Editing Fresno scraper (section)

== History ==

The Fresno scraper was invented in 1883 by [[James Porteous]]. Working with farmers in [[Fresno, California]], he had recognised the dependence of the Central San Joaquin Valley on [[irrigation]], and the need for a more efficient means of constructing canals and ditches in the [[sand]]y [[soil]]. In perfecting the design of his machine, Porteous made several revisions on his own and also traded ideas with  [[William Deidrick]], [[Frank Dusy]], and [[Abijah McCall]], who invented and held patents on similar scrapers. Porteous bought the patents held by Deidrick, Dusy, and McCall, gaining sole rights to the Fresno Scraper.

Prior scrapers pushed the soil ahead of them, while the Fresno scraper lifted it into a C-shaped bowl where it could be dragged along with much less friction.  By lifting the handle, the operator could cause the scraper to bite deeper.  Once soil was gathered, the handle could be lowered to raise the blade off the ground so it could be dragged to a low spot, and dumped by raising the handle very high.