Grain Binder
After the grain has reached maturity in the late summer, it needs
to be harvested so that it can be sold by the farmer. There are several
implements that can be used to harvest grain, one of which is a grain
binder. Typically, grain binders were most common in the humid Midwest
where the grain dried unevenly, and it was necessary to have additional
drying before it was threshed. Early grain binders were all ground-driven and pulled by a team of horses around the field. As the horses
pulled the grain binder forward, the driving wheel was rotated, which
powered the sickle and reel of the grain binder. As the reel rotated,
it bent the grain stalks inward towards the sickle, and the sickle
cut the grain stalks off a few inches above the ground. A cloth canvas
then conveyed the grain to a gear driven knotter which tied several
stalks together into a small bundle. After the grain bundle was tied,
it slid onto the bundle carrier, and was dropped onto the field. Following
close behind, field workers picked up the tied grain bundles and
placed several of them together to form a small tipi, which was called
a "shock." The grain bundles were placed in shocks so that the unripened
grain would have a chance to dry, and so that they would easily shed
water if they were rained on.