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Berwickshire was an important centre for the development of modern ploughs, i.e. iron ploughs. Their development in that county is described in the Board of Agriculture’s survey of agriculture of that county, published in 1809. It is worth quoting at length:

“The improved swing plough, having the beam secured by a chain, which carries back the draught almost to its body, with a curved mould board, and feathered sock, is almost usually used. This plough is believed to have come originally from Holland or Flanders into Yorkshire, where it is said to have been calculated the Dutch plough. On its first introduction into Scotland, it was known by the name of the Rotherham plough; and having been very materially improved by a plough wright from Berwickshire, named Small, it has long been very deservedly denominated from him “Small’s plough”.

This is a very simple and efficient implement, of cheap construction, light draught, and easy management. Its chief excellence is in the structure of the mould board, which is of cast iron formed upon a uniform model. The peculiar form of this is of extremely difficult description, so as to be intelligible, being composed of several curves which soften into each other. At its fore part it is and exceedingly sharp wedge, so as to insinuate between the wasteland and the plit, to furrow slice, with the least possible resistance; the wedge gradually widens to separate the plot effectually, and it spreads out considerably wider upwards, so as to turn over the plit. In these operations it is assisted by the featured sock, which cuts out the bottom of the plit at such depth as may be regulated by the muzzle. The muzzle, or bridge of the plough, is so contrived that it may be set to work deeper or shallower, according to the nature of the soil and the pleasure of the ploughman, and to take broader or narrower plots according to cirumstances. All the surfaces which come in to contact with the soil are cast metal, or iron, by which the facility of draught is greatly promoted.
It may be proper to give a short account of the introduction of this singularly useful and economical implement into Berwickshire, from whence it has been adopted into all the well cultivated districts of Scotland, and many part soft the north of England. About the year 1764 very little was known in Berwickshire respecting the principles of construction of wheel carriages, and still less of the mechanical principles of the plough, good ploughs and carts being then purchased from Northumberland. At this period James Small, then a young and ingenipus mechanic, who had spent some time in England for iprovement, returned to Berwickshire, his native county. His merit becoming soon known to John renton, eww of Lumberton, a zealous promoter of agricultural implements, that gentleman settled Small at Blackadder Mount, erected all the necessary buildings for smith and carpenters shops for carrying on the manufacture of ploughs, carts, and wagons on a considerable scale, and set him agoing with the indispensable assistance of cash and credit. Small continued for many years at this place in full employment, often employing 20 or more carpenters, and six or eight blacksmiths, constructing ploughs, carts, wagons, and other implements of husbandry, both for this county and other parts of Scotland, his ploughs especially being much admired and sought after, and continue unrivalled to the present times, though now constructed by an infinite number of plough wrights in all parts of the country. Besides the plough, Small made material improvements on the construction of harrows, rollers, and fanners, or winnowing machines.
The old Scots plough, with a straight timber mould board, of greatly more obtuse angle, with a pointed sock, and having a long cumbrous bean. was partially used only a few days ago, but is hardly now to be seen anywhere. Even those that were used of late years, were very much reduced in size and weight. and had their beams much shortened, so as to fit them for the two horse draught. Some old farmers preferred that plough for breaking up old grass land, provincially lee, as it set the pits more upon edge yuan could be done conveniently by Smalls plough, especially when the pits or furrow slices were made broad. But by taking a plit of moderate breadth, about equal to its depth, Smalls plough answers equally well for this purpose, and is much superior for all other work. Perhaps for breaking up coarse land, much encumbered with the roots of whins and broom, and with large stones, the Scots plough may, in some respects, be more eligible than Small’s. But for this purpose, whatever plough is used ought to be of uncommonly strong construction, so as to be able to encounter severe hardships without breaking.
In ploughing very strong clay soils, the first furrow for fallow, three horses are sometimes put to the plough, but very rarely. In this case, two horse go arrest as usual, and the third is yoked in length before the furrow or off side horse. For this purpose the horse tree is made of unequal arms, so that the single horse has an advantage lever to enable him to draw against the other two, which pull at the shorter arm of the swinging beam, or horse tree.

