Scottish agricultural implement makers

Alexander Shanks started his business in 1804. By two years later he had patented his first lawn mower’ lawn-mowers were to be closely associated with the Shanks name for made decades afterwards.

Alexander Shanks & Son was established in 1840 to manufacture steam engines, iron bridges and steam cranes. By 1849 the company described itself as “Alexander Shanks & Son, machine makers, Ogilvie Place, Arbroath”. It was to change its address a few years later in 1853 when it moved to Dens Iron Works where it remained until its closure well into the second half of the twentieth century. It was one of the earliest Scottish agricultural implement and machine makers to become a company limited by guarantee, which it did so by 1893.

The company was a forward and outward looking one. It was one of the few Scottish agricultural implement makers to have an address in London: it opened its Leadenhall Street office around 1860 (later Cannon Street by 1893). It also had a number of representatives, including J. C. Soutar, Uddingston, by 1904. It sold its manufactures around the globe.

In Scotland the company attended the Highland Show from 1852 until 1962. The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland gave it a commended award for its mowing and rolling machines at the show of 1859.

James Shanks had a number of patents, especially before 1878. These included:

1147 of 21 May 1855, to James Shanks, machinist, Arbroath, for an invention of ‘improvements in mowing machines’
1700 of 19 July 1859 to James Shanks, machinist, Arbroath, for an invention of ‘improvements in mowing machines’
3031 of 10 November 1862 to James Shanks, machinist, Arbroath, for the invention of ‘improvements in mowing machines’
1185 of 11 May 1863, to James Shanks, machinist, Arbroath, for the invention of ‘improvments in machinery for cutting or shearing the edges of grass or turf’
1185 of 11 May 1863, to James Shanks, machinist, Arbroath, for the invention of ‘improvements in machinery for cutting or shearing the edges of grass or turf’
982 of 2 April 1867, to James Shanks, Arbroath, for the invention of ‘improvements in cutting the hair of horses or other animals, and in the machinery or apparatus employed therefore’
2315 of 12 August 1867, to James Shanks, Arbroath, and John Cargill, Leadenhall Street, London, for the invention of ‘improvements in lawn mowing machines’
1517 of 25 May 1870 to James Shanks, Arbroath, for an invention of ‘improvements in wheels for traction steam engines and other heavy vehicles’
2869 of 30 August 1873 to James Shanks of Alexander Shanks and Son, Arbroath, and John Thyne, Arbroath, Manager to Alexander Shanks and Son, for the invention of ‘improvements in steam boilers’
631 of 16 February 1876, to James Shanks, for the invention of ‘improvements in portable steam cranes’
694 of 20 February 1877 to James Shanks and James Gordon Lyon, Forfar, for the invention of ‘improvements in machines for clipping the edges of turf on lawns, pleasure grounds, verges, and such like’
3237 of 25 August 1877 to James Shanks and James Gordon Lyon, Arbroath, for the improvement of ‘improvements in steam engines’
3237 of 25 August 1877 to James Shanks and James Gordon Lyon, Arbroath, for the invention of ‘improvements in steam engines’
2487 of 22 June 1878 to James Shanks and James Gordon Lyon, Arbroath, for the invention of ‘improvements in governors for motive-power engines’ )
4219 of 22 October 1878 to James Shanks and James Gordon Lyon, Arbroath, for the invention of ‘improvements in machinery or apparatus for excavating’.

The company made a wide range of lawn mowers. In 1910 it exhibited at the Highland Show the following models: petrol motor lawn mower, “Triumph” horse mower, for golf course, “Caledonia” lawn mower, standard gear lawn mower, “Talisman” lawn mower, “Britannia” lawn mower, “Britisher” lawn mower, and “pony” lawn mower. It also sold a selection of malleable castings for agricultural engineers, millwrights, coach builders, cartwrights, motor car builders, shipbuilders and machinists.

It also sold a range of oil engines. In 1910 they included a 2bhp, a 5 bhp, an 8 bhp, and a 14bhp. It also sold combined oil engines and pump.

If you are around the rally fields you are most likely to see the Shanks game on one of its lawnmowers. You will know you are looking at a quality lawnmower!

On 25 April 1914 the North British Agriculturist carried an article on haymaking machinery. It is worth quoting to see how that machinery has changed in the last century. It writes:

“The present spell of good weather has made all farmers busy, and it is surprising how rapidly the next two months will flit by, and the strenuous work of hay cutting and making occupies the farmer’s attention. In many cases the farmer is unprepared, and at the critical time he has arrears to make up in thinning his turnips, &c. This is especially the case when sowing has been delayed, as it was last year. Therefore, all the wet days that intervene between this and hay time should be utilised, at least in part, in making preparation for the approaching work. New machines are perhaps needed, and the old ones may need considerable renovation. It is far better to have everything ready a week before the time than be a matter of a few hours too late.

