Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 9).djvu/47

 doubt if the one that I have just seen is of the best construction.

After the crop is cut, the swath is collected by the hand, and tied into sheaves; a small quantity of stalks still remain scattered over the surface, {17} these are commonly collected by the hand-rake. To facilitate the latter part of the process, a horse rake has been recently invented; of which the following figure is a representation.

AB is a beam about six inches square, and about twelve feet long. CD is an upright rail that prevents the stalks accumulated by the machine from falling over the beam AB, and so left behind. EF, ef, are two supports to the rail, which also serve as handles for steering, and occasionally upsetting the machine. ABHG is a tire of wooden teeth, one and a half inches diameter, and about six inches distant from one another. These teeth are sharpened at their extremities, and skim along the ground with their points forward; raising up and collecting the stalks.