As early as 1810, the potential uses for steam traction had been envisaged. By 1850, steam ploughing was a practicality but the horse-drawn plough continued until its final replacement by the tractor during the late 1940's.

In 1935, the delivery of a brand new tractor to a farm was an exciting event and although there was still much to be done by hand, at least the ploughing was made easier.

Image courtesy of Rural History Centre, University of Reading	A single furrow pass in 1931 becomes a nine furrow pass by 1991.
[John Gresham on the new tractor]

Between 1830 and 1930, many wonderfully imaginative and creative machines were developed; primarily to harvest cereal crops.

The next task was to 'thresh' ( that is: remove) the grain from the corn stalks...

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