Editing Baler (section)

==History==
Before the 19th century, hay was cut by hand and most typically stored in haystacks using hay forks to rake and gather the scythed grasses into optimally sized heaps{{Snd}}neither too large, promoting conditions favorable for [[spontaneous combustion]], nor too small, which would mean much of the pile is susceptible to rotting. These haystacks lifted most of the plant fibers up off the ground, letting air in and water drain out, so the grasses could dry and cure, to retain nutrition for livestock feed at a later time.

In the 1860s, mechanical cutting devices were developed; from these came modern devices including mechanical mowers and balers. In 1872, a reaper that used a knotter device to bundle and bind hay was invented by Charles Withington; this was commercialized in 1874 by [[Cyrus McCormick]].<ref name="bridon">Bridon Cordage, [http://www.bridoncordage.com/history_twine.html The role of twine in North American agriculture] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222125539/http://www.bridoncordage.com/history_twine.html |date=2012-02-22 }}" (accessed Jan 14, 2011)</ref> In 1936, Innes invented an automatic baler that tied bales with twine using Appleby-type knotters from a John Deere grain binder; in 1938, Edwin Nolt filed a patent<ref name="noltpatent">{{cite web|url=https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/c9/15/66/bf7e71e31d796f/US2236628.pdf|title=Means for Baling Material}}</ref> for an improved version that was more reliable.<ref name="bridon" />

The first round baler was probably invented in the late 19th century and one was shown in Paris by Pilter (as illustrated by Michael Williams in Steam Power in Agriculture: Blandford, 1977). This was a portable machine designed for use with threshing machines.{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}}