Scottish agricultural implement makers

The First World War (1914-18) brought significant challenges to Scottish agriculture. The requisition of horses and man-power to work on farms posed significant issues in the face of the need to encourage home food production. While implement making businesses were involved in munitions work – thus diverting their usual work and activities – there was a push to try to introduce and adopt some labour-saving implements and machines.

At the start of the war there was a recognition that motor power could help with ploughing and assist with some other key tasks such as threshing. While there was generally little development in Britain, there had been much more in the United States.

Getting farmers and other agriculturists to start to adopt motor tractors – regardless of their form and whether or not they were available – was a challenge. To move from horse to motor power was a significant cultural and social change. It was one that had been experienced with the introduction of the steam ploughs from the mid nineteenth century onwards.

An important way to persuade them of the merits (and otherwise) of motor tractors was to hold working demonstrations. At first these were of ploughing; others included threshing, working with the binder. They allowed them to see these motors at work and their capabilities.

The first demonstration of motors for ploughing in Scotland was reported to have taken place at Bettyfield, between Kelso and St Boswells, in the Scottish Borders. It was organised by Newton St Boswells and District Farmers’ Club. It was widely reported in the Scottish press. Some accounts of it included reflective pieces on the current state of agriculture and ploughing and ploughing technologies. One such account appeared in The Scotsman on 18 February 1915. It is worth quoting at length for its insights and observations:

“Agriculture

Future of ploughing

The old idea and the new in Scotland

The advent of the motor

Agriculture, it is no exaggeration to say, has been revolutionised by the mechanical developments of the last half-century. Many an old order has changed, or given place to a new. The harvest field has lost much of its former charm, and the bulk of its population, owing to the advent of the self-binder; most implements of tillage have assumed new form, and both in the fields and on the steading-nowhere more so than in the Lothians to-day – the mechanical, labour-saving spirit is abroad. Contrary to his conservative reputation, the farmer has in recent times shown a disposition to give every fresh invention a fair trial, and a readiness to adopt it if the idea is practicable. Amidst the manifold changes that have taken place, however, the most ancient of all our agricultural implements, and the one dearest to the heart of the farming community, the plough has preserved to a remarkable degree the form which has come down through the centuries. It survived, and in this country little felt, the influence of the introduction of the steam plough, but its place to-day is being threatened by the new and stronger force which has in other fields of activity displaced the horse to so great an extent. The motor plough is the new feature in agriculture. Already in the Lothians, within a radius of twenty-five miles of Edinburgh, four motor ploughs have been introduced, all within the last few months. The direct cause of the introduction at least two of them is the shortage of men and horses which the country’s call and the impressment agents’ activities has brought about. But, of course, these reasons would not have been sufficient in themselves to account for the departure had the mechanical plough not been a practical proposition. Its practicability has been recognised by the governing bodies in agriculture, and important trials in both England and Scotland had been arranged; but owing to the war the Highland and Agricultural Society, it appears, deemed it advisable to postpone their event until happier times, when, to use an appropriate metaphor, the swords now clashing will have been beaten into ploughshares, and the ancient prophecy fulfilled. Then, too, the old wish of “Speed the plough!” will have taken on a new and literal significance in the light of modern tendencies, for whatever happened, whether or not the motor gains a strong footing in agriculture, it seems certain that the same time is not to be spent on ploughing in the future as in the past.

The call on the Borderland

The first public demonstration of motor ploughing in Scotland took place in the Borders yesterday, in a field on the farm of Bettyfield, midway between Kelso and St Boswells. Almost directly, the war was the reason for the demonstration, which took place under the auspices of the Newton St Boswells and District Farmers’ Club. In former years the Club has been in the habit of organising ploughing matches on a large scale, which have been highly popular, but this year an event of the kind was deemed impossible owing to the number of ploughs which are standing idle at the present time, owing either to the shortage of men or the shortage of horses. The call to arms has found a strong response among the agricultural community of the Border county, and the drain on the horse population has been even stronger, and has been more rapidly felt. There was also another shortage which the Club complained of, and which is also no doubt traceable to the present disjointed condition of things-the shortage of subscriptions. In all the circumstances, therefore, a demonstration of mechanical ploughing was a happy idea, and it attracted a large gathering of farmers and farm workers, mainly from the Border district, but also from as far as Stirlingshire and the extreme eastern portion of Berwickshire. One or two figures in khaki were among the crowd, and a recruiting sergeant, the requisite material being present, sought to “improve the shining hour.” Mr Logan, president of the Club; Mr Monteath, CA, the hon. Secretary; and Mr W. R. Murray, Charterhouse, the tenant of Bettyfield, were responsible for the successful organisation of the event. The field was of rather light land, under young grass, and was in every respect an ideal choice for such a trial. Only one unfavourable circumstance was encountered-namely, the weather, which was wet during the night and well on into the forenoon; but after midday it cleared up beautifully, warm sunshine prevailing and lighting with a picturesque touch the snow-clad peaks of the Cheviots, of which one had a prospect. Perhaps the more conservative of the spectators, regarding with hostility the entrance of the mechanical plough into a domain which had been so long sacred to the horse, did not look upon the weather as quite unfavourable, because it served to bring out weaknesses in both the mechanical implements on view, in a greater degree in the case of a large direct-traction steam plough, in a lesser degree in the case of a small, self-contained motor plough. On the soft going the mechanical productions were at a distinct disadvantage, mainly because of their weight, and at the end of the day it might fairly be said that the honours for all that counts in the mind of the ploughing expert – the debatable points of straightness of furrow, artistry of cresting, and neatness of finish – lay with the old-fashioned horse plough in the new forms in which it was shown in opposition to the mechanical production. That, however, was not surprising. The cardinal virtue of the mechanical plough is its capacity for work. Old ideas regarding ploughing neatness are changing, and the point which the mechanical plough raises is whether the more rapid pulverisation of the land and its preparation for sowing are as effective as the old method. That point can only be settled after an extended trial.