In driving the plough the ploughman, who of course walks between the two stilts, or plough handles, uses either whip reins, one to each horse on the opposite sides, or he has common long reins reaching to the stilts, and a single whip rein between the two horses. A driver is never to be seen with a plough throughout the whole county.
A plough having a mould board on each side, called the double mould board, is used for forming and splitting drills, and for earthing up rows of potatoes, turnips or beans. The construction of this plough is perfectly simple; and the mould boards are mere common deal boards, often fixed upon hinges so as to admit of being set wider or narrower, according to circumstances; and one of those boards, the near one side, is usually made to take off occasionally, for gathering the earth from the drills of potatoes, turnips, or beans, into the middle between the rows.
No trenching, draining, or road ploughs, nor any wheel ploughs, are at present used in this county. Many years ago the Norfolk wheel plough, and a Norfolk ploughman, were employed by the late Dr Hutton of Slighs-house, on the first introduction of the improved husbandry into Berwickshire; and were afterwards, both the plough and the individual labourer, used for some time by Mr Fordyce of Ayton. It was extremely impertinent to criticise an implement which the reporter has not seen at work, but he believes that it was not found universally applicable in grounds containing inequalities of surface, and numerous stones, both of which were apt to force it, by encountering the wheels, from its proper direction. Besides, he is apt to believe that the chief use of the wheels, in favourable soils, is to relieve the ploughman from attention and labour, by adding considerably to the draught of the horses.

The draining plough, or mole plough, was tried some years ago by Mr Fordyce of Ayton, and laid aside because, on the lands where he used it, there were so many stores under the surface, and so many tree roots, as to prevent it from answering the intended purpose. The reporter has seen very highly beneficial improvements from its use in Cambridgeshire; and has every reason to believe that it may one day become a most profitable implement in Berwickshire, more especially if used by means of a capstan, as now practised in some parts of England, by which the injury to the land, occasioned by the feet of the draught cattle, in the ordinary way, is entirely obviated.”

There is always a great display of grain handling and threshing at the Strathnairn Farmers’ Association working vintage rally and display.

Here are some photographs from this year’s display.

What implements and machines were used in Inverness-shire in 1808?

James Robertson, he author of the county agricultural survey of that that county provides a detailed account of these. It is worth quoting at length:

