Editing Reaper-binder (section)

{{Short description|Harvesting machine}}
[[File:Corn harvesting - geograph.org.uk - 975983.jpg|thumb|A [[Massey-Harris]] reaper-binder pulled by a tractor ([[Rutland]], England, 2008)]]
[[File:Modern binder.jpg|thumb|A modern compact binder for rice (2006)]]
The '''reaper-binder''', or '''binder''', is a farm implement that improved upon the simple [[reaper]]. The binder was invented in 1872 by Charles Baxter Withington, a jeweler from Janesville, Wisconsin.<ref>Charles B. Withington, [http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=00123967&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect2%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526d%3DPALL%2526S1%3D0123967.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F123967%2526RS%3DPN%2F123967&PageNum=&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page "Improvement in grain-binders,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928193651/http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=00123967&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect2%3DPTO1%26Sect2%3DHITOFF%26p%3D1%26u%3D%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html%26r%3D1%26f%3DG%26l%3D50%26d%3DPALL%26S1%3D0123967.PN.%26OS%3DPN%2F123967%26RS%3DPN%2F123967&PageNum=&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page |date=2017-09-28 }} U.S. Patent no. 123,967 (issued:  February 20, 1872)</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author= George Iles |year = 1912 |edition= 2nd |title = Leading American Inventors |place =New York |publisher = Henry Holt and Company| url = https://archive.org/details/leadingamerican00ilesgoog |pages=[https://archive.org/details/leadingamerican00ilesgoog/page/n334 276]–314 |chapter= Cyrus H. McCormick }}</ref> In addition to cutting the small-grain crop, a binder also 'binds' the stems into bundles or [[wikt:sheaf|sheaves]]. These sheaves are usually then 'shocked' into A-shaped conical [[stook]]s, resembling small [[tipi]]s, to allow the grain to dry for several days before being picked up and [[Threshing|threshed]].

Withington's original binder used wire to tie the bundles. There were problems with using wire<ref>Sterling D. Evans, ''Bound in Twine: The history and ecology of the Henequen-Wheat Complex for Mexico and the American and Canadian Plains, 1880-1950'' (College Station, Texas:  Texas A&M University Press, 2007), [https://books.google.com/books?id=x1_5jJehZ0EC&pg=PA4 p. 4.]</ref> and it was not long before [[William Deering]] invented a binder that successfully used [[twine]] and a knotter (invented in 1858 by [[John Appleby (inventor)|John Appleby]]).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090210190717/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2884&keyword=appleby Appleby, John Francis 1840 - 1917<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Early binders were horse-drawn, their cutting and tying-mechanisms powered by a bull-wheel, that through the traction of being pulled forward creates rotational forces to operate the mechanical components of the machine. Later models were tractor-drawn and some were tractor-powered.  (This mechanical power transfer is commonly referred to as a [[Power take-off|PTO]] or power take-off device.) Binders have a reel and a [[mower|sickle bar]], like a modern grain head for a [[combine harvester]]. The cut stems fall onto a [[canvas]] bed which conveys the cut stems to the binding mechanism. This mechanism bundles the stems of grain and ties the bundle with string to form a sheaf. Once tied, the sheaf is discharged from the side of the binder, to be picked up by the 'stookers'.

With the replacement of the [[threshing machine]] by the [[combine harvester]], the binder has become almost obsolete. Some grain crops such as [[oat]]s are now cut and formed into [[windrow]]s with a [[swather]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/oats/oats-harvesting-swathing-and-grain-storage?page=0,1#smartpaging_toc_p1_s0_h2|title=Oats: harvesting, swathing and grain storage: Page 2 of 3|website=www.agric.wa.gov.au|language=en|access-date=2017-05-23}}</ref> With other grain crops, such as [[wheat]], the grain is now mostly cut and threshed by a combine in a single operation, but the much lighter binder is still in use in small fields or mountain areas too steep or inaccessible for heavy combines.

Reaper-binders were in wide use in the [[People's Republic of Poland]], but farmers often could not operate them due to shortages of twine and a lack of replacement parts. This was such a regular occurrence that baling twine ({{langx|pl|sznurek do snopowiązałki}}) remains a symbol of the dysfunction of the communist economy in the cultural memory of Poland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://to.com.pl/z-archiwum-to-sznurek-do-snopowiazalki-symbolem-socjalizmu/ar/6522438|title=Z archiwum TO: Sznurek do snopowiązałki symbolem socjalizmu|language=pl|publisher=Tygodnik Ostrołęcki|date=2013-07-24|accessdate=2020-04-12}}</ref>