Farmers of the late 1800's learned that ground bones were an excellent supplement to the diet of their laying hens, since the extra calcium meant better eggs with harder shells. These machines enjoyed brief popularity until oyster shells and similar products became available on a commercial basis.

The Mann's Bone Cutter is unique in that it utilizes an automatic, self-governing feed. The feed rate can be adjusted to match the strength of the operator. This bone cutter was manufactured circa 1890.