The economy of the motor

The economic aspect is naturally a first consideration, but it may be said that if results justify anticipations the future field of the motor plough is extensive. Up to this time the high cost of most of the productions has been a barrier, but in the case of the type on view yesterday (the Wyles) something practicable is at least foreshadowed. The “all in” cost is £140, and the working costs, exclusive of labour, but including an allowance for depreciation, is 3s to 3s 6d per acre. Except for the defect already mentioned, the failure of the driving wheels to grip properly on the soft surface, which was only noticeable during the first hour or so, the machine behaved very well. When in motion, and viewed from the front it presents the appearance of the forepart of a small motor chassis. The mechanical part is very compact, as indeed is the whole production, for it measures only 12ft 6in in length and 2ft 6in in width, with a maximum height of 4ft. Its weight is 18cwt. The designer has followed the lines of the horse plough very closely. The motor, with the driving wheels (fitted with detachable spikes and “spuds” for gripping on tough land), is at the front, and the plough is a natural continuation behind. It is a two-furrow arrangement, and the stated capacity on ordinary land is three acres per day. One acre per day is good average work for the ordinary two-horse plough. The man walks behind the motor plough in the usual way, guiding the direction, although the direction is easier kept with the new mode than with the old, as one or two stated who tried it. A seat for the ploughman, together with a special steering arrangement, is obtainable only on order; thus the “weary way” may be lighted. The motor (9hp) is first “cranked” or “wound” up in the ordinary way, and the clutches are controlled in a simple manner from the handles of the machine. Two-speed gears are fitted, the lower speed being practically the equivalent of the speed of the ordinary ploughing horse. The Wyles plough displaces four horses and one man, and the mechanical arrangements, regarding which some scepticism (based presumably on the motor engine of the past) was expressed, are such as may be easily mastered by the ordinary ploughman. The motor is stated to be also adaptable to other tillage operations, such as grubbing and harrowing, and can also be used as a stationary engine for driving chaff-cutters and other forms of farm machinery, but yesterday’s demonstration was confined to its ploughing capabilities.

Steam plough and ordinary ploughs

Less note may be taken of the steam plough, for the reason that it remained inactive for the greater part of the day. It was of the type fitted with the McLaren direct traction tackle-a four-ton traction engine, which hauled a four-furrow plough, with the moulds set in echelon fashion. Ordinarily eight furrows are undertaken, but the state of the ground was against its full operation. There was considerable doubt as to whether it would be possible to demonstrate it at all, and perhaps it would have been advisable, under the circumstances, had it not been tried, for the results were not successful, and were apt to give a false impression. The engine got over the ground quickly enough – with the eight furrows, two acres an hour is the ploughing speed claimed – but it was rough work, and the engine and plough proved cumbrous at the headlands, where the ground was softer. It may be noted, however, that the makers themselves do not recommend the direct traction system for soft, wet, or very hilly country, but prescribe for land which is dry and fairly level, and where the weather is not so variable – such a country as Hungry, on whose plains it has been a distinct success. Two men are required to work it, one for the engine and one for the plough, and in the case also the engine is adaptable for “general purpose work”, either traction or driving. The capital cost is £800, and the working expenses are about 2s 6d an acre, including the labour.

There were about a dozen horse ploughs also on demonstration. The original single-furrow plough was shown in its most renowned forms, but the greatest interest centred round the two types of double-furrow ploughs (Ransome and Oliver) which were shown. They were eminently successful, and won high praise. Three horses are necessary in each case, but this marks a saving of one horse and one man, as the one plough now does the work of two teams. They made a strong appeal to the farming community. Incidentally, mention might be made of the high quality of the ploughing, particularly of the three-horse implements, in which the spectators found much to admire and little to criticise. The demonstrations are being continued to-day if the weather is suitable.

In 1906 a number of local newspapers throughout Scotland reported the erection of new threshing mills on farms as farmers updated their machinery or moved from using the travelling threshing mill to their own ones.

The erection of this plant was a significant occasion. It marked the introduction of new technology, a substantial investment into the farm and its activities as well as a change in the management of the processing of the grain crop.

Farms often marked this occasion with a social event in which neighbours and others were invited to partake in food and drink, and a congenial evening of activities. They also got to see the new mill at work. The feeding of the first sheaf into the mill was at some farms seen to be a special event, sometimes being given to a key member on the farm; it could be a long-standing farm servant or a past tenant.

The accounts in the newspapers provide varying amounts of information about the new mills. Sometimes they record the names of the maker of the mill and the mode of power for the mill (water or engine).

The following are short accounts from newspapers that record the introduction of new threshing mills onto farms in east and north-east Scotland:

“Inauguration of new threshing plant at Vale of Alford (from Aberdeen press and journal, 19 January 1906)

Mr Ritchie from London, who became tenant of the farm of Cairnballoch, on the Haughton Estate, at Whitsunday last, invited a large number of the leading agriculturists and others interested in agriculture in the parishes of Leochel-Cushnie, Alford, Tough, and Tullynessle, to witness, on Saturday the inauguration of a new threshing mill driven by an oil engine. The mill, which was built by Mr Murray, Burnside of Fowlis, Leochel-Cushnie, consists of a high-speed drum and all other modern attachments, including a hummeler, with blast for driving away any awns and other impurities, The grain is then deposited in the granary for storage, or it can be weighed-up, ready for the market. The motive power consists of a twelve brake horse power oil engine; built by Messrs Soutar, engineers, Elgin; and, although many of those engines are at work in the north of Scotland, this is the first of the kind that has been introduced into the Vale of Alford. From the excellent behaviour of the engine- the smoothness of running and regularity of action-it may well be classed in the fore front of such engines. The method of regulating the charge and the principle of the vaporiser is peculiar to this engine. The oil is pumped from the tank to a small vessel, where each charge is measured automatically before entering the cylinder, and the charge can be increased or reduced to suit the load on the engine, this securing great economy in oil consumption, and regularity in working. The vaporiser is so designed that every particle of oil is thoroughly vaporised and mixed with the proper proportion of air before entering the cylinder so that any amount of heat developed will not cause too early firing of the charge. This principle of construction is a matter of great consideration as it enables the engine to be run on Rocklight oil or any oil of similar quality without having to resort to the injection of water into the cylinder or to the use of other similar devices to prevent the too early ignition which causes excessive excessive knocking in the engine cylinder. Another important point in connection with this engine is that only perfectly vaporised oil, mixed with the correct amount of air to give an explosive mixture, enters the cylinder, thus practically preventing any internal deposit of carbon in the combustion chamber or on the piston head, and, consequently the engine may be run for several seasons without the vaporiser requiring to be once cleaned. After the trial, which passed off most successful, the company were entertained by Mr Ritchie to an excellent tea purveyed by Mr Stewart, Alford. After tea Rev Mr Adam, parish minister of Alford, who presided proposed the health of their host, Mr Ritchie, wishing him long life and prosperity as the farmer of Cairnballoch. The toast was heartily responded to. Mr Ritchie then proposed the health of “The Tradesmen” who had carried out the work so satisfactorily to himself and so creditably to themselves. Thereafter, a most enjoyable evening was spent under Mr Ritchie’s hospitable roof.”

