A grain cradle is a scythe with 4-5 wooden 'fingers' above the blade. Swing — wheat cuts and lands on fingers. Turn — neatly laid in a windrow. Two motions — sheaves ready.
Speed
Good reaper — 1 acre per day (4,000 m²). Combine — 50 acres. But a combine costs $500,000, burns diesel, breaks, and needs an operator. Cradle costs $100, needs one man with arms and a back, and never breaks.
Why Still
Small fields (5-15 acres). Combine doesn't pay off. And grain harvested by cradle isn't thresher-beaten — whole, clean. Flour from it is a different class.