The Mechanical Reaper
By: Nayelli and Madison
What is a mechanical reaper?
The mechanical reaper is a machine that farmers once used to harvest grain. With a reaper, farmers could harvest larger crops with fewer workers than ever before.
The Inventor
Several reapers were developed during the early 1800s. But none of them became commercially successful as the reaper was developed by an American inventor, Cyrus Hall McCormick.
About the reaper that was perfected
Cyrus's reaper had a straight blade linked by gears to a drive wheel. As the wheel turned the blade moved back and forth and sawed through the stalks of grain. Projecting rods caught and held the stalks while the blade cut through the grain.