The implements of husbandry which are used by the inhabitants of any county, no less than the construction of their houses and the appearance of their ground, are characteristic of the progress which they have made in the knowledge of agriculture, and in their enjoyment of the comforts of life. These improvements are either simultaneous, or so nearly allied in respect of the principle to which they owe their origin, and the time in which they appear in any country, that they are universally found to exist together. Wherever we see farmers turning up the surface of the earth in a slovenly manner and employing uncouth and unhandy tools for providing their own food, whichis the first care of every living creature, we instantly conclude that they are far behind in the line of cultivation. But wherever any of these improvements have made considerable progress, the rest are not far behind.
The general aspect of the county under review, is very much diversified; the genius and industry of the people, and the instruments of their husbandry, are no les so. In some provinces, all the modern improvements invented to facilitate the labours of agriculture, and to beautify the appearance of their lands, are to be seen in the highest perfection; while in other places, no change has taken place in these respects for many generations.
In the islands and western parts of the county, the cas-chrom, or spade with the crooked handle, still retains its place in the operations of the rude agriculture there practised. This is a clumsy, heavy instrument, something in the form of a spade, and of great antiquity. The iron is triangular, resembling that used for casting turfs, having a strong and large socket for receiving a wooden handle, which is not straight, but shaped like two segments of a large circle, joned together and placed in opposite directions, like the figure in architecture, called an ogee.
At a little distance above the socket, the wooden handle has a peg or pin, fixed firmly, so as to answer the right foot, which is employed to is the hands and to give more power to the instrument, in being driven forward below the surface. From the construction of the case-chrom, it is evident that it does not go straight down into the ground as the garden spade: it penetrates more in a direction sloping forward, and requires two or three efforts before the soil is turned over; but when turned, there is more ground generally taken up than any other spade, now in use, could accomplish. The reason of its doing more execution is obvious, not only because of the breadth of the iron, but also because the lower part of the handle slopes nearly in a horizontal direction, to receive some of the tough spot to be turned over. The triangular point of the iron qualifies this instrument to enter easily among stones; and the coarseness of the surface, and thinness of soil, enable it to lay over a greater quantity of sod than any other instrument for digging, which is wrought by the foot, It was in great estimation with the common people, who were won’t to employ it even in fields, where the plough might act; but at present it is seldom used, except on ground with a rocky bottom, or on the shelves of rocks, where no plough can be used.
In the islands, the people are said still to use ploughs with one handle; for what reason, it is not easy to conjecture, because two handles give in all cases, more command in the direction of a plough, than one. I was informed that in lea or grass ground, where the case-chrom is to be used in digging the soil, they first of all fix an instrument like a coulter, in a frame of wood resembling a plough-beam, in which a horse is yoked, to cut the tough and matted surface into parallel lines, leaving the intermediate spaces of that breadth which the case-chrom can easily turned up. This kind of plough, if it can be called one, seems to be only subsidiary to the other instrument.
Harrows with wooden teeth, cart-wheels unshod with iron, and without bushes of cast metal to facilitate the motion, tumblers, currants or currachs, to carry home corn and hay, baskets for carrying out their dung, another kind of basket for carrying home peats, shades or sledges for particular carriages; and many other instruments of the same rude construction, continue to be used in many districts of this widely extended county. The principal recommendation of these uncouth instruments is, that some of them are well adapted to the state of the roads, or places in that country where there is no road at all; that others of them are cheap to poor people; and that the farmer himself can make and repair them at his own conveniency. At a distance from carpenters and smiths, every man must be frequently at a loss, who has not learned to be handy in the matters. To attempt in this place to describe such rude implements is unnecessary, as there is a hazard that the description might not be understood by those who had never sen them, and that in a few years it would be useless, as it is to be hoped, the objects described will exist no longer. Persons of curiosity are referred to the Survey of Perthshire, where some notice is taken of their construction and suitableness to the situation of certain countries, and to the condition and the manners of the inhabitants.
About 35 or 40 years ago, scarcely could a plough or cart-wright be found in all the county, to make the necessary farming utensils in a sufficient manner, or of a proper construction. In these circumstances, every person, who was emulous to improve his land, imported ploughs, carts, harrows, &c of an improved construction from London, or from the port of Leith. But as the demand for machines of a nicer form, and more substantial make, increased, several young men were induced to go from home, and serve apprenticeships with skilful masters; so that properly bred smiths and carpenters of all denominations are now settled in most of the low and central parts of the county. Owing to the want of proper wood and encouragement,a nd there being no demand in the Islands and Western Highlands, skilful artificers have hitherto declined to go thither.
There are ploughs of various constructions, but that generally used is the improved Scottish one, which is made in the county, of every size, and with or without mould boards of cast iron, according to the option of the employer. On gentlemen’s farms we find large harrows for breaking coarse ground, drill-barrows, rollers, banners, thrashing-machines, and carts of different constructions, with every other agricultural instrument employed by farmers in any part of Scotland. But very few of the common rank of tenantry, have shown an inclination to adopt the style of dressing their ground in a manner which renders these implements requisite.
The late Mr Davidson was the first to construct a thrashing-mill which was driven by horses. He imported all the parts of the machinery from Leith, and brought the tradesmen at the same time to join the parts together, and set the machine to work: Mr Forbes of Culloden, Mr Robertson of Inches, Governor Stuart at Fort George, Mr Grant at Rothiemurchus, Major Fraser of Mewton, Mr Anderson, minister at Kingussie, Mr Mitchell at Gordon-hall, and no doubt many other improvers in various parts of the county, have not only thrashing-machines, but many other implements of husbandry, which are used in the southern counties. Mr Young, formerly mentioned as having several Spanish sheep, showed me a machine in the form of a brake-harrow, drawn by one horse, with two handles, for cleaning couch-grass and other fibrous weeds from ploughed land. Its execution is very great, not only in cleaning but pulverising the soil, where the ground is level, and free of obstructions. machines are also made in the eastern districts of the country, for bruising the succulent tops of furze to make provender for horses, in seasons when the crop of grain is short, and straw and hay scanty. The year old shoots of this planet afford a convenient substitute at a small expense, which is at the same time rich and wholesome food. The common class of farmers, who have no machines for that purpose, beat these tops of furze with the flail; by which means their horses, it is said, with very little other subsistence, are enabled to carry on the labours of the spring.”

