combine

combine, agricultural machine that performs both harvesting and threshing operations. Although it was not widely used until the 1930s, the combine was in existence as early as 1830. Early combines were traction-powered and drawn by horses, or later, driven by steam and internal-combustion engines. Self-propelled units appeared in the 1940s and have been adopted worldwide. Modern units feature dust-free, air-conditioned cabs and can handle more than 100 acres (41 hectares) of grain per day. Originally developed for cereal grains, the combine has been adapted to legumes, forage grasses, sorghum, and corn. The basic operations of a combine include cutting and gathering the standing crop, threshing the seed from the stem, separating the chaff, collecting the seed in a hopper for delivery to a truck, and returning the straw to the ground. The combine has replaced the reaper; the binder, which cut and bound a harvested crop into bundles ready for threshing; and the thresher.

Farm machine used, mainly in developed countries, to harvest wheat and often other cereals. The mechanical ancestor of today's large combines was Cyrus H. McCormick's reaper, introduced in 1831. Threshing machines were powered first by men or animals, often using treadmills, later by steam engines and internal-combustion engines. The modern combine harvester, originally introduced in California circa 1875, came into wide use in the U.S. in the 1920s and '30s and in Britain in the 1940s. The self-propelled combine was introduced in 1940. The combine cuts the standing grain, threshes out the grain from the straw and chaff, cleans the grain, and empties it into bags or grain-storage facilities. It has greatly reduced harvesting time and labour; whereas in 1829 harvesting an acre of wheat required 14 man-hours, the modern combine requires less than 30 minutes.

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Combine is a city in Dallas and Kaufman Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 1,788 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Combine is located at (32.588374, -96.515584).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.2 square miles (18.7 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,788 people, 590 households, and 523 families residing in the city. The population density was 248.1 people per square mile (95.7/km²). There were 622 housing units at an average density of 86.3/sq mi (33.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.35% White, 0.50% African American, 0.84% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 2.63% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.31% of the population.

There were 590 households out of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.9% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.2% were non-families. 9.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 104.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $59,926, and the median income for a family was $61,563. Males had a median income of $41,532 versus $28,583 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,610. About 3.0% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Combine is served by Crandall Independent School District and by Dallas Independent School District. The students in the Crandall portion are zoned to Crandall Elementary School, Crandall Intermediate School, L.F. Raynes Middle School, and Crandall High School. Crandall Elementary is in Crandall. Crandall Intermediate and Raynes Middle are within the city of Crandall. Crandall High is in Crandall. The students in the Dallas portion are zoned to attend Seagoville schools, which are part of the Dallas Independent School District.

References

External links

• The Suburbia News - Newspaper

• Handbook of Texas Online article on Combine