1-154-882 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Bell's improved reaping machine by Crosskill, c1840s. A farmer operates the machine by guiding two horses behind which push the harvester forward. This machine designed by Patrick Bell (1799- 1869), was one of the first practical reaping machines to incorporate features that are still seen on modern combine harvesters. Bell and Cyrus McCormick both put reaping machines into the Great Exhibition (1851), they helped lead to the widespread acceptance of mechanised reaping in England.