May 2016 – Page 2 – Scottish agricultural implement makers

Reekie – king of tattie machinery

Reekie is a name that has been intimately associated with tatties for since the mid 1940s: tattle sorters, graders, brushing machines, bed tillers, and stone and clod separators to name a few machines.

Reekie Engineering Co. Ltd, was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 1946. By 30 August 1946 it was advertising its manufactures in the Farming News where it was to be a regular advertiser in following decades. Its works were at Lochlands Works, Arbroath. By the early 1960s the company had premises at Arbroath, Forfar and Laurencekirk. In 1868 it had premises at Station Road, Inverurie.

In 1955 the company was recorded in trade directories as an agricultural engineer, machinery and equipment dealer and as an agricultural engineer, implement, machinery and equipment manufacturer.

It was a regular attender at the Highland Show from 1948 onwards, also entering a number of its new range of machines for the “New Implement” award. These included its Reekie 4-row seeder in 1950, its potato sorter in 1960, its turnip harvester in 1960, its automatic weighing machine in 1961, its potato grader in 1961, its triple sized brusher grader in 1962, its rotor turnip harvester in 1963, its high capacity potato separator in 1963, its potato brushing machine in 1966, its continuous automatic weight in 1966, its multi-purpose potato grader in 1967 and its triple sizer multipurpose potato grader in 1968. And of course its clod and stone separator, now built in Lincolnshire. It was an award winner.

Its stone and clod separator was a revolution for the Scottish tattle grower. It was key to solving the ever increasing problem of securing sufficient squad labour, and to more efficiently and effectively using harvesters. The solution to the successful mechanisation of the potato harvest was in soil preparation and bed making rather than in harvesting. It really did revolutionise work on the back of the harvester.

The photographs of the Reekie stone and clod separator were taken at Pilmuir Farm, Balerno, Midlothian in the 1990s.

A Lanark name: County Garage (Lanark) Ltd

If you were in Lanarkshire you would have known the name of County Garage (Lanark) Ltd at Hyndford Road, Lanark.

The company started business in 1928 and continued until 1975. By 1934 it was a Fordson dealer, retraining that agency into the 1970s. In 1955 it was also an agent for David Brown tractors.

In the mid 1960s if you were looking for implements, you could have purchased from County Garage a selection from Ransomes, Lister, Bamford, Howard, Jones, Allis Chalmers, Lundell and Wallace.

There are still a few Fordson tractors around the vintage rally circuit that bear the County Garage name. keep an eye out for them!

The photos were taken at the Highland Folk Museum rally, May 2014.

Scarifying!

Drill scarifying was an important part of turnip culture in the days before weedkillers were available. Drill scarifiers were largely used for paring away the sides of drills to destroy weeks and bring the drills into the intending form, leaving less work for the hand-hoe.

Drill scarifiers were made by a number of implement and machine makers in Scotland. They included Alex Ballach & Sons, Alex Jack & Sons Ltd, A. & J. Main & Co. Ltd, Thomas Hunter & Sons. J. & R. Wallace, H. W. Mathers & Sons, John Wallace & Sons Ltd, Bon Accord Engineering Co Ltd, and Charles Weir.

In 1912 Alex Ballach manufactured a disc drill scarifier with patent compensating spring levers and patent toeing attachment for £10 10s. It also made a disc drill scarifier with patent compensating spring levers for £8 10s and a disc drill scarifier with patent compensating spring levers and side land arrangement for £8 15s. It also launched at the Highland Show of 1927 its “Universal” expanding disc drill scarifier.

The photographs of the Jack of Maybole scarifier were taken at the Ayr vintage machinery rally, 2015.

Sowing with Gillies & Henderson

One of the well-known agricultural machinery dealers in eastern Scotland was Gillies & Henderson of Edinburgh.

Gillies & Henderson opened its business at Munro Place, Canonmills, Edinburgh, in 1920. Shortly afterwards it moved to premises at 59 Bread Street. It was associated with Bread Street for many years. By 1940 it also had premises at 254 Leith Walk. Major changes came in 1961 when it became a company limited by guarantee and moved to the newly established Sighthill Industrial Estate, where other agricultural implement and machine makers were also conducting their businesses.

The company also had a premises at St Catherine Street, Cupar, in 1934. By 1951 it had moved to 31 Crossgate, and then to Kirk Wynd by 1955. By 1958 the company had opened up premises at Rosehall, Haddington.

By the late 1860s the company had changed its operating structure and had separate registered companies reflecting its depots in Edinburgh, Forfar and Perth. They were dissolved in 1993.

The company undertook a range of activities. In Post Office directories from the 1930s it described itself as agricultural ironmongers, agricultural engineers, machinery, implement and equipment dealers, tractor and implement dealers. It was also a wire netting manufacturer and a wire cloth, wire netting and fence manufacturer.

The company had agencies for a wide range of implement and machine makers. In 1926 they included Massey Harris, and from 1952 David Brown. In 1962 they were Banfords-Claeys, Wright Rain Irrogation, Ayrshire Elevators and John Salmon beet harvesters. In 1968, agencies included Johnson, New Holland and Clayson.

As an agricultural implement and machine maker, it entered a swathe aerator for the new implement award at the Highland Show in 1957. It also entered implements made by the Ayrshire Elevator Co., Kilmarnock and Badger Northland Inc, Kaykauna, Wisconsin.

There are still a number of implements and machines with the Gillies & Henderson badge on them around the rally fields. Look out for the black and silver badge.

The photographs of the Gillies & Henderson grain drill at the Fife Vintage and Agricultural Machinery Club rally, June 2015.