There were a number of key potato digger makers in Scotland. They included A. & W. Pollock, Mauchline, Alexander Jack & Sons, Machine, J.Bisset & Sons, Blairgowrie, and Alexander newlines & Sons, Linlithgow.
One of the oldest of them was Andrew Pollock, Mauchline
who started in business in 1867 (later A. & W. Pollock). By 1878 Andrew was making and exhibiting a number of potato digging machines, of varying strengths from heavy, medium and light machines. The medium digger had wrought iron wheels while the light oone had broad rimmed wrought iron wheels to suit moss land. The diggers had cast steel socks. By 1885 Andrew was manufacturing a patent potato digger with all the gearing covered in.
The company started to give its potato diggers trade names by 1886. These included the “Land of Burns” patent potato digger. By the mid 1890s Pollock marketed its “Improved potato digger”; in 1904 it was referred to as the “improved potato digger with pole”. In 1909 there was the “new patent potato digger with steel frame”. A further machine was available by 1910, Pollock’s “perfect” potato digger. So a choice of diggers available to the farmer at any one time and throughout time.
The photographs of the Pollock potato diggers were taken at Ayr Show, May 2017.
