 10 o'clock, together
with bucket of fresh water and gen.
orally something stronger. Dinner
came at noon, with an hours rest; sup
per at o'clock, and work ended at sun
down. The cost of harvesting under
those primitive conditions was as little
and less than it has been most of the
time until since the Introduction Of the
self f-binder.
Oats were cut rather green and al
lowed to lie two or three days in the
somewhat earlier they were allowed to
lie until after heavy rain, the reason
being that when thoroughly soaked
they tnreshed out more bushels than
when put up in good condition, the
sole market in that country, Western
Pennsylvania, before the advent of the
railroads, being at the taverns on the
turnpike, where they were sold by the
bushel and used for feeding the stock
which then travelled through to the
Eastern markets.
1t was great thing In those days
to have the reputation of being the best
GRADER, and many were the contests
between rivals to see who enjoyed the
honor. One OF these contests occurred
on the home farm. The field to be cut
down measured thirteen acres of only
moderately heavy but outstanding
wheat. It began early in the morning,
with two to follow each GRADER, of
whom the writer, then a boy of thir-
teen, was one. The day was hot. and
the race was continuous until nearly
sundown, when but an acre of the field
remained, and the owner came out and
peremptorily ordered the contest to
cease and every man to get out OF the
field. We remember distinctly that
the cut that day was 304 shocks of
twelve sheaves each. The winner
started In second. and, about O'Clock,
cut around the leader, and carried the
laurels for years afterwards. We were
as proud Of following that leader and
being up with him when ordered out
of the field as the modern boy is now
of being champion Of football.
How wonderfully times have chang
ed, when a bright boy Of fifteen years
old can go into similar field of wheat,
cut 1t down and gather it for shocking
in q single day, doing much better
work than could possibly have been
done under The old method. And yet
we believe harvesters enjoyed the old
method better than the new. My, what
feed they had in those days at harvest
time! What an appetite boy had for
fried spring chicken and custard pie!
And what blessed sleep came after a
days work in that harvest feld-Wal-
lace's Farmer.