By comparison to other counties, James Robertson describes a very limited number of implements and machines. This was one of the counties where older and traditional implements were to the fore.

The photographs of the ploughs were taken at the Highland Folk Museum. The photographs of threshing were taken at the Strathnairn rally, September 2014.

Threshing mills started to become more widely available in Scotland in the later eighteenth century. By the early nineteenth century they had become more common among some of the social classes. How were they being adopted and used in some counties of Scotland?

The Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement provides some insights to the adoption of threshing mills in its county agricultural surveys, published between 1793 and 1817. The survey for the county of Fife provide an extensive account on threshing mills. It is repeated at length:

“Threshing mills, a late, but most important invention, are now very common in Fife, and their number is increasing every year. In almost every parish they have been erected, and in several parishes not less than 7 or 8 and are to be seen. In the whole county, the number may probably be nearly 300. They are of different constructions, and various powers: and since they were first introduced, have received very considerable and material improvements. Some are moved by water, when a convenient steam can be had; but the greatest number are wrought by horses. I know of none that do not require at least two horses. Some require four, and some six. They thrash from two to twelve bolls in the hour; and many of them, by connecting fanners and other pieces of machinery with the principal movement, are made not only to thrash, but also to clean, to riddle, and to sift at the same time.
Of the many excellent and effective machines of this kind to be found in the county, the one erected, some years ago, at Kilry, in the parish of Kinghorn, was reckoned, at the time of its erection, one of the most complete. It is moved by water, and is said to thrash and clear 12 bolls in the hour. Many people in the neighbourhood carry their grain to be thrashed there, which they get done for sixpence per boll. Combined with this, there is a corn mill, a barley mill, and a hoisting tackle, all moved by the same water wheel.
Since that period, a great many other thrashing mills of equal, and some of superior powers, have been erected in this county. There is a very powerful one at Pusk in the parish of Leuchars, which was erected by Mr Buchan the late tenant. And Mr Cheap of Rossie has erected one lately, which, in respect of the excellence of materials and workmanship, the convenience of the several arrangements connected with it, the extent of its powers, and completeness of execution, is equal, perhaps superior, to any in Fife.
The advantages of this invention to husbandry are great. It separates the grain from the straw more completely than flails can do. It performs the work in a shorter time; and requires fewer hands upon the whole. By thrashing wet grain quickly and completely, it saves it from being lost in wet harvests, when the crop cannot be got easily and properly dried. In short, the same hands, that would otherwise be necessary on the farm, will be able, with this instrument, to accomplish the business of thrashing without much perceptible loss of time, as they can always in an hour in the morning, before they go out to the plough, or other work without doors, thrash as much as will serve the bestial for one or perhaps two days.
In a few instances, indeed, I have heard complaints that this machine, though erected at great expense, and judged to be sufficiently executed, did not thrash clean. But this must be owing, not to any defect in the principle, but to some inaccuracy in the construction and adjustment of the machinery: a circumstance not to be wondered at, in a work so new and so complicated. It may be expected, however, that, by a course of trials, every defect will be discovered and corrected, and by the improved skill and dexterity which the mechanic will derive from practice, the machine will be brought to such perfection, as to remove every complaint.”

