For the forty years succeeding the Civil War the manufacture of harvesting machinery was a business in which many engaged, but in which few survived. The wildest competition ruthlessly destroyed all but half a dozen powerful firms.

南北战争后的四十年里，收割机械的制造是一项许多人从事的行业，但幸存下来的人寥寥无几。最激烈的竞争无情地摧毁了除了六家强大的公司之外的所有公司。