The hay-making machinery of the present day furnishes yet another example of the ingenuity which has been displayed in recent years in applying mechanics to the solution of the labour-saving problem. First and most important, comes the mowing machine, with which everyone is familiar. Care should be taken that the figers are all sound, and that the knife works without friction. Any faulty knives or those which show considerable signs of wear should be replaced. in fact, the whole machine should have a thorough overhauling, and the risk of breakdowns will be correspondingly small.

The small farmer will have little use for the other implements now so extensively used on large farms, excepting of course the horse rake. The swathe-turner, hay-tedder, hay-maker, &c, have however earned their places in the farm-steading equipment. The swathe-turner does away, to a great extent, with the necessity for thorough wedding, though in the practice prevalent in Scotland the swathes are both thoroughly turned and tended. By means of helically revolving prongs or blades the buttons of the swathes are lifted up from the ground and gradually pushed over, and in most cases two swathes are turned into the one windrow. In some machines three swathes are made into a row. The result is that the hay has a considerably increased chance of being better made. One great advantage is that the ground itself is left for the most part uncovered, and has thus a chance of thoroughly drying between the rows, which is conducive to the drying of the hay.
The hay maker and the hay tedder do away with any necessity for hand tossing in bad weather, though the former has often been accused of treating the hay badly. Preferably, the tedder should be used as it gives better results. In the making of the hay, however, in Scotland a rigorous use cannot be commended. The hard, dry, and sometimes over-ripe ryegrasses and clover are damaged, the former by having the stems ruthlessly broken, and much of the valuable clover seed is knocked on to the ground, as are also the fine leaved grasses. The wedding of the hay leaves it to the mercy of the weather, and also by covering the whole of the ground does not give the hay the advantage of drying winds, and reliance has to be placed on the power of the sun. If, however, the weather is muggy, and the hay still retains much of its sap, the weeding is certainly of the greatest advantage, as its action corresponds exactly to the hand tossing which is practised on similar occasions.

The horse entache completes the first cycle of operations, by gathering all the hay into the rows prior to the making of the elementary rucks or ricks. The horse rake has now been resolved into a standard pattern, either self-acting or worked by the driver. The tines, which extend the whole distance between the two large ground wheels, are so shaped that on the lever being actuated the whole contents are discharged. Each tine has a certain latitude, so that despite inequalities of the surface of the land, the tines scrape the soil or skim lightly at a little distance from it. A great improvement has been instituted in recent years by the introduction of the side-delivery rake, which gathers the hay into one long row and this militates against careless driving and inefficient working of the levers by a careless workman. It also is of much benefit in those years in which a heavy crop renders so frequent the tilting of the tines that the wear and tear on the machine is greatly increased. This difficulty is frequently encountered when the clover crop is beyond expectations, and when the conditions for thorough driving have not been of the best.

So, there are some elements that you will recognise, but others that have changed greatly as a result of changed husbandry practices and technologies.

A section of haymaking machinery in the last 100 years, exhibited at Fife Vintage Agricultural machinery Rally, June 2014.

The Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement undertook an important survey of agriculture and rural improvement in Britain from 1793 to 1817. Each survey generally focused on a county or a small number of counties.

The accounts contained detailed accounts of the implements and machines used in each county, together with the changes that were being made to them.

The account for Inverness-shire written by David Souter, provides insights into the character and state of implements used in that county.

David Souter’s account is worth quoting at length:
“Owing to an attachment to old habits, and still more to the poverty of many of the smaller tenants, the implements of husbandry among this class are still of a very imperfect construction. These, however, are fast wearing out; and carts, ploughs, harrows, and other implements are now to be met with in every quarter of the district, of the most approved kinds, wither imported from Leith, or made by artisans in the county, many of whom are fully qualified for all branches of work necessary for agriculture.

Thrashing mills
Mr Meikle’s highly approved thrashing mills are introduced on most of the large farms, and even on some of those of the middle size. There are wrought by two, but more generally by four horses, and sometimes by two or four oxen. Within the limits of this survey there are two wrought by wind. Water is always preferred, and often conducted from a considerable distance, at no small expense. These machines, in general, do the work in satisfactory manner, at the rate of from two to eight bolls an hour. Within the district there is one lately erected wrought by water, and capable of threshing from twelve to sixteen bolls an hour; the grain, at the same time, passing through two sets of fawners, is completely dressed for the market. Besides the great advantage of saving labour, the grain is more perfectly expelled from the straw than is generally done by the flail, and the fodder also being more bruised, is much more agreeable to the cattle. The cost of these machines is various, being in proportion to their respective powers. The general expense may be stated at from £30 to £60. Ins one cases, particularly where the fanners are appended for cleaning the corn, the expense is considerably higher.