“Auchinblae (Stonehaven, 20 September 1906)

New threshing mill

The new threshing mill, which was put in at Drumsleed by Mr William Lindsay, was tested on Saturday afternoon in presence of a number of neighbours, and gave every satisfaction. The motive power is a 14-horse power oil engine, supplied by Messrs Allan Brothers, Aberdeen, while the mill, with all the newest improvements, was constructed by Messrs James and David Craig, Waterside, Phesdo.”

“New threshing mill at Leuchars (East of Fife record, 2 November 1906)

At the Milton Farm, Leuchars, tenanted by Mr John Thompson, there has been erected a new threshing mill, which, as an economiser of labour, must be placed in the front rank of agricultural machinery. It is fitted up with every conceivable modern improvement. Mr Daniel Douglas, Auchterarder, whose patent it is, was present during the inaugural test. Perhaps the cleverest thing about it is a simple contrivance for carrying the grain after it comes from the mill, dressed and ready for the market, to any part of the building desired. It is caught up and carried in pouches attached to a belt up to a certain height, then carried horizontally along a spout filled with little swinging doors, and dropped through any one of these. The straw can be removed to a distance in a somewhat similar manner if desired. Attached to the mill are also a bruiser, chaff-cutter, an oil-cake crusher, and a buncher, all of which can be put on or of gear at will. The machine was in operation for about two hours, and in that time there was threshed 60 bags of black oats. The whole of the above mentioned machines were tested and worked smoothly and satisfactorily.”

“New threshing mill at Mains of Kirkbuddo (Dundee courier, 23 November 1906)

Mr William Johnston, Mains of Kirkbuddo, has just installed at his farm a new threshing mill and oil engine, and these were inaugurated on Wednesday in the presence of a number of friends and neighbours.

Amongst those present were:-Mrs Jackson and Miss Jackson, Kirkbuddo House; Messrs William Annandale, Mains of Kincaldrum; Joseph Roberts, Kairton; William Fairley, Drowndubs; Robert Ramsay, Burn, Kirkbuddo; Robert Pattullo, Kemphills; John Davies, Moss-side; Alex Hay, Newton; David Pattullo, Whitebrae; George Mill, Bankhead; James Kidd, Newlands; James Ward, Rosekinghall; John Kerr, Greenhillock; George Robertson, Draffin; as well as the following five sons of the tenant:-Mr David Johnston, Muirside; Councillor G. A. Johnston and Messrs john Johnston and Alex Johnston, Dundee; and Mr Thomas Johnston, Mains of Kirkbuddo.

Not only did Mrs Jackson and Miss Jackson by their presence testify to their interest in their tenantry, but Miss Jackson took an active part in the proceedings, feeding the first twenty sheaves into the mill.

The mill, which is the first of its kind in the neighbourhood, gave general satisfaction in its results during its first few hours’ trial. It was constructed by Messrs J. & F. D. Craig, Idvies, and has all the latest improvements, trussing and bagging the grain ready for the market, besides having a straw carrier fifty feet long for depositing the straw in any part of the barn. The engine, which was built by Mr George Innes, Forfar, is of 10hp, and its powerfulness and smoothness of working were well evidenced in the trial.”

“Fern (from Dundee courier, 21 December 1906)

A new threshing mill and engine have just been put in at Hilton Farm, on the Fern estate, by the tenant, Mr Nicoll. The steading has been greatly improved during the autumn, and the various improvements are all of a most substantial nature. The contractors were:-Mason work, David A. Crabb; joiner, William Black & Son; slater, James Scott; painter, William Bruce-all of Brechin. Messrs G. & J. Fitchet, Gighty Burn, near Arbroath, supplied the threshing mill, and the oil engine was by Alan Bros, Aberdeen.”

Local newspapers can provide a good deal of information about the last days of businesses, including notices of displenishing sales, adverts to take over a business, and news of new owners. The local press in Dundee and Perthshire provided a good deal of information on the last days of one of the great names among the Scottish agricultural and machine makers: J. D. Allan & Sons.

James Douglas Allan, Culthill, Dunkeld, Perthshire, was already in business by 1852. By 1865 he had been joined by his sons, and his business was known as James D. Allan & Sons, Dunkeld. Its premises became known as the Culthill Implement Works in 1884. The business described itself as an implement maker, smith, and farrier. It was especially known for its reaping machines and potato diggers. It was a regular attender at the Royal Highland Show from 1852 onwards. It won awards for a wide range of its implements and machines. In 1861 it won 2 soverigns from the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland for the best two horse plough for general purposes, the best general set of hand implements for the farm. In 1871 it won a silver medal for its collection. This was followed in the next year by a medium silver medal for a potato digger and then a medium silver medal for a self-delivery reaper. In 1904 it was awarded a silver medal for a farmyard manure spreader in drills, and in 1911 along with three other machines it was awarded an equal premium for a potato digger or lifter. It also entered a number of trials.

In 1940 the business was put up for sale. The Dundee courier of 20 September 1940 advertised the business for sale:

“Perthshire

Cartwright and wheelwright and general engineering business for sale, and to let, small desirable farm with the workshops.

For sale, the old-established business of cartwright and wheelwright and general engineering business of J. D. Allan & Sons, Culthill Implement Works, Murthly, Perthshire.

This is an excellent opportunity of acquiring a sound and profitable business. The purchaser will require to take over the whole stock-in-trade, machinery, tools, &c, and the work in progress at valuation.

The business premises will be let along with the small arable farm of Culthill. The farm extends to 92 acres or thereby, and is in excellent heart and in regular rotation. The purchaser will be required to reside on the farm. There is an excellent farmhouse and three cottages and bothy.

Entry and occupation, 28th November 1940.

Mr John D. Allan, on receiving two days’ notice, will show inquirers over the works and farm.

For conditions of sale of the business and conditions of let of the business premises and farm apply to Messrs Condie Mackenzie & Co., WS, 75 George Street, Perth, or Messrs J. & J. Miller, WS, 10 Blackfriars Street, Perth.”

