Machines that helped change the American farm scene are featured
in an exhibition open through November 1 at the National Museum of
American History, part of the. Smithsonian Institution, at
Washington, D.C.
Many of the items displayed in ‘The Changing American
Farm’ exhibit are familiar to IMA readers. Some of our
were handed down from their forebears and all are young enough to
have seen the development of the gigantic new machines that are in
use today.
The show commemorates the 150th anniversary of the invention of
the reaper in Virginia by Cyrus McCormick. A grant from
International Harvester made the show possible.
‘Ever since John Deere introduced his ‘singing
plow,’ which has boosted plowing capability by a factor of 10,
American farming has undergone a tremendous growth and change,’
says John T. Schle-becker, curator who organized the exhibition.
The ‘singing plow’ name was given the Deere invention
because it seemed to hum as it sped across the prairie.
McCormick’s 1831 reaper could harvest 8 acres a day; an
International Harvester Axial-Flow combine can harvest 100 acres of
wheat in one day, or 50 acres of corn.
Near the exhibition, on the same floor, are additional examples
of farm machinery. One of these is a Huber steam traction engine,
donated to the Smithsonian several years ago by the A. F. Brandt
family of Bainbridge, Pennsylvania.
The catalog, written by Schlebecker, is a valuable record of
farm progress, with many illustrations. It can be obtained for
$1.50 postpaid from Steam gas Publishing Company, Box 328,
Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603.