Plough
Except for breaking up moor and rough ground, the old Scots plough has been laid aside, and was first succeeded by that known by the name of the Rotherham plough, which is still in use, and is well adapted for making excellent work; but those invented by Small and others also do the work in a very superior stile, and, by their construction, are of a draught easier for the horses. The mould boards are, in general, of cast metal, imported frm the different foundries of Leith, &c though frequently the wooden mould board is still used. The price is from £3 to £4.

Drill plough, or horse hoe
This implement is to be met with on many farms of the district, differing little from the construction of the best forms of the common plough, except in the slenderness of its make, and the narrowness of its heel, so as to make a shallow furrow, and of small breadth. On the larger farms, the best construction of the horse or, with the double mould board, used in the southern districts for hoeing drilled turnips, potatoes, and beans, is also introduced.

Brake harrow
The brake harrow is of various sizes, generally requiring two horses, and sometimes four. It is principally used in harrowing rough ground, on new improvements, and frequently on the cultivated fields, when over-run with couch grass and other weeds. On some farms it is common to give the soil intended for turnip two [ploughings in the autumn; the first in the direction of the ridges, and the other across, without any harrowing. In this rough state the ground is left to pulverise by the winter frosts; in the spring the brake harrow is applied; and by those who adopt this practice, the effects are such in reducing the soil, that it is considered as fully equal to two ploughings. They are always made of ash wood, and cost from £3 o £6, according to the weight of the iron.
The common harrow is of different sizes, in proportion to the strength of the horses. On the small farms they are generally about four feet long, and three and a half feet broad, made of birch, alder, or fir, with sixteen iron teeth, each about around in weight, and cost from seven shillings to ten shillings. Upon the larger farms, the most common size is five feet in length, and four and a half feet in breadth, with twenty-four teeth, of at least one point weight each, made of well seasoned ash, of good workmanship, and cost £1 1s each.

Roller
The roller is generally of granite, or what is called “peasy whin”, from four to five and half feet long, and from eight to fourteen inches in diameter. It is drawn by shafts similar to those of a cart and, in some cases, when four necessary, a box is fixed above the roller, filled with small stones, for increasing the weight. It is wrought generally by one, sometimes by two horses. Since the introduction of cutting the corns with the scythe, almost every farmer has one; and all the fields, after the crop is sown and harrowed, are now rolled, for the purpose of smoothing the surface against harvest. It is used, besides, for harrowing the grass lands, for breaking the clods, and pulverising the soil, before as well as after sowing the wheat, barley, and turnip fields. In this county it is considered as a very useful and necessary implement of husbandry-the price from £1 10s to £3.

Carts
In the former wretched state of the roads in this district, double carts, that is, a shaft and trace horse to one cart, were almost uniformly employed. The work is now, in most cases, performed by single horse carts, of which two take in a greater weight of grain, lime, or dung, &c than the double cart used to do, with more ease to the horses, and much less tear and wear to the carriages.
Carts are now much improved in their construction, the length of the body being about five feet, and the breath three and a half feet. The axletree is, in general, of iron, and the wheels from four to four and a half feet in diameter. The price from £12 to £14.

Turnip drill
On the introduction of the drill cultivation of turnip, the seed was dropped from the hand, and in some cases pretty equally divided, while in others, more than triple the necessary quantity of seed was given. Machines for this purpose became, however, in short time, very common. The turnip drill, in general use on the smaller farms, is a very simple machine, and costs about £1 6s. It has a wooden wheel in front, of a simple make, somewhat sillier to that of a common dung barrow, to which is affixed a small rope for turning the cylinder in which the seed is deposited, and drop through a tube into the middle of the drill.
What is called Knight’s drill, which sows two rows at a time, and is made in this district, at a price of eight guineas, is now used on a few of the large farms.
Before Knight’s barrow was known here, a farmer of this district invented one for his own use, which, if it does not exceed, at least equals, any other implement of the kind as yet heard of in this quarter. It is drawn by one horse, and sows, harrows, ad rolls, two drills at a time, in the neatest manner I have ever seen. I am not at liberty to give the name of the inventor.
Horse hoeon a new construction
The same farmer has also invented a horse hoe on an improved construction, which, in all its operations, is the most effective implement of the kind I have ever seen.

The photographs of the selection of implements was taken at the Strathnairn Vintage Rally, September 2014 and other locations.

If you were a farmer or agriculturist in Forres, Morayshire, from the 1940s you would have known the name of William Reid of St Catherine’s Road, Forres.

William was already in business in 1922. By the following year local directories start to reveal more information about his activities. He was described as an engineer and millwright. These two activities formed the basis for William’s business which was to continue in the next few decades. The company modernised its business structures through the formation of a company limited by guarantee and on 11 May 1838 became incorporated as William Reid (Forres) Ltd.

