Daniel Thayer of Ludlowville invented the first mowing machine which he called the "Meadow King". He sold all the rights to the Gregg firm in Trumansburg for $10,000. His mower soon came into the possession of the McCormicks who put it on the market under their name and made a fortune from the sales. One reason the McCormicks were so successful in selling the mower is that they lived in an area of large flat fields where the mower worked at its greatest efficiency. In the smaller, hilly fields of this area it was often more efficient to mow by hand. Many hands made light work, with the farmers gathering at each other's farms to make teams of mowers across the field. There is a counting song from that time: "One man, two men came to mow the meadow. Three men, four men came to mow the hay. They mowed the hay and took it away on a beautiful summer's day. Five men, six men came to mow the meadow, seven men, eight men came to mow the hay."etc. When one got to a high enough number, the song reversed the numbers. It was fun to count backwards from 10 men or more. "ten and nine and eight and seven and six and five and four and three and two and one" and take a big breath to finish the song."They mowed the hay and took it away on a beautiful summer's day."