At the end of the First World War and in the immediately following years there were a number of trials of tractors and implements at work. These included national ones by the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland as well as the Royal Agricultural Society of England. There were others by regional societies as well as county and more local ones. Some local ploughing matches held a demonstration on one of the rigs. This provided an instructive element to the match.

Other trials were held by agricultural implement makers and agents. The agricultural colleges also played their role as did leading farmers. Former agricultural students who had become leading farmers also had a role. One such former student was G. Bertram Shields of Dolphingstone, Tranent, East Lothian.

The Scotsman provided an extensive account of a trial of the “Glasgow tractor” at work with various ploughs on 6 November 1920. It was well-attended by local farmers and agriculturists, as well as agricultural students. It is worth quoting at length:

“Tractor ploughing

Demonstration in East Lothian

The demand for shorter hours of labour, coupled with large increases of wages, has affected the farming community probably more acutely than any other section of the nation. Faced with these problems, framers are beginning to consider carefully what assistance the engineer can bring to them to increase the production of their farms, and particularly to decrease the cost of working their land. There is not the least doubt that ahead of us lies an era when farming will be an operation as greatly assisted by machinery as other industries. Especially is this the case in the matter of tractor ploughing. The interest shown at the various public demonstrations has indicated that literally thousands of farmers are seriously considering the use of tractors for this purpose. Hitherto American firms have practically had the monopoly of the tractor business, but within recent years British firms have placed on the market tractors which have stood the test of experience.

One of these machines is a Scottish invention. It is named the Glasgow tractor, and is manufactured by Wallace (Glasgow) Ltd; at their factory at Cardonald. A two days’ demonstration was concluded on Friday at Dolphingstone, Tranent, on the farm of Mr G. Bertram Shields. In the afternoon there was a large attendance of farmers and agricultural students, about 160 of the latter being in charge of Professor Wallace and Mr William Bruce, of Edinburgh University Agricultural Department. They had the unique opportunity of seeing three “Glasgow” tractors at work on flat and hilly land, attached to two, three, and four furrow Oliver ploughs. The trials were conducted under favourable weather conditions, and the demonstration was voted a great success. Each of the machines was driven by one man, and each was easy to handle and good at turning at headlands.

The Glasgow tractor is fitted with a four-cylinder engine, running on paraffin. The strength is rated at 27.2 horse power. It is a compact machine of medium weight, and works at a useful speed in a strikingly silent manner. The feature of the machine is its three-wheel drive. Pulling with two front wheels and one rear wheel, the driving torque causes the wheels to press into the ground as the strain increases, equally and evenly, insuring them against the common fault of slipping and skidding, or a possibility of overturning. The merits of the machine as a “hill climber” were fully demonstrated.

A thirty-acre barley stubble field was laid out for ploughing, so that two tractors could operate at one time. The field is of grey soi on sandstone, with not more than about 7 inches of soil on the base of the hill. The steepest gradient was 1 in 5. Attached to a two-furrow plough, the tractor negotiated the hill in a remarkable manner, and had no difficulty in working the plough seven inches deep. It went up and down the hill with the greatest ease, and gave no trouble whatever.

At the other end of the field an original model of the “Glasgow” tractor was seen at work drawing a four-furrow plough downhill. This machine was built in 1918, and with it Mr Shields has cut his grain crops, ploughed two fields for potatoes, and about 15 acres of stubble without a hitch. Yesterday the four furrows were cut to a depth of about seven inches, and the job was regarded as highly satisfactory.

In a level lea field of 38 acres, which is being prepared for oats, a fine exhibition was given by the tractor drawing a three-furrow plough with mould boards suitable for Scottish ploughing conditions. The furrows were level on the top, and it was impossible to tell where the one set of three furrows began and the next set finished. The quality of the work was acknowledged by farmer experts to be championship work.

At the end rig this tractor was stopped, and Mr Wm. Guthrie, Motherwell, the designer of the tractor, explained to the students the technical points in its construction. Replying to questions, he said that two gallons of oil were consumed per acre; and that six acres could be ploughed in eight hours. The spuds were the smallest that were on any tractor, and did not cut up the soil.

Professor Wallace, at the close of the demonstration, moved a vote of thanks to Mr Shields, who, he said, was an old student of the Agricultural Department, for the privilege of allowing them to see that magnificent mechanical display.

Mr Shields, in acknowledging, said that was an ocular demonstration to the agriculturists of the country that power on the farm had come to stay. There was no doubt they could do the operations of general farming a very great deal cheaper with mechanical means than with horse labour.”

The north-east of Scotland had some prominent implement and machine makers that were known well-beyond the boundaries of that district; some were known world wide as well as their manufacturers.

We can meet the makers and their manufacturers through a range of evidence, including show reports, business records and local newspapers. Newspapers in the north-east played an important role in promoting the activities of the makers. These included adverts of their manufactures as well as reports from the key agricultural shows.

The Royal Northern Show (both the winter and summer shows) were featured at length in the local newspapers. They published extensive accounts of the implement department, including accounts of the most important stands and what implements and machines were notable on them. These included the latest ones, new developments and ones that were highly regarded.

An extensive account of the Royal Northern Show was published in the Aberdeen press and journal of 21 July 1927. It recoded what was on the stands of some of the key local makers that were well-known in the district:

“Royal Northern Show

Round the stands

Fine display of farming implements

Visitors from the country and town alike will find much to interest them in the display of implements, etc, at the show of the Royal Northern Agricultural Society at St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, to-day. Every kind of implement, machine, and utensil necessary for the. Successful working of a modern farm are on view. All enterprising firms are showing their most up-to-date appliances, and additional interest is lent to the fine display by the fact that many of them are seen in actual operation.

Messrs Barclay, Ross, and Hutchison (stand no. 21)

Messrs Barclay, Ross, and Hutchison, Ltd, are showing a large selection of implements and machinery, which includes a 3ft 6ins portable thresher driven by an Austin tractor. Ruston-Hornsby oil engines and Lister petrol-paraffin supply the power for several smaller portable threshers. This firm also exhibits its own make of wave disc manure distributor with an improved type of shutting bar and a new Standard binder manufactured by Messrs Ruston Hornsby. This is an all-steel machine, and is claimed to be the lightest on the market.

Messrs W. Smith and Son, Ltd (Stand no 17)

On Stand no. 17, Messrs W. Smith and Son, Ltd, seedsmen and implement agents, Aberdeen, show a large and comprehensive collection of farming implements, etc, manufactured by some of the best British and American agricultural engineers. They show the popular McCormick Binder which can be supplied to cut 5, 6, 7, and 8 feet, for use with horses or tractor, and may be had with sheaf carriers to deal with from one to six sheaves.