If you were to purchase a milking machine in Scotland in 1952, you would likely purchase one from an English maker. Some of them were well-renowned and had names that were synonomous with dairying and milking machines. They included Alfa-Laval Co. Ltd, Cwmbran, Newport, Mon, R. J. Fullwood & Bland Ltd, London, Gascoignes (Reading) Ltd, Reading, Melotte Separator Sales Co. (1931) Ltd, Grantham. and Simplex Dairy Equipment Co. Ltd, Cambridge.

However, there continued to be one Scottish maker of milking machines: J. & R. Wallace Ltd, The Foundry, Castle Douglas. That company had ben involved in the early development of milking machines, and was a key company in their development. It was awarded a silver medal for its milking machine by the Royal Agricultural Society of England for its milking machine in 1905. This was a significant achievement for a Scottish agricultural implement an machine maker as few were awarded silver medals.

This milking machine was described at length by the Society:

“This machine is operated on the principle of a vacuum pump, as in the case of other milking machines exhibited at the Society’s Shows since the first apprearance of the Murchland machine at Doncaster, in 1891; but its novelty lies in the use of atmospheric motors suspended beneath the cow and worked in conjunction with double-walled cups. The various parts consist of a collapsible rubber sleeve or tube of triangular shape, which without effort is pushed into an aluminium case, the one end becoming air tight by this act. Intthe other end is pushed an aluminium plug, on which is mounted the atmospheric motor. In operation, a constant vacuum is maintained in the interior of the cup. The atmosphere seeking admission operates the motor, which in turn first admits the air between the rubble cup and the outer casing, thus effecting an active emphatic pressure on the teat, and secondly causes a withdrawal of this pressure to the interior of the cup. The pressing and relaxing action can be regulated to any required speed.
The exhibitors state that the motors, which are furnished with cup leathers like an ordinary air or water pump, will last for years, and that the wearing parts are renewable at a small cost. They also claim that the effective intermittent pressure exerted allows of the natural circulation of the blood in the teat whilst suspended in a vacuum, and that thus the cows do not experience the uncomfortable sensation which would otherwise cause them to withhold their milk.
A really good milking machine would provide a great boon to the large dairy farmer who, in these days, finds great difficulty in procuring good milkers by hand. The following are the essential points that should be observed in the construction of milking machines: ease of cleaning; efficiency; power to strip; non-injuriousness to the cow; simplicity of construction, either for the process of milking or for obtaining the vacuum; cheapness.
We received at the conclusion that in the short time at our disposal, it was impossible adequately to test the machine in the Showyard, and we therefore recommended that there should be such an impartial trial as would give information as to the efficiency of the machine and its effect on the cow. This recommendation was adopted by the Council, and arrangements were made for the practical trial of the machine by Mr Eric Druce, Principal of the Bedfordshire Agricultural Institute, Ridgmont.

The following was Mr Druce’s report after a trial which lasted for two months:
I have had the machine working for two months and have used it upon some ten or twelve cows. I beg to state-
1. There is no difficulty in getting the cows to take to the machine. After the second or third time of using the cows stand perfectly quiet during the whole of the time occupied in milking; this the attendant is able to look after four sets at once.
2. The cows are milked absolutely dry; no “strippings” can be obtained. The quantity of milk given is as much as, and in some cases more than, when the cows are milked by hand. The time occupied in milking is the same as that which a skilled milker would take,
3. The machine is simple in its structure, and is easily cleaned. The manipulation is very readily learnt; in fact during the second half of the time I have had it, it has been worked by an ordinary stockman without any assistance from me.
4. The only fault I can find with the machie is that the size of the cups is too small for some of the cows with large teats. This defect, however, could easily be remedied by making cups of different sizes.
5. I can give no figures as to the cost of running, as I used a small petrol engine especially to work the machine; whereas on a large farm the ordinary fixed engine or horse-gear would do the work equally well.
Eric Druce, November 13, 1905.
Upon receipt of this report, the Judges, with the approval of the Stewards and of the Council, had no hesitation in awarding a Silver Medal for the machine. The fact that no “stripping” by hand is necessary is of great importance.

Other early makers of milking machines in Scotland included the “Murchland” made by William Murchland, 13 Bank Street, Kilmarnock, and The Thistle Mechanical Milking Machine Company Ltd, 25 Gateside Street, Glasgow. Both participated in the trial of milking machines of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in 1898 (see https://archive.rhass.org.uk/…/t…/617154-volume1898-0089jpg…).

The Society later published an investigation into the use of milking machines in Scotland in 1917. (see https://archive.rhass.org.uk/…/transactions-of-rhass…/602974).

J. & R. Wallace, Castle Douglas, an eminent name with a long history in milking machine manufacturing in Scotland!

The photographs were taken at the Scottish National Tractor Show, Lanark, September 2015 and the Strathnairally, October 2015.

Allan Brothers, engineers, 102 West North Street, Aberdeen, were engineers well as a gas engine manufacturer, mechanical engineer, oil engine manufacturer and a machinery oil merchant and refiner.

