The Combine Harvester
Prior to the combine harvester, agriculture was limited by manpower. People had to sow and harvest the crop, hence the great demand for slave labor. The combine harvester revolutionized the system by using one machine to harvest, thresh, and clean grain all in one pass over the field. This eliminated manpower as the limiting factor of agriculture, allowing farms to grow much larger (Bolich).
Cyrus Hall McCormick invented the first combine harvester, designed for corn, in 1831 (Cornways). Many comparable machines were then invented to do the same process for all types of crops. The primitive models were horse-drawn, but soon people developed steam engine driven models to further increase productivity (Cornways). This increased yield, as well as the advances in transportation and refrigeration, allowed plantations to provide crops to very expansive areas relatively easily, paving the way for the modern system where crops essentially ship all over the country.
Cyrus Hall McCormick invented the first combine harvester, designed for corn, in 1831 (Cornways). Many comparable machines were then invented to do the same process for all types of crops. The primitive models were horse-drawn, but soon people developed steam engine driven models to further increase productivity (Cornways). This increased yield, as well as the advances in transportation and refrigeration, allowed plantations to provide crops to very expansive areas relatively easily, paving the way for the modern system where crops essentially ship all over the country.
Sources:
Bolich, S. The History of the Combine Harvester. eHow. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5006941_history-combine-harvester.html
Cornways – The history of combine harvesters. CORNWAYS – The history of combine harvesters. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.cornways.com/hi_combine.html
Bolich, S. The History of the Combine Harvester. eHow. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5006941_history-combine-harvester.html
Cornways – The history of combine harvesters. CORNWAYS – The history of combine harvesters. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.cornways.com/hi_combine.html