Prominent on the stand is Bamfords’ famous Royal mower and reaper with their new patent curved spiral and bevel gearing for which the makers were awarded seven medals last year at the principal English and Irish shows. This gear ensures noiseless and even running, imparts to the cutting bar a very smooth motion, whilst the draught if considerably reduced.

For the benefit of the farmer’s wife there is a large and varied collection of dairy appliances-churns, butter-workers, the well-known “Diabolo” and “Alfa Laval” separators, and the popular “Framer’s Friend” combined cheese chessel and press. Bar frame hives and appliances, fountain lime-washing and spraying machines, are among the other agricultural appliances that find a place in Messrs Smith’s display.

Messrs Wm Reid and Leys (Stand no. 18)

A fine display of agricultural implements is that of Messrs W. Reid and Leys, on stand 18. The Don patent pole grubber, Aberdeen ploughs, Osborne binders and hay mowers, both Vickings and Jacks, are among the exhibits. In addition there is a good display of Alpha Laval cream separators, the Don cart turnip cutter and the firm’s own turnip sower. The turnip sower is an entirely new machine and is bound to attract considerable attention.

Harper Motor Co., Ltd (Stand no. 23)

As authorised Ford dealers for this territory, the Harper Motor Co., Ltd, have a very interesting display. The famous Fordson Tractor is prominent, and while little change may be apparent to the untrained eye, there are several noted improvements. One tractor is fitted with a Junior mower which should be of great interest at this time of the year. Another Fordson is equipped with rubber tyred wheels and is capable of pulling up to 10 tons.

The Ford Young car is exhibited and a noted feature is its exceedingly smart appearance. It is priced at £125.

The familiar Ford ton-truck completes the vehicles, but there is also shown an Oliver 2-furrow plough, specially built for the Fordson Tractor, as well as an interesting display of spare parts.

James Roberston, Aberdeen (Stand no. 15)

Almost every requirement of the framer is to be found at the stand occupied by Mr James Robertson, 14 Hadden Street, Aberdeen. The universally famed Lister engines for various farm uses provide a notable feature of his exhibits. There are also Deering binders, mowers, and horse-rakes, which have the admirable qualities of lightness and durability to commend them. Dairymen will find their interest captured by a special display of diabolo cream separators. They have a 10 years’ guarantee and have the merit of being easily run and easily cleaned. A display of bee hives and appliances will be given throughout the day. Other important parts of farm equipment that are being exhibited at this stand are the Albion mower, the Jack potato digger, barn fanners, 50 gallon oil tanks, manure pumps and boilers, and hay collectors.

Messrs C. F. Wilson and Co., Ltd (Stand no. 29)

Economically-driven engines for threshing mills are exhibited by Messrs C. F. Wilson and Co. Ltd, at stand 29. “Wilson” oil engines, which have for so many years faithfully aided the farmer in completing his harvest, are here exhibited in their latest models. A crude oil engine of 15 brake horsepower is also seen running. The simplicity of the working parts and the smooth running of this engine are at once noticeable. A particular feature of this crude oil engine is its fuel pump and engine spraying device, the simple design of which, in combination with the governor, does away with all irritating adjustments.

There are also exhibited the “Wilson” 15 and 8 b.h.p. paraffin oil engines. These are so well known to farmers for their reliability and success in driving threshing mills that we merely mention them here.

Messrs C. F. Wilson and Co. Ltd, are also makers of cold starting crude oil engines, which can be inspected at their works at Constitution Street.

Messrs George Bruce and Co. (Stand no 16)

Messrs Bruce and Co., are showing on Stand 16 a number of new Massey-Harris no. 6 binders, mowers, and rakes from the same factory and a large assortment of potato sorters and potato cutters. An extremely useful hay loader with an attachment for levering the hay on to the flat lorry is also shown. Cake mills, weighing machines, and various sizes of milk churns of the most up-to-date types and also shown on this stand.

Balgownie Dairy (Stand no. 7)

Every utensil for the efficient and hygienic purveying of milk is to be exhibited at the stand occupied by the Balgownie Dairy. The firm conducts the largest business in dairy utensils in Scotland outside Edinburgh, and dairymen would be well repaid by a visit to the stand. They will find there the most up to date separators, cleaners, seamless milk bottles and boxes, churns, butter workers, cooler pans, cooler stands, bottle-filling machines, washing-house tanks and boilers, milking pails and bottle washing outfits. Mr G. Maitland will be in charge of the stand.

Messrs J. Shepherd and Sons (Stand no. 25)

At Stand no. 25, J. Shepherd and Sons exhibit a collection of vehicles for agricultural purposes, the principal exhibits being their famous farm carts. These carts are all built of oak framing with larch linings, shelvings and bottom. The horse-drawn lorry is still to the front, both for farm work and town work. The specimen shown is an instance that the farm has the material as well as the skill to turn out a first class and highly finished article. They also show a variety of wheels in wood, showing the richness of the timber used and the quality used in manufacture. A variety of farm and garden barrows is also shown.”

By 1905 Wright Brothers of the Boyne Mills, Portsoy, made reapers, drillers and threshing mills. It was their threshing mills, and as a millwright that the company was especially renowned. By the late 1940s the business was undergoing significant changes. In early 1948 steps were being taken to incorporate it to become a company limited by guarantee; the company received its certificate of incorporation to become Wright Brothers (Boyne Mills) Ltd. The company continued in business until 1955. On 7 February that year the company passed an extraordinary resolution to voluntarily wind up the company. Its final winding up meeting was held on 17 October 1956.

In 1954 Wright Brothers (Boyne Mills) Ltd was continuing to manufacture a range of machines. These included its “Boyne” Junior Hammer Mill for “grinding, sieving, mixing and bagging off in one operation” and its Boyne Hammer Mill. In March it announced that it was undertaking serving and repairs of tractors, cars and commercial mills. In the summer, it undertook pre-harvest maintenance and repair of tractors and binders. It also sold binder twine, stack nets, coir yarn, churns, milking machines, pails, hay forks and scythes.

