The Flail and Threshing

Casey Quinn '10

Food for Thought seminar, Fall 2008

      Grains are a major source of carbohydrates in the western diet and consequently large contributors to human caloric intake of us! However, few people are likely to be cognizant of the process wheat and other cereal products undergo before reaching their tables. While grain is now processed using a threshing machine, historically the threshing of wheat and other cereals was a laborious process. The structure of wheatheads and other grains made the farmers’ work painstaking, and following the harvest in the fall, farmers spent a large amount of their wintertime in the barn threshing. The hard outer covering of the wheatheads led farmers to constantly innovate and evolve means of threshing throughout history. 
The grain must be separated from its protective casing, which is attached to the rachis or central axis of the seed head. The dry casing surrounding the grain is known as the chaff, while the edible part is the grain. The process through which grain was prepared for the market was twofold: first, the grain needed to be separated from the head, and second, further separation of chaff and grain was needed through the harnessing of wind as a means to carry away the lighter chaff. The first of these processes is called threshing, which before the 19th century would be carried out either by wooden flail, threshing sledge or trampling.

The flail is comprised of two pieces connected by a short chain or leather band. The longer of the two sticks would be held and swung causing the other shorter stick to strike a pile of stalks and thereby releasing the kernels from the heads. The threshing sledge or board is an ancient agricultural tool with a rich history; the Bible makes numerous references to it, and it has been found at many Neolithic archeological sites. The sledge would be made from a thick board to which razor-like blades would be attached. Instead of beating the grain, the sledge would be driven over the stalks to loosen the chaff. Another means of threshing would be to have oxen and donkeys trample the stalks. Before the invention of the thresher combine, the threshing of grains occurred using these three methods.

    Before the kernels could be threshed, the stalks needed to be dried then placed upon a smooth clean surface known as a threshing floor. Farmers would then implement one of the three methods mentioned above to loosen the kernels. Once the farmers had threshed the kernels from their husks or heads, they placed them in either a blanket or basket to be winnowed. Farmers would then toss the kernels and whatever remaining chaff there was into the air and let the breeze carry away the lighter chaff, while the heavier grain would fall back . This process of further separation by wind was known as winnowing. After finally separating the grain, farmers could either sell the grain at the market or take it to a mill to be ground into grist or flour.  Manual threshing and winnowing were time- and labor-intensive activities, and often the wintertime functioned as a farmer’s time to thresh the crops that had been harvested. However, with the invention of thresher combines, grains are now substantially easier to process.

      While today it may seem only logical to use machines in harvesting grains, knowledge of the historic methods of threshing should cause people to develop respect for the blood, sweat and tears their farmer ancestors poured into their vocation. In an age where agribusiness and consumerism are prevalent and have replaced labor-intensive practices of old with industrialized methods, one might come to see how hard work has been replaced by technical efficiency. At the very least, we should admire our ancestors! 
     

“Farming in the Past.” Agricultural History 32.3 (1958): 198-199
Canada Agriculture Museum 2008. Canada Agriculture Museum. 7 November 2008 <http://agriculture.technomuses.ca/english/indexhpnagr.cfm>
Loehr, Rodney. “ Farmers' Diaries: Their Interest and Value as Historical Sources.” Agricultural History 12.4 (1938):313-325