The photographs were taken at the Fife Vintage Agricultural Machinery Rally, June 2015.

Back in 1890 the farmers of Portsoy, Banffshire, could purchase locally made reapers from the MacDonald Brothers, Portsoy. The brothers had been making agricultural implements and machines from 1878; their early manufactures included harrows and turnip lifters.

By 1885 they had started to make back delivery reapers, a manufacture which they continued to make into the early twentieth century. They had a number of models. In 1890 one of them was the Princess, a one horse self-acting back delivery reaper. Another two from 1894 were the Portsoy self-acting back delivery reaper and the Simplex self-acting back delivery reaper. The brothers were among a number of reaper manufacturers in Scotland, others including the famous Kemp, Murray & Nicholson, Stirling, Alexander Jack & Son, Maybole, as well as Auchinachie & Simpson, Keith.

The county agricultural surveys of the Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement, published between 1795 and 1817 record information on agricultural implements and machines. The Scottish reports include some interesting insights on threshing machines, seen as one of the most important agricultural innovations of the day. The survey report for Aberdeenshire includes a short account on the introduction and use of threshing mills.

The harvest is in full swing. So what was it like in bygone days?

The county reports of the Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement, published between 1793 and 1817 include a great deal of information on agriculture and agricultural practices. The report for the county of Stirlingshire includes a wide-ranging report on harvesting of wheat. So what does the report say about it?

“In reaping, the sickle is universally made use of. An evident improvement of the sickle is now very generally introduced. The old sickle, which is still most frequently used, is teethed somewhat like a saw; the teeth soon wear out, and, for the most part, the sickle is henceforth useless, unless the teeth be renewed on the anvil. The improved sickle is broader on the blade; it has no teeth, and is of a better metal; on the principle of the scythe, it is sharpened from time to time by a stone. It cuts with more ease than the other, and lasts for a much longer time.
By the sickle the grain is, no doubt, cut down more regularly, and is more easily collected into sheaves than by any other method, but the operation is slow, and it requires many hands. it would be perhaps the most important acquisition to agricultural operations that has been made for a long while, if an instrument were invented, by which corns could be cut down, and the sametime gathered into sheaves, as hay is cut down by the scythe. In grounds completely level and free from stones , like the Cras of Stirlingshire, an estimate might at least be made in the proportional expense, whether by labour or by loss, or reaping corns with the sickle or with the scythe.
The size of the sheaves is proportioned to the length of the straw. In wet seasons they are not made large. Twelve of these in oats and barley, and fourteen in wheat make a shock, or, as we call it, a shook. In placing the stock, attention is paid in this climate, as ought perhaps to be done in every other, throughout the kingdom, to the point of the compass from which the storm or weather most generally blows. If the side of the stock be placed towards the point, the greatest possibe surface is exposed to the weather, and the corn suffers accordingly; the end of the stock therefore is presented to the weather. In this district, from the circumstances of the weather, the stock is generally placed in a direction from S.W. to N.E. In narrow allies, and where hills and woods interfere, there may arise a difference of the currents of air, and in such situations experience must guide.
On account of the succulent nature of beans, pease, and other leguminous plants, they are left loose upon the ground for sometime before they are bound up into sheaves, that they may lose in part their superabundant juices.
In very wet and unfavourable seasons, a method is practised in this county, which perhaps is not much known elsewhere, and may be shortly stated. The sheaves, instead of being set up in stocks, are set up singly on the lower end, the band being slip up near the top, and the middle opened and exposed loosely to the current of the air. This method is here called gaiting. It is had recourse to only in extremity; there is much loss sustained by the exposure of the ears of corn to the weather and to the birds; but if there be only a few hours of drought and sunshine, the victual will not be finally lost.
When the sheaves are exhausted of the moisture which had remained in the stalks, or which they had imbibed from the weather, they are built up into large ricks or stacks, of a circular form, and with conical form, and with conical tops, the eaves, at the commencement of the top, projecting over the body of the stack to ward off the rain. The conical top is thatched with straw. These stacks contain from 30 to 90 or 100 thrives of victual, a thrave being two stocks. No great quantity of grain is put ito the barn at once; it is safer in the stack from the depredations of vermin.
To preserve the grain as much as possible from vermin, the stacks on every farm, conducted upon a proper system, ate placed upon wooden frames, fixed upon pillars of stone 18 or 20 inches high, and on each pillar there is a flag-stone projecting over it several inches. By this means vermin are effectually prevented from ascending into the body of the stack. In rainy seasons frames of wood are sometimes placed perpendicularly in the stack, to preserve them hollow, and to afford a free circulation of air throughout.”