During the summer of 1954 the business was successful in gaining a contract of small threshing mills from the Republic of Ireland. This was a significant contract and notice of it was published in The Scotsman on 24 June 1954:

“Country industries

New machinery attracts interest

Mr W.A. Wright, Boyne Mills, Banff, designed the £160 small threshing mill intended for the small farmer and driven by a 6hp electric motor. Scottish Country Industries Development Trust are helping his firm to obtain larger premises to enable them to fulfil a five years contract with the Irish Republic. The small threshing mill, the designer claims, will save the farmer about £36 a year and his wife the necessity of feeding the large staff needed to work the larger machine.

The firm in Banff has been making threshing mills for 100 years, and the father and grandfather of the exhibitor made the first traction engines in the North of Scotland. The new Irish Government has expressed great interest in the new developments and has suggested sending Irishmen to be trained to that they could make and repair the machines themselves.”

The voluntary liquidation of the business in may 1955 suggests that the contract was not carried out. There was an extensive sale of millwrights’ plant, machinery and electrical equipment at the Boyne Mills on Saturday 28 May.

By 1959 there were a number of key tractor agents throughout Scotland, especially in the eastern arable areas. Here is a list of the main agents – what ones do you recollect? what ones are missing from the list?

Agra Motor & Agricultural Engineers, Quayside, Banff

Alexanders of Edinburgh Ltd, Gardner’s Crescent, Edinburgh

Barclay, Ross & Hutchison Ltd, 67 The green, Aberdeen

A. J. Bowen & Co. Ltd, Harvester House, Markinch, Fife

Harry K. Brown (Motors) Ltd (Fordson distributors for Fife, Kinross, & Clackmannan, Ransome agents), Raith Motor Works, Nicol Street, Kirkcaldy – branches at Cupar, and Dunfermline

Caledonian Tractor & Equipment Co. Ltd, Rigby Street, Glasgow (factory, Tannochside, Uddingston)

Commercial Garage, Turriff

Cumming & Dempster, Dee Street, Banchory

Dalblair Motors Ltd (main Fordson dealers), 44 Dalblair Road, Ayr

John Davidson & Son (Engineers) Ltd, 51-53 High Street, Turriff

James Duncan (Fordson & Ferguson), Methlick, Aberdeenshire

James Duncan, Victoria Garage, Maud, Aberdeenshire

Elgin Central Engineers Ltd, Fordon Main Dealers, High Street and Hill Street, Elgin

Farm Mechanisation Co. Ltd, South Road, Cupar, Fife

George & Jobling, 14-160 Bothwell Street, Glasgow

Mark Goodson Ltd, 34-36 High Street, Jedburgh

James Gordon (Engineers) Ltd, Newmarket Street, Castle Douglas

John Harper & Sons (Blairgowrie) Ltd, 27-29 Perth Street, Blairgowrie

Harper Motor Co. Ltd, Fordson Main dealers, sales dept, 20 Union Glen, Aberdeen

D. McIntosh & Sons (diesel tractor repairs), Errol, Perthshire

Mackay’s Garage & Agricultural Co. Ltd, Central Garage, Dingwall (branches Thurso and Dornoch)

Mcleod & McLean Ltd, (Ferguson dealers), Commercial Road, Lerwick

MacNeill Tractor & Equipment Co. Ltd, 20 Graham Square, Glasgow (sales and service dept, 57 Meiklewood Road, Glasgow), and Edward Road, Stirling)

Massey-Harris-Ferguson (manufacturing) Ltd, Kilmarnock. Head office, Barnton Dock Road, Manchester

John M. Millar, Ltd, Callendar Road, Falkirk

Morayshire Tractors Ltd, Nairn Road, Forres

A. T. Mungall Ltd (Fordson main dealers), Forfar

W. & R. Murray (all leading makes), Main Street, Alford, Aberdeenshire

P. S. Nicholson, 215-219 High Street, Elgin

P. S. Nicholson (Forres) Ltd, St Catherine’s Road, Forres

Jack Olding & Co. (Scotland) Ltd, Coronation Works, Coupar ANgus, Perthshire. Also Perth, Bucksburn, Huntly, Mintlaw.

Reekie Engineering Co. Ltd, Ferguson Tractor Distributors, Arbroath

Allan W. Reid (Ayr) Ltd (International Harvester), 58 Main Road, Whitletts, Ayr and at Bridgemill, Glenluce

G. Ross & Co. (David Brown distributors), Friockheim, by Arbroath

Neil Ross (Elgin) Ltd, Greyfriars Street, Elgin

Geo. Sellar & Son Ltd, 30 Great Northern Road, Aberdeen. Branches at Huntly and Alloa; works, Alloa

Shearer Brothers Ltd (Fordson distributors), Maybank Works, Turriff, Aberdeenshire

J. B. W. Smith Ltd (Massey-Ferguson main agents), Cupar, Fife

Stirling Tractors Ltd, Ferguson Tractor distributors, St Ninians, Trucks & Pallets (Scotland), Wilson Place, East Kilbride.

The photographs were taken at the Bon Accord Steam Rally, June 2017.

The First World War (1914-18) brought significant challenges and disruptions to Scottish agriculture. A wide range of agricultural events, including shows and ploughing matches were no longer held. The year 1919 was an important year for resuming them, including the Highland Show. Some ploughing matches took one or two years to restart and then get into their stride. As events restarted again, there was some reflection as to whether they would become as popular as in their pre-way heyday. This included ploughing matches.

A short article published in the Buchan observer and East Aberdeenshire advertiser on 29 April 1924 commented on the restarting of ploughing matches in that area of the north-east. It is worth quoting at length for the comments on the development of these matches as a difficult period in their history:

“Plooin’ matches as popular as ever

Ploughing matches appear to have lost none of their old-time popularity, for contests were never more numerous throughout the country than they have been this season. It was thought that during the wartime upheaval of farming work the fine art of the plough would rapidly pass into the limbo of forgotten things. Tractors and double and multi-furrow ploughs were fast displacing the old-fashioned two-horse team and swing plough; but a reaction has set in. The double furrow horse plough now mostly fills a slap in a fence, and the old plough with its single furrow speeds over the fields.

The slump in horse-flesh was a determining factor, and will be for a generation at least. Foe the general work of the farm horses are practically indispensable. The tractor is at best but a useful auxiliary. Under suitable weather conditions a tractor can overtake an extraordinary amount of useful tillage, but it is practically useless for the numerous minor kind of operations that constitute the routine work of the farm.

