Editing Reaper (section)

==Hand reaping==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H0813-0600-035, bei Oranienburg, Roggenfeld wird mit Sense gemäht.jpg|thumb|A reaper cutting [[rye]] in Germany in 1949]]

Hand reaping is done by various means, including plucking the ears of grains directly by hand, cutting the grain stalks with a [[sickle]], cutting them with a [[scythe]], or a scythe fitted with a [[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 [[cereal]]s. The stiffer, dryer [[straw]] of the cereal plants and the greener grasses for hay usually demand different blades on the machines.<ref> Reuben Gold Thwaites, "Cyrus Hall McCormick and the reaper" (1909)  pp 237–239.</ref><ref>Gould P.  Colman, "Innovation and Diffusion in Agriculture," ''Agricultural History" (1968) 42#3 pp,173-187.</ref><ref>"International Harvester presents The Romance of the Reaper" (25 minute B&W sound film, 1937) [https://archive.org/details/10604-the-romance-of-the-reaper-vwr online]; demonstrates pre-machine reaping procedures by hand.</ref>

The reaped grain stalks are gathered into [[sheaf (agriculture)|sheaves]] (bunches), tied with string or with a twist of straw.  Several sheaves are then leant against each other with the ears off the ground to dry out, forming a [[stook]].  After drying, the sheaves are gathered from the field and stacked, being placed with the ears inwards, then covered with [[thatch]] or a [[tarpaulin]]; this is called a ''stack'' or ''rick''.  In the [[British Isles]] a rick of sheaves is traditionally called a ''corn rick'', to distinguish it from a ''hay rick'' ("corn" in [[British English]] retains its older [[word sense|sense]] of "[[grain]]" generally, not "[[maize]]").  Ricks are made in an area inaccessible to livestock, called a ''rick-yard'' or ''stack-yard''.  The corn-rick is later broken down and the sheaves [[threshing|threshed]] to separate the grain from the straw.  Collecting spilt grain from the field after reaping is called ''[[gleaning]]'', and is traditionally done either by hand, or by penning animals such as [[chicken]]s or [[pig]]s onto the field. 

Hand reaping is now rarely done in industrialized countries, but is still the normal method where machines are unavailable or where access for them is limited (such as on narrow terraces).