Page "Reaper" Paragraph 26

Although the McCormick reaper was a revolutionary innovation for the harvesting of crops, it did not experience mainstream success and acceptance until at least 20 years after it was patented by Cyrus McCormick.

This was because the McCormick reaper lacked a quality unique to Obed Hussey ’ s reaper.

Hussey ’ s reaper used a sawlike cutter bar that cut stalks far more effectively than McCormick ’ s.

Only once Cyrus McCormick was able to acquire the rights to Hussey ’ s cutter-bar mechanism ( around 1850 ) did a truly revolutionary machine emerge.

Other factors in the gradual uptake of mechanized reaping included natural cultural conservatism among farmers ( proven tradition versus new and unknown machinery ); the poor state in which many new farm fields were in, including rocks, stumps, and uneven soil, which made the lifespan and operability of a reaping machine questionable ; and some amount of fearful Luddism among farmers that the machine would take away jobs, most especially among hired manual labourers.