. Bulletin. 1901-13. Agriculture; Agriculture. Fig. 2.—Hand bhiegrass stripper. METHODS—KINDS OF STRIPPERS. The bluegrass seed is harvested both b}^ hand and by horsepower machines. When Kentucky bluegrass seed was first collected, it was stripped otf by hand and rubbed through sieves to clean it. At this time there was scarceh' an}^ demand for the seed, and the amount saved was consequently very small. The first improvement was what is known as the hard stripper (fig. 2), which soon ])ecame generall}^ used. This stripper consists of a comb made of long, flat teeth set close to- gether on the
. Bulletin. 1901-13. Agriculture; Agriculture. Fig. 2.—Hand bhiegrass stripper. METHODS—KINDS OF STRIPPERS. The bluegrass seed is harvested both b}^ hand and by horsepower machines. When Kentucky bluegrass seed was first collected, it was stripped otf by hand and rubbed through sieves to clean it. At this time there was scarceh' an}^ demand for the seed, and the amount saved was consequently very small. The first improvement was what is known as the hard stripper (fig. 2), which soon ])ecame generall}^ used. This stripper consists of a comb made of long, flat teeth set close to- gether on the front edge of a small scoop- like box. The stripper is held in one hand and swung through the l)luegrass (PL III. fig. 1) and with a dexterous twist is brought up again so that the seed stripped off falls to the rear part of the scoop. It is still used b}^ colored men, women, and children to gather seed along the roadsides, in waste places, and in fields whose owners do not themselves intend to harvest the seed. The seed gathered b}^ hand is brought to the buyers in lots of 1 bushel or more and was formerly the best in the market, but since the industr}^ has been more fully developed the horse machines gather all of the best of the crop and leave little of good quality to be gathered liy liand. The horsepower machines are of three kinds. The oldest and most commonly used is the comlj stripper (PI. IV, fig. 1), which consists of a platform hung on wheels and armed in front with a heavy steel comb, similar to that used in the hand stripper. The upper surface of this comb is smooth, and when harvesting a laborer kneels on the platform and cuts oft' the panicles as they are caught by the comli. For this he uses a broad, flat knife (fig. 3), which is passed back and forth over the comb. The stripper, which takes a breadth of between 5 and 6 feet, is drawn b}' one mule and has arrangements for raising and lowering the platform so as to accommo- date it to the height of the grass.
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