Reaper 360310 225386846 2008-07-13T12:10:27Z 90.230.56.125 {{Otheruses4|the person or machine related to farming|the television series|Reaper (TV series)}} {{otheruses}} [[Image:Agriculture 2.jpg|thumb|Mechanical reaper]] A '''reaper''' is a person (or machine) who reaps, or harvests (This can also mean reaper of souls, the harvester of souls..) (cuts and gathers) [[crop (agriculture)|crops]] when they are ripe. ==Hand reaping== Hand reaping is done by various means, including plucking the ears of grain directly by hand, cutting the grain stalks with a [[sickle]], cutting them with a [[scythe]], or with a later type of scythe called a [[Cradle (grain)|cradle]]. Reaping is usually distinguished from ''[[Mower|mowing]]'', which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for cutting grass for hay, rather than reaping crops. Reaped grain stalks tied together in a bunch is called a ''sheaf'' (plural ''sheafs'' or ''sheaves''), and several of these may be stood together to dry out with the ears off the ground, forming ''stooks''. A stack of sheaves may be stored for winter [[threshing]], the sheaves being placed with the ears inwards, then covered with [[thatch]] or a [[tarpaulin]]; this is called a ''stack'' or ''rick'' (in the [[British Isles]], where "[[corn]]" traditionally means "[[grain]]", normally ''corn-rick'', to distinguish it from a ''hay rick''). Ricks would be made in an area inaccessible to livestock, called a ''rick-yard'' or ''stack-yard''. Collecting spilt grain from the field after reaping is called [[gleaning]], and was traditionally done either by hand, or by penning animals such as [[chicken]]s on the field. ==Mechanical reaping== A '''mechanical reaper''' or '''reaping machine''' is a mechanical, semi-automated device, a [[machine]] that reaps. The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] invented a simple mechanical reaper that cut the [[ear (botany)|ears]] without the [[straw]] and was pushed by [[oxen]] ([[Pliny the Elder]] ''Nat. His. 18,296''). This device was forgotten in the [[Dark Ages]], during which period reapers reverted to using [[scythe]]s and [[sickles]] to gather crops. A much more sophisticated mechanical reaper was invented in 1831 in Union Bridge, Maryland, and patented by [[Cyrus McCormick]] in 1834 as a [[horse]]-drawn farm implement to cut small [[cereal|grain]] crops. It developed into and was replaced by the reaper-[[binder]], which was in turn replaced by the [[swather]] and eventually the [[combine harvester]]. ==See also== *[[Harvesting]] *[[Combine harvester]] *[[Museum of Scottish Country Life]] *[[Death (personification)]] (the "Grim Reaper") *[[Grim Reaper (disambiguation)]] ==External links== * {{US patent|X8277}} ''Reaper'': C. H. McCormick * [http://www.gnrtr.com/tendencies/en/t08.html Gallo-Roman reaper] {{Agri-stub}} [[Category:Agricultural machinery]] [[de:Balkenmäher]]