Do you recognise elements of the harvest into the twentieth century?

The county agricultural surveys undertaken by the Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement from 1793 to 1817 provide a good deal of information about agricultural practices, tools and techniques. The reports include some detailed accounts of threshing mills, their introduction and spread in the various counties throughout Britain. The report for Kincardineshire, published in 1810 provides a good deal of information on the introduction an use of threshing mills until that date. It is worth quoting at length:

One of the largest implement and machine makers in south-west Scotland was James Gordon. On his death in 1923,the North British Agriculturist included an extensive obituary. It provides a number of insights into the nam, his business and the implement trade:

“We noted last week the death of Mr James Gordon, in his time one of the most widely known men in the agricultural implement trade, which occurred at his residence, St Mary’s Drive, Kirkcudbright. Mr Gordon was born at Culraven, Borgue, near Kirkcudbright, on March 2, 1849, and it is of interest to note that his family have been connected with that farm for the long period of 400 years. In 1865 Mr Gordon went to Bradford, Yorkshire, to serve his apprenticeship with the then well-known firm of McKean, Tetley & Co., wholesale merchants and manufacturers. He had only been about three and a half years in the warehouse, when the management, recognising his ability, put him to the “road” as their representative, and he continued to act as their traveller, and that very successfully for the next four years. Those were exciting days, with great political unrest, and Fenianism was abroad in the land. It was during the years 1869-70 that Mr Gordon, then a strapping young Gallovidian, was sworn in as a special constable, and he retained until his death hhis baton as a memento of those stirring days.
In 1870, when the Highland and Agricultural Show was being held at Dumfries, Mr Gordon came to assist his brother John with his stand on that occasion, and this was his first introduction to the implement trade-a trade which soon came to claim such a large portion of his lifework and brought him into contact with agriculturists all over the country.
In 1872 his father passed away at Culraven, and he have up his situation at Bradford, coming to Castle Douglas to take over his brother John’s business, which had been established seven years before, and where a considerable business had been done in the seed and manure trade, as well as in agricultural implements. Mr John Gordon then went to take charge of the farm of Culraven, At that period agricultural implements were beginning to come into their own, and the business grew rapidly. In 1874 Mr Gordon introduced Wood’s side-delivery self delivery, which soon became very popular anode which a large number were sold in the next few years. Two years later he was the means of introducing another well-known machine, Harrison, Macgregor, & Co’s back-delivery self-delivery. It may be of interest to agriculturists to note that in those days, now so far away, the price of wool was 2s 6d per lb, grain 4s 6d a bushel, and hay about 1s 6d a stone. these were good prices, and thus farmers were enabled to go in for implements to a large extent. At the Royal Society’s show at Carlisle in 1881 Mr Gordon showed his champion turnip drill for the first time. It received the special attention of the judges and soon proved one of the most popular. A year later he showed the first binder in Galloway, the Walter A. Wood’s binder, which was tried on the farm of Marshfield, in the neighbourhood of Castle Douglas, then tenanted by his relative, Mr Payne, and also on the farm of Greenlaw, in the same district. It did good work, but at that time wire was used for binding the sheaves, and farmers had a strong prejudice against it. In addition, it was a pretty heavy draught.
