Then we raked up every straggling blade, till the whole field was a clean floor for the Tedding and the carrying of the hay next morning.
"Hills and the Sea"
H. Belloc
Though the hay-Tedding machine was invented in 1814 it is only during the last thirty years that its use has become common, the spread of the mowing machine making it a necessity, cutting the grass so fast that only a very large number of men with the old forks could keep up with it.
"A Short History of English Agriculture"
W. H. R. Curtler