By 1901 Allan Brothers had moved its premises to the Ashgrove Engineering Works in Back Hilton Road, where it continued its activities until the mid 1950s. The company held its final winding up meeting in February 1957.

The company underwent a significant change in its company structure in 1947. On 9 December 1947 the company became incorporated as a company limited by guarantee, also becoming known as Alland Brothers (Aberdeen) Ltd.

The company’s memorandum & Articles of Association set out how the company was to undertake its business. It is worth quoting some of this document for the insights it provides on the company:

“The objects for which the company is established are:-
(1) to purchase and acquire the business or the whole or any part of the property and assets of Allan Brothers, agricultural implement and machinery manufacturers and engineers, Ashgrove Engineering Works, Aberdeen, and to carry on at any place or places in the United kingdom or abroad the said business in all its branches in continuation or extension of the said business.
(2) To carry on in all or any of their respective branches all or any of the business of the businesses of mechanical, electrical, motor, gas, hydraulic, railway, marine, water supply, constructional, civil, consulting, and general engineers, engineers’ merchants, dealers in all metals, minerals, ores and alloys and to buy, sell, manufacture, repair, convert, alter, let on hire, and deal in machinery, implements, implements, rolling stock, and hardware of all kinds.
(3) To carry on the business in all or any of its branches of a motor garage and manufacturers and sellers, purchasers, merchants, hirers, repairers, storers of and agents for motor cars, motor cycles, tractors, carriages, vans and other vehicles, motor boats and vehicles of every description and all accessories and supplies including tyres, tubes, valves, fittings, petrol, and other oils and lubricants and lighting oils and others.
(4) To carry on the business of boring and sinking, constructing, maintaining, repairing, and altering wells, aqueducts, tunnels, roads, reservoirs, water courses, embankments, irrigations, reclamations and sewage, drainage, sanitary, water, gas, electric light, telephonic, telegraphic, and electrical power supply works and to act as surveyors and measurers in respect of such works or otherwise.
(5) To undertake and execute any contracts for works involving the supply or use of any machinery and to carry out any ancillary or other works composed in such contracts.
(6) To carry on any other similar business, undertaking or operation whether manufacturing or otherwise which may seem to the company calculated to render profitable any of the company’s property, assets, rights or interests.”

The newly formed company was to have a share capital of £50,000 divided into £50,000 shares of £1. The first directors were Sydney Reekie, an engineer in Fife, and Duncan Bowen-Smith, of London. By the following year the shareholders included Fife Engineering Company Ltd of Elie, Fife.

The formation of the company shared similarities to that of other Scottish agricultural implement makers. These included the taking over of a named company to convert it to a company limited by guarantee; and a memorandum which gave the company scope to undertake a very wide scope of activities (also including all eventualities). By comparison to other makers, this was a relatively large company, by the size of the share capital. However, not all of that share capital was allocated. In 1948 there were just under 20,000 shares allocated, of which around a third were allocated to the Commercial Bank of Scotland (London).

The Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement undertook an important survey of agriculture and rural improvement in Britain from 1793 to 1817. Each survey generally focused on a county or a small number of counties.

The accounts contained detailed accounts of the implements and machines used in each county, together with the changes that were being made to them.

The account for Perthshire provides insights into the character and state of implements used in that county. The short account is worth quoting at length:

