CLAY COUNTY THROUGH THE YEARS: The method of harvesting wheat in early Clay County

One crop that did well in Clay County was wheat. Harvesting wheat was done by cutting it using a reap hook; later a scythe was used, and even later a scythe and a cradle were used. The cradle scythe had an additional arrangement of fingers attached to the scythe to catch cut grain so that it could be cleanly laid down in a row with the grain heads aligned for collection and efficient threshing.