Four years later Woods brought out a much improved binder, using twine in place of the wire, and this immediately came into its own. At the trials carried out by the Highland and Agricultural Society at Terregles, near Dumfries, Mr Gordon entered the Woods binder, and there was a great fight between the woods binder and a binder made by Hornsby, of Grantham, for the £100 prize offered by the Society. the judges were divided in their opinion as to the better machine, and eventually the prize was divided between the two competing firms. Mr Gordon’s next venture was the introduction, in 1900, of the Patent New Century Coulter on his drill. This was a big improvement on anything which had preceded it, and immediately brought his drill into the front rank, with the result that when he retired he had sold no fewer than 3500 of them. He also invented and registered the Galloway Turnip Cutter, with hinged hopper, and this too caught the popular fancy, he being sole agent over a wide extent of territory stretching from Penrith in Cumberland to Stranraer in Wigtownshire. He also patented an oil cake mill, with hinged hopper, on the same lines as the galloway cutter. Besides being agent for most of the leading manufacturers, Mr Gordon had a considerable workshop in Castle Douglas, where he manufactured, besides turnip drills and cutters, large numbers of cattle troughs, meat coolers, corn bins, ploughs and harrows, wheel barrows, &c, besides a large connection in repairing farm implements and machinery. As showing how he was respected as an employer, it may be mentioned that when the war broke out in 1914, one of his men had been 40 years with him, two about 35 years, one 24 1/2 years, one 17 1/2 years, and still another 5 years. Mr Gordon travelled through Wigtownshire twice a year, so that, with his four years in Bradford, he had travelled for over 54 years altogether, from 1868 to 1922.
When Mr Gordon came to Castle Douglas the last post left that flourishing market town at 6,40pm. He soon ascertained that the Newton Stewart people, who were 30 miles farther from London, could post up till two hours later. He took the matter up with the Postmaster-General, with the result, gratifying to the community as well as to himself, that a mail was granted up till 9.40pm, thereby adding very much to the convenience of the business community. In the course of the years he became well known among the agricultural community from Thurso to Cornwall, his turnip still being sent all over Great Britain by agents, and even to Nova Scotia, while the Canadian Government bought one 30 years ago.
While deeply engrossed in business, Mr Gordon found time tons serve the public in various useful capacities. he had been an elder in Kelton Parish Church and also Castle Douglas Parish Church for many years. In a more public capacity he was for long a member of Castle Douglas Town Council and also of the local School Board, and in both spheres did excellent work, always endeavouring to make for economy and efficiency. He was also vice-chairman of the Castle Douglas Citizen’s Union, and collected two-thirds of the funds to set it afoot. He also took a leading part in the formation of a branch of the Middle Class Union.He had been a life member of the Highland and Agricultural Society for 44 years.
Mr Gordon had a very worthy helpmate in his wife, who ably assisted her husband in his business career,a nd during the war years did an extraordinary amount of work on behalf of war charities, taking a prominent part in organising efforts on behalf of serving soldiers and their dependents.”

Have you seen any implements and machines made by James Gordon?

The county agricultural surveys include a number of detailed account of harvesting and harvesting tools and implements. Robert Somerville, the surveyor of East Lothian provides an interesting account in his survey. What a contrast to today’s grain harvest!

“The implements commonly used for cutting down and gathering the crop, are the scythe, the rake, and the reaping hook. The first of these, the scythe, is less employed than might be expected in a county where so much grain is raised; upon the best lands, indeed, especially in wet seasons when the crop is lodged, the use of the scythe is inadmissible, but in ordinary years, a great part of the crop admits of being cut down with that implement, as much less ceps than by the hand, with the additional advantage of its affording from a third to a fourth more fodder, than what is obtained, under common management, where the crop is cut by the hand, an object of no small importance in any situation, but especially in places, where, owing to the distance from great towns, there is