Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1904-08-19
HARVESTING FIFTY YEARS AGO.

SNV UONs
HARVESTING FIFTY YEARS AGO,
An Interesting Sketch of Harv.
est Operations by the Editor
of Wallaces' Farmer.
It may possibly amuse the boys az
they lie in the shade for an hour after
dinner, and possibly refresh the mem
ories Of the old chaps a. to how the
thing was done when they were boys.
if we should tell them how harvesting
was done fifty or fifty.fve years ago.
The editor of Wallaces Farmer isn't
a very old man yet-at least he don't
feel very old-but when he first became
acquainted with harvesting operations
there was no such thing In his locality
az 3 binder or reaper or mower, not
even horse rake. except very incon-
venient wooden one which did not
always stay dumped when you dumped
1t and caused the small boy to think
things that he ought not to say.
In those early days considerable rye
was grown on the Pennsylvania farm
and We never thought Of cutting that
with anything else than the old fashion
ed sickle II looked like slow bust
meas and the boy Of to-day would make
slow business of it; but it was astonish-
ing how much rye or lodged oats or
wheat farmer could take up in . day
with his simple old.fashioned instru-
ment The swath was only two sickle
cuts wide. II was astonishing how
much Of sheaf q skillful man could
grasp in his left hand, rolling it around
while he cut 1t with his right, and then
it a. he went back to the point
from which he could cut to the greatest
The same method was ad-
opted in the down spots of wheat and
oats, and there were frequently q good
many Of them; sometimes. In fact, the
whole field.
We remember very we'll our last
harvest work on the old farm. There
was a field of very heavy oats which
was blown down by storm just be.
fore it was ripe. and as fiat as If roller
had passed over it. Unfortunately 1t
was blown down hill, 80 that boy
with long back had to stoop very low
from morning till night to take up these
lodged oats. When We were through,
with that we hung our sickle on the
fence and resolved that We would never
reap any harvest Of oats in that fashion
again, and we never did.
II any man wants to sweat at every
pore let him take sickle and take up
The down spots in field Of wheat that
will yield from twenty-five to thirty
i've bushels per acre. He was called
''gouger. and If any man in the field
earned his wages the ''gouger' did
The standing wheat was cut with
cradle when fully ripe and bound by
hand. A frst.class GRADER could cut
from three to FIVE acres day. The
best we ever knew was twelve.acre
cut on q wager by the two crack
cradlert in the whole neighborhood.
We shall never forget that days work,
for we were one Of the two that bound
up after the victor. Uncle Johnny
Wallace, as the neighbors called him,
came out to the field, from which he
had been driven by the hest, not being
8 man with very good health, but came
ont two or three times. and finally, half
an hour before sundown, ordered the
70 quit, with one acre left
In a thirteen field. Our share
Of the binding was ssventy.five dozen
that day, and we would hate to under.
take to bind half that much to-day.
Three acres, however, was an ordinary
days work, and the GRADER received In
those days Sl.25 per day.
If good enough man could be found
he took up" along after the GRADER.
By the way, the phrase good man.
meant in those days something different
from what i. does now. A good man..
was man who could cradle tie most
grain, or take up most successfully
after the GRADER, or make the most rails
with an axe, maui and wedge. We used
70 think that David had such man In
mind when he sang in the Psalms:
"A man was famous and was
In. estimation
According as be lifted up
His axe thick trees upon"
If man could be found good enough
% take up" after the GRADER he re.
,eiyed the same wages. It required.
an active man to do 1t. for he
must take the last cut of the three
necessary to make sheaf from the
ingers Of the cradle. not be compelled
% break the swath. It he got the least
behind it was impossible to catch up.
Ordinarily, however. q man and boy
took up" the man receiving IS censs
ind the boy so cents.