Old Machinery: The Evolution of Prairie Management
Prior to the 1840s, farmers cut hay with a scythe or other hand-held tools. However, from the 1840s onward, and especially between 1875 and the 1950s, the first horse-drawn mowers emerged as "state of the art" machines for their time. At the Living Prairie Museum, the grasses are similar to those one would have seen on the site 150 years ago, and while at the time, bison would have clipped the grasses and trampled the soil, allowing the seeds to regenerate and to spread, today the horse-drawn mower is used instead, to simulate the role of the bison. While the mower can cut an acre per hour, the hooves of the horses trample the soil and the lugs on the wheels disturb the ground, triggering the scattering of seeds.