“All the implements of husbandry are constructed according to better models and made of better materials, than formerly. So late as 20 years ago, no plough was to be seen, but on a gentleman’s farm in the low lands of this country, except that which is now called the old Scotch plough, drawn by four oxen and two horses, or by four horses and two oxen. In the Highlands the same kind of plough was universally used, drawn by four horses all yoked abreast. Instead of carts with wheels moveable upon the axlel that clumsy machine, in which the wheels were fixed to the axle, described by the President of the Board and still to be met with in the northern counties, was very common in all the low lands of Perthshire. The wheels had no speaks or naves. They were composed of three sections of solid plank, fixed together and rounded like the bottom of a large cask; and the axle was fixed in the centre, going through the middle section. The shafts had two pins that embraced the axle and made these awkward wheels tumble along; from which circumstance they were named tumblers. A timber mallet wrought by the hand was all they had for a roller to break the clods in the stiff land of the cases. Manners were very rare, and threshing machines not known. In the Highlands, the people performed distant carriages of bulky commodities with hurdles, fixed on each side of the horse, by means of a hooked car-saddle, still remembered by the name of currants. Less bulky commodities were carried in hampers or baskets, made of young haze, with a square mouth, and fixed on the horse’s back with the same car-saddle. Near carriages, particularly the ingathering of their hay and corns, were executed with a sledge, which consisted of two shafts reaching from the collar on the horse’s neck to the ground, with cross bars near the horse’s hind-feet, for a bottom, and at least seven erect bars behind, for keeping on the load. This sledge succeeded the hurdle and evidently required some rpoad, whereas the hurdle could be used wherever it was possible for a horse to watch. The name which this sledge has in the language of the Highlands shows that it was the carries of the gauls in Ceasar’s time; and the English name car is borrowed evidently from the Latin. Upon this sledge or car the farmers in the Highlands carried out the dung in large baskets, diverging towards the mouth in the shape of an equilateral triangle, one side of the basket lying on the bottom or floor of the sledge; but where the road would not admit of the sledge, the dung was carried to the field in baskets with moveable bottoms, like a valve, fixed to the hooked car-sadle, which opened in the bottom by a pin and dropped the dung where it was necessary. On these sledges they carried home their peats in other baskets of a square form and of such capacity as to hold a horse’s load; but where the road was so steep that the car could not be used, they adopted small baskets of the same form, fixed on the horse’s sides to the hooked car-sadly. In many parts of the Highlands, these sledges are still employed for carrying grain and hay, as well as peats; especially where the roads are so rugged and uneven as to render the use of carts impracticable. however censurable this practice may appear to a stranger, yet in some situations it is unavoidable; and at first sight it would seem incredible, with what dispatch and safety the people perform their work, and also with fewer hands than carts or wagons would require. Sledges are indeed going out, and ought to be so, where the cross-roads in a county or the by-roads in a farm are passable by carts. But notwithstanding every improvement which the roads have undergone; the principal lines of communication having deservedly claimed the first attention of the public; this has hitherto left the roads in other situations, in such a state, especially where the country is rocky or hilly, that carts would be overturned every moment. Distant carriages in every part of this county, where the journey is on the king’s highway, are universally performed by carts.
It is to be hoped, if the wagons used in the moor-lands of Yorkshire could be introduced with advantage into the Highlands of Scotland, as Mr Marshall says they can, that the Board will favour the county with a drawing of one, accompanied with directions how to use it.
It was deemed unnecessary to give a long description or any drawing of these uncouth implements, as they are mostly exploded, and gradually give way to modern improvements. They were only used through necessity, arising from the peculiar circumstances of the country, and must disappear, when that necessity is removed.
One improvement leads to another. No sooner were the roads attended to, than carts were introduced; and no sooner were lessons in husbandry learned by common farmers from the proprietors, of whom they held their possessions, or from reading and observing the practice of countries more highly cultivated than their own, than they were emulous to follow the examples set before them, both in the execution of their work and in the construction of the various implements they employed: and we begin to be astonished at this day, how the farmers, even about the middle of this century, could work with such homely utensils, in the way of their possession, or keep themselves alive by the modes of farming practised in the old school.
Every implement of farming, used almost over the whole county, is now formed after the most approved models known in Britain in the construction of which, such a quantity of iron is annually consumed, as would have been thought incredible by the grandfathers of the present farmers. In some sequestered corners, especially where the tenants are poor, the landlords oppressive or the soil difficult to be reclaimed, the dawn of improvement is only beginning to appear; but these forlorn spots bear no proportion to the happier districts of the country, where cultivation is cherished by the benignity of the landlord and the industry of the tenantry, and is ascending to its meridian altitude.
The plough, used by many of the most knowing farmers, is that with a chain and curved mould-board generally of cast iron. Some very intelligent farmers, about the east bridge of Earn, reject the chain, but strengthen the beam with two lateral bars of iron, from the muzzle back to the great stilt or handle of the plough.
In Monteith some of the best farmers make use of an improved small Scotch plough, in preference to that with the cast iron mould board invented by Mr Small at Ford, both on account of its lightness, and because it does not throw the furrow of clay-land so much on its back. In stony land, the round share is most in use; in land, which is free of stones, the feathered share is preferred, on account of the neatness of its furrow; and indeed in tough or new land, no other share will cut the roots of grass and weeds, or turn over the surface, with the same ease or equal beauty.
