The most labor-intensive work on an eighteenth century farm was the harvest. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, many attempts to mechanize the process of cutting the grain had been made. In 1826 Patrick Bell invented a cutting machine (which consisted of scissors pushed by horses) that achieved some success.
The mechanical reaper invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1831 and patented in 1834, which used the knife and cutter bar, achieved general popularity, especially after the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Mechanical reapers speeded the harvest and greatly reduced the number of laborers needed to cut the grain.
Farmers may improve Grain farms to Level III, producing four units of Grain per turn.