The tractor plough has done excellent work, and in more than one contest where it has been pitted against horse-drawn ploughs, it has come out on top. Neverthless, the plough work of the tractor in general leaves much to be desired. Apart from the novelty of the thing, the same amount of human interest can never be concentrated so keenly on an exhibition of tractor ploughing as on the work of a well-handled horse team.

Thousands of spectators have visited some of the leading ploughing matches in the north this season, thus showing that interest in one of the fine arts of the farm is very widespread, for among the coat-clad crowd were many visitors from town and city-men who having left farm work for other employment, still retain a deep interest in ploughing contests. Among the competitors, too. Were several ex-ploughmen, doughty champions of a former day still keen on exhibiting their prowess, and in pitting their strength and skill against those of the younger sons of the plough.”

Displenishing sales provide an insight into the implements and machines that were used on a farm when the tenant was leaving it. While they reflected the type of activities that were being undertaken, they also show whether the farm was using new and innovative technologies or were relying on older ones.

A look through displenishing sales notice can reveal a lot about early users of particular technologies. These include the “Glasgow Tractor”, manufactured at first by Wallace (Glasgow) Ltd at Cardonald in the early 1920s.

In August 1921 one was advertised for sale at the “extensive displenishing sale” at Mains of Dun, Angus. It had “only been in use one season”. It was described to be “in very good order”. (it fetched £210).

In May 1922, one was advertised for sale at Whitehouse, St Boswells. It was “in good working order”.

In October 1922 one belonging to Mr G. S. Smith, Whitehouse, was offered for sale at Kelso Auction Mart.

In October 1925 one was advertised for sale at West Lochlane, Crieff., Perthshire

In October 1926 one was advertised for sale at the “highly important displenishing sale” on the farms of Whitehills and Pitkindie, Inchture.

In November 1927 two were advertised aat Dolphingstone, Tranent, East Lothian (fetching £50 and £15 respectively). This had been one of the farms which had held an early demonstration of the tractor at work.

In May 1928 one was advertised for private sale by A, Simpson & Son, Forfar. It was described as “in thorough working order”. Another was sold at a displenishing sale in November that year at a sale at Dalachy and Balram near Aberdour. Its engine had been reconditioned in the same year.

In 1929 one was sold at the November term at the sale at Greenhead, Pencaitland. It was advertised as an “important displenishing sale”.

These were all farms that were using modern machinery and also an extensive range of it. For example, at Whitehills and Pitkindie, Inchture, the implements for sale included the following:

Cattle float, 4 coup carts, 2 corn carts, turnip cutting cart, wood cart body, rally car and harness, Glasgow tractor, tractor plough, Bisset binder, Massey-Harris binder, reaper and mower, Bamlet mower, 3 Sellar ploughs, 3 S. M. ploughs, 2 D. M. ploughs, 3 American ploughs, 3 Oliver ploughs, 2 drill grubbers, 3 horse grubber, cultivator, 4 sets iron harrows, set circular harrows, set chain harrows, set spring-tooth harrows, 2 horse rakes, hay collector, metal roller with pole, grass seed sowing machine, turnip sowing machine, manure distributor, double driller and manure distributor, grain drilling machine, potato digger, potato riddles, barrow and baskets, weighing machine, sack barrow, set fanners, bushel and roller, barn pans and shovels, cake breaker, 2 wheelbarrows, 3 ladders, 2 sheep turnip cutters, 50 sheep troughs, iron bin, 4 sets cart and plough harness, set van harness, 9 stall collars, and the whole byre, barn, stable and dairy utensils, including forks, graips, spades, shovels, hoes, picks, mattocks, harles, brooms, rakes, hawks, butter worker, pails, sieves &c.

Visits to implement and machinery makers’ premises were sometimes recorded in the newspaper press. They record a whole host of information on a business including who the key personnel were, their reputation (and that of the business), implement making activities, and what the works looked like. Some provide information that is not available in other accounts.

In the early 1890s there were two accounts of visits to the Bon Accord Works of Ben Reid & Co., Aberdeen. This was a well-established business. In 1868 it described itself as “seedsmen, nurserymen, and implement makers”. In that year it had nurseries in Albyn Place and Burnieboozle and implement works at the Justice Mills, Aberdeen. The Bon Accord Works as a name of a premises appear to have been first recorded around 1869.

There are two accounts of the Bon Accord Works – and the Ben Reid & Co – from 1890 and 1892 which provide a great deal of information on them and the business behind them. They are worth quoting at length:

“Ben Reid & Co. (North British Agriculturist, 1 October 1890)

We had the pleasure if recently inspecting the famous Bon Accord Implement works of Messrs Ben. Reid & Co., Aberdeen. This well-known firm, whose enterprise and excellence of workmanship have made the Bon Accord implements known and highly prized not only in this country, but wherever there are crops to be sown and harvests to be reaped, has for many years consisted solely of two gentlemen-Mr William Anderson and Mr Robert Garvie. The former gentleman is invariably found at the head of the firm’s stand at every agricultural gathering of any consequence in the three kingdoms; while the latter is found with equal regularity at the head of that garrison of industry, where the implements are produced by which the consequests of the firm are year by year extended. Mr William Anderson is the beau ideal of the implement exhibitor, as he is fully equipped not only with the suaviter in modo, but also with the fortiter in re. His naturally genial disposition is mated with a robust confidence in the dignity of his calling, and the very important use which the implement maker renders to the agricultural community. He pushes the sale of his goods on the invulnerable principle of giving good value for a good price; and the cheap-jack who wants to beat down the price, and buy first-class implements at the current rate for scamped work, invariably gets short shrift at his hands. He has always stood boldly out for the exhibitors of implements receiving more generous recognition from the leading agricultural societies than they have hitherto had, and his efforts in this way have been rewarded with considerable success. It is not surprising, therefore, that even his keenest competitors in the same line of business should have united, as one man, to honour him by appointing him president of the Society of Scottish Engineers, a position which he has held for the last three years. His partner, Mr Garvie, is not so well known to the outside public, on account of his sticking so closely to the factory work; but by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance he is justly esteemed as a high-souled knight of labour, whose ‘scutcheon is graved with numerous honours won on the field of engineering science.