These four kinds of ploughs are drawn each by two horses; but in a great part of the country to which this account refers, the old Scotch plough, drawn by three or four horses, is still in use: and in some places the barbarous custom is not exploded, of yoking four horses a breast, and of driving them by a man going backward. This practice appears very awkward and very much poaches the ground; yet they contend in their own defence, that the horses yoked in this manner act with greater power than otherways; that the ground is in many places so full of large stones, as not to admit the long plough; that the driver, by having his eye at once on the horses and plough, can stop the draught more instantaneously and save the harness (gratis) better than in any other position; that they are under the necessity of keeping small horses, adapted to their pasture in the moors, and require more of them to execute the labour of a plough-gate of land. It is to be hoped, however, that by the increasing cultivation of sown grasses, their food for horses and all other cattle will be more abundant; that a breed of larger horses will be employed; that two-horse ploughs will be made use of, and all arguments in defence of horses yoked abreast become unnecessary. The saving in point of harness and horses, besides having only one man in place of two, is so great and so evident, in favour of two horse ploughs, that they are fast gaining ground, in every district of the county, and it is hoped will soon be universal.
The harrows consist for the most part of fourbars (bulls) with iron teeth. Some are made large enough to be a draught for two horses, which are distinguished by the name of Breakers. The teeth of these are formed like small coulters, having square tops, which are put upward into the bars, contrary to the common method method of pushing the teeth downward. Into that part of the teeth which rises above the bar, there is, in each tooth, an oblong hole, into which a flit-nail is put, that keeps the teeth immoveable are prevents their being lost. This kind of harrow is extremely well calculated for breaking up the large clods of a fallow or any course land. The smaller harrows, with common teeth, are joined together by a coupling iron; and in some instances by a double coupling iron, introduced into Monteith and recommended by Lord Kaimes.
In some places on the Carse of Cowrie and Storming the harrows have what are called riders. The far-bar of the near harrow, (when more than one are yoked together) has three timber-pins fixed in the upper side, which are about six inches long and stand perpendicular. On these three pins is fixed a piece of wood which prevents the far-harrow from riding on the other. Wherever the double coupling iron is used, there is no need of these riders, because it makes all the harrows to rise and fall together, and keeps them from ever starting upon one another.
Rollers have become very common. Most of them are made of stone; others built with frames and loaded with stones; and a few of cast iron. These made of cast iron are more easily turned, because they generally consist of two cylinders, so constructed, that one moves backward, while the other moves forward, at the end of the ridge; which is convenient in rolling red land. With other rollers, which are composed of one piece of timber or stone, the best way is to go round the whole field in the form of a spiral line, where it can be done; and then to continue always going forward without making any short turns. In rolling down grass seeds with barley or oats, this method is preferable, but grass lands may be rolled any way; although rolling ridge and ridge is more tedious even in these; and therefore rolling across the ridges is preferable.
Thrashing of corn by machinery has been practised in this county for nearly half a century; and these machines are now coming fast into use. This construction is various, according to the ingenuity of the maker. They are driven sometimes by water, but in most cases by horses. They thrash more or less in proportion to the weight of water or the number of horses employed in driving them. Mr Paterson of Castlehuntly, who introduced them into the Catse of Cowrie, has one, which is very uncommon, both for the quantity and excellenec of its work. A farmer in Wester Lundie, near Doune, of the name of Ferguson, is said to gave invented a machine of this kind, very simple in its construction and very cheap; which are two considerations of importance to the common class of farmers. There are there erected already in the parish of Callander; and another about to be made soon. The three which have been made, cost each about L20. At the moderate calculation of one shilling per boll, either of these machines will repay their own expense by thrashing the first 400 bolls.
Fanners for cleaning grain have been long used by the most industrious of the farmers, and are to be met with, not only in every corn-mill, but almost in every barn, where the farm is more adapted for tillage than pasture.
Kilns for drying grain are sometimes made with time-ribs; which was the universal practice about half a century ago; many are made with brick-floors, but the cast-iron floors are daily gaining ground.
Churns, cheese presses and every other utensil of that nature are now made, in most places, after the most approved models.
Two horse carts have gone much into disuse; and are daily losing ground. Mr Mylne of Mylnefield, who had a great experience in this and every other article of rural economy, said that a cart of 22 cubic feet, in capacity, is as easily drawn by one horse, as one of 28 or 30 feet by two horses; this being the common size of carts in the Carse of Gowrie.
The expense of all implements of husbandry is so various in different districts of this extensive county, according to their quality and the neatness of their construction, that it would be difficult and even superfluous to give a detail of the different prices. Persons well skilled in making them have found it their interest to open shops almost in every village; which is an evidence of the good sense of the farmers, and that the obstinacy of prejudice is giving way to the growing taste for improvement.
The average price of a cart properly constructed is from L8 to L9, and of ploughs with a chain and cast-iron mould board, from L2:2 to L3. The common cart may be from L1 11 6 to L2. The price of a threshing mill has been already mentioned, others are much dearer.
very few oxen are noe used for draught, except in the cases or clay land, and even in these districts, much fewer than formerly. The farmers allege, that in critical seasons the oxen are so slow, that they are under the necessity of preferring horses, for the sake of dispatch.

The photographs were taken at Scotland’s farming yesteryear, September 2014 and at other locations.

While hay was traditionally carted loose into towns and cities, new means were developed to compress hay into bales to make it easier to transport. Hay baling presses started to emerge and be more widely iused in the 1890s. By 1908 Henry Stephens’ The Book of the Farm could state about them:

“Much ingenuity and enterprise have therefore been exerted in the devising of hay-presses-additional impetus being given to these efforts by the railway companies offering a reduced rate for carriage when 50cwt or more is packed on to an ordinary railway waggon. For this purpose, such pressure as will pack nearly alb of hay or straw into a cubic foot is sufficient.
At various trials of hay-presses have been conducted throughout the country, and in this way several efficient appliances for the purpose have been brought into notice. Large presses for steam-power have been introduced, but smaller presses for horse- or hand-power are more widely used.”

The implement maker Alexander Ballach started business as an agricultural implement and machine maker in Newton Stewart in the late 1890s. By 1914 he had moved to Leith where he was joined by his sons, Duncan and James; the company was styled as Alex Ballach & Sons. It undertook its business out of Manderston Street. The business was well-known for their wide range of implements and machines, including its combined turnip and manure sower, grain dryers, mills and manure spreaders.

The Banff Foundry was a well-known place for the manufacture of agricultural implements and machines in north-east Scotland. It had been home to a number of companies such as G. W. Murray. and later Watson Brothers.

In 1924 there were to be further changes at the foundry with the emergence of the name of Banff Foundry and Engineering Company Limited. On 11 August 1924 this company became incorporated. Its headed notepaper stated “Banff Foundry & Engineering Co. Ltd, agricultural implement makers and engineers, incorporating G. W> Murray & Co. ltd, and Watson Bros. best 1820.”

This company continued in business until 1951, when the directors passed a special resolution to voluntarily wind up the company. The final winding up meeting was held on 12 January 1962.

Its memorandum provides information on the formation of the new company and its activities:

“The objects for which the company is established are:
(1) To acquire and take over as a going concern the business now carried on at Banff by Robert Wood Hutcheson, Banff, and Alexander Grant, Dufftown, under the style or firm of “Watson Brothers”, and all or any of the assets and liabilities of that firm and with a view thereto to enter into and carry into effect with or without modification a minute of agreement which has already been prepared and is expressed to be made between the said Robert Wood Hutcheson and Alexander Grant of the first part and the company of the second part, a copy whereof has for the purpose of identification been signed by the subscribers hereto.
(2) To carry on business as-
(a) Founders, moulders, workers, fitters, and finishers in iron, brass, copper and other metals.
(b) constructors, repairers, owners, hirers, merchants and workers of agricultural, horticultural and forestry buildings, implements, tools, appliances and machinery.
(c) constructors and repairers, owners, hirers, merchants, brokers, and workers of ships, vessels, boats, docks, wharves, jetties and shipways and all machinery, accessories and appliances used in connection therewith.
(d) constructors, repairers, owners, hirers, merchants, and workers of motor cars, motor lorries and other vehicles, locomotives, locomotive and other wagons, trucks, rolling stock, steam and road rollers and all machinery, accessories, and appliances used in connection therewith.
(e) constructors, repairers and merchants of roofs, bridges, and architectural and structural work in metal or other materials.
(f) constructors, repairers, owners, hirers, merchants and workers of electric, steam, gas, oil, hydraulic, hydrostatic, pneumatic, sanitary and water appliances, machinery, engines, and fittings and all accessories and appliance used in connection therewith.
(g) cartwrights, millwrights, wheelwrights, plumbers, carpenters, joiners, painters and general builders, makers, repairers and merchants of all kinds of fencing, wire, wire-netting and wire-work, metallurgists, iron and steel convertors and galvanisers, workers in wood, stone, brick, rubber and other substances, electricians, and producers and suppliers of electricity for the purpose of light, heat, motive power or otherwise, and manufacturers of and dealers in all apparatus and things required for or capable of being used in connection with the generation, distribution, supply, accumulation and employment of electricity, or gas, or other illuminant, or source of heat or motive power, blacksiths, machinists, and general engineers; draughtsmen, and pattern-makers, ship chandlers and dealers in ships stores, local and coke merchants, timber merchants, dealers in, manufacturers, blenders and refiners of petrol, fuel oil, lubricating oil and all other oils; manufacturers, repairers, merchants, owners and hirers of, and dealers in, all kinds of machinery, engines, boilers, tanks, valves, rivets, bolts, nuts, connections, plant, tools, apparatus and appliances.
And in connection with the above business to carry on any other business whether manufacturing, commercial, industrial, or otherwise, which may seem to the company capable of being carried on conveniently in connection with the above or calculated directly or indirectly to enhance the value of or render profitable any of the company’s property or rights, or which may be calculated directly or indirectly to benefit the company.”

The company had a share capital of £5,000, divided into 5,000 shares of £1 each. It was a small firm, but also one that was a common size for other implement and machine makers in Scotland.

Founding and other activities continued at the Banff Foundry after the Banff Foundry and Engineering Company Ltd wound up. A letter from that company proposed floating a new company known as Banff Foundry & Engineering Co. (1951) Ltd.

The Banff Foundry is a good example of a place where companies changed, as did their businesses, over the years, but where implement making was carried on over a number of generations by different makers.