Wheat Fields

Оглавление

Joseph A. Byrne. Wheat Fields

INTRODUCTION

WHEAT FIELDS

THRESHING ALONG THE MIDDLE ROAD

CHANGING TIMES

COMING OF AGE

HEAVY WEATHER

A SELF-PROPELLED REVOLUTION

GOING WEST

THE POLITICS OF COMBINES

A COMBINE SALE

Отрывок из книги

On one level, Wheat Fields is a story about the social trauma of change, of revolution. In this case, it is the story of the changes brought on by the introduction of the mobile combine harvester. The combine would replace the stationary threshing machine, which had been in common usage on the farms for many years now. Threshing was the accepted means of harvesting wheat.

Replacement of the threshing machine also displaced the need for large workforces on the farms that, heretofore, were needed to harvest wheat. This displacement caused severe strain on the known and common practices of the farm, especially the need for large families to bring in the harvest. It also lessened the need for cooperation among farm neighbours who, heretofore, had to pool labour and help each other as a matter of survival.

.....

The old man did not reply. He merely continued with his examination of the threshing unit. It was Emus who was next to talk. “Tell us about it. Would you tell us how you started combining?”

The old man slowly moved along the side of the machine before sitting on the rim of one of the large tires. Beside him sat an ornery looking block of wood that the men had used earlier as a base for their jack. After sitting there a while, he said simply, “it is hot. If a little wind comes along, it might turn into a real good combining day.” Then he got to the heart of his thoughts. “I like the look of this machine,” he continued. “I like the simplicity of it. It reminds me of the old Massey Clipper. The Clipper was a simple pull-type combine, with few moving parts. When you went to the field with it, it worked, and it worked all day. It had a five-foot cut, and a threshing cylinder that was almost five feet wide as well. It had a straw walker system that made it very hard to plug.”

.....