The premises occupied by this firm are splendidly equipped, though by no means so extensive as one would have expected considering the amount of manufactured goods which are here turned out every year, and the quantity of timber that has to be stored in order to be thoroughly well dried and seasoned. This apparent deficiency of accommodation, however, is due to the fact that machinery specially designed and specially constructed is here used to a quite unusual extent for the manufacture of the reapers, seed drills &c. Just as in the latest product of dairy science, the Instantaneous Butter-Maker, the new milk is fed in at the one end and the butter and butter-milk come out at the other, or, as in the case of the fabled pig-dressing machines in Chicago, where the pigs are put in at the one end, and the hams, sausages, and bristles done up into brushes come out at the other, so here the wood and steel are fed into the machines and come out, not finished reapers or mowers certainly, but parts which are executed with the nicest mathematical precision, and only require putting together to complete the Bon Accord product. Most of these manufacturing machines, whose use saves time and labour to such an extent, and also ensures that each and every part shall be the exact counterpart of another, have been conceived and produced in the brain of either Mr Anderson or Mr Garvie. The greatest care is taken to ensure that none but wood and steel or iron of the very best quality shall be fed into these manufacturing machines, which, automatically as it were, turn out all the separate parts of the machines produced at the Bon Accord Works. The Bon Accord reapers and mowers, seed drills, and broadcast sowing machines produced by this farm are too well and favourably known to require description outside of the Dark Continent. So, too, is their sharpener for reaping-machine blades, which is now justly regarded as an indispensable requisite on every farm. Every scythesman knows how tiresome it is to cut with a blunted blade, but when there was only the old plan of using the file to fall back upon, the ploughman were only too apt, to forget that the cutting with a blunted reaper blade was as heavy on the horses as upon the scythesman. By the way, in these days when everything must be brought up to date, it might be a good plan for some enterprising firm like that under notice to bring the Nineteenth Century Art up to date by depicting Old Father Time with a self-binder and a chronometer, instead of such out of date appliances as a hook and an hour-glass.

In addition to the purely agricultural implements by which the firm has become so well known, a large business is also done at the Bon Accord works in the production of garden railings and gates. This branch of the business is also conducted in a most exhaustive way, and all kinds of railings and gates are produced, from the humble railing and wicket that encloses the garden of the cottage villa, up to the costly railing and gorgeous gates that form a fitting off-set for the mansion of the peer. So greatly has this part of the business at the Bon Accord works, that a skilled artists is constantly employed in producing and elaborating designs for such railings and gates.

The implement works of Messrs Ben Reid & Co. are the only works of the kind in the Granite city. This is not surprising considering the standing which this firm have acquired in the implement trade. At the same time, the north-east of Scotland is far from being a preserve of theirs any more than the rest of the country is. Indeed, it is probable that their constituents are as numerous in any other part of Scotland as they are in Aberdeenshire, and their foreign trade is also a vast as well as a growing one. Altogether, it may be safely said that, alike as regards the quantity and quality of the products turned out by this firm, and the unique position which the partners hold in the estimation of the agricultural public, the Bon Accord works are an institution of which the city of Bon Accord may be justly proud.”

(from Implement and Machinery, 19 October 1892)

“The current number of the Implement and Machinery Review contains a very interesting article on the Bon Accord Works, Aberdeen, from which we make the following extract: Deriving its name (Aberdeen) from the Dee, on the north bank of which it lies, this town of 113,000 inhabitants was regarded as “a place of some commerce” by the Normans in 1153, and her people’s watchword, “Bon Accord”, in Bruce’s time, is still her motto. Ever courageous, her citizens have sought to soar higher socially and industrially, and a drive through Aberdeen and her environs to-day shows unmistakably that she is “in the running” with the fleetest of the nation’s most progressive people. The spirit of emulation, which is characteristic of “men of mettle” was soon exemplified in Benjamin Reid of that city, who, starting in life as a gardener, soon became a florist, afterwards a seed merchant, also a horticultural implement vendor, and lived to be none other than the stepping-stone for the important implement making business now conducted at the Bon Accord Works, which his nephew ultimately founded. Ben Reid was a man of great integrity, and his nephew George, like him, lived to be beloved, but he was far more enterprising than his respected relative. They were in partnership for about six years, but George’s ambition was to widen the scope of their operations, and when the reins of administration fell solely into his hands he began seed drill making in Union Street, and thereto removed the wire working branch from his Guild Street premises that they might be kept exclusively as a seed depot, distinct from what he hoped would in time become constructive works of some significance. But the seed vending and seed drill making and wire weaving businesses ultimately grew to such an extent that they outran his ability to conveniently control them personally; and so good a trade was bemirrored in the increasing call he experienced for different classes of implements and machinery that even more efficient supervisional help than his was rendered necessary. Determined to extend the reputation he had acquired, he kept his eye upon two good business men who had impressed him with their ability to consummate his wishes. They were William Anderson, then representing Messrs Murray & Co., of Banff, and Robert G. Garvie, manager of the Northern Agricultural Implement Co., of Inverness. That he was ‘cute in their selection is certain, for whilst the former had originally conducted his own smithy and implement business at Macduff, and had acquired much experience of men and home and export business in his outside management of an agricultural engineer’s affairs, the latter had been brought up in his father’s mill, where a practical acquaintance with the joiner’s craft had made him conversant with constructive methods, and he had supplemented this knowledge by valuable experience inseparable from the responsible position he afterwards held in Inverness. To gauge their views in hope of assimilating them with his ideas, Mr George Reid interviewed them in London at one of the best meeting places possible for such a purpose. This was at the Smithfield Show at Islington. The offer he made them was tendered as “an excellent one”. They agreed to join him, and became partners in 1876, but he has “passed away”. Yet, as the sole surviving proprietors of the Bon Accord Works (still conducted as Ben Reid & Co’s), Messrs Anderson & Garvie not only look back with pleasure upon the genuineness of George Reid’s promises, but love to dwell upon his good qualities of mind and heart. Reverting to the Smithfield interview whilst addressing us, “I well remember”, said Mr Anderson, “Mr Reid’s saying, with a. degree of forcefulness not to be forgotten, “I’ve a good business for you”. That statement’s correctness has been fully borne out, for we’ve been prospering ever since”. This avowal appears to be as true as George Reid’s statement was correct, for we fins that within the last ten years no less than three gold, fifteen silver, and five bronze medals, cut of a total of ninety prizes, have been awarded them by notable Agricultural Societies in recognition of their goods’ superiority; and their implements and machinery have found buyers, not only in the British Isles, but in Cape Colony, Natal, the Argentine Republic, Bolivia, Chili, Canada, Ceylon, Egypt, India, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, and Norway, a single order for a hundred threshing machines having been given by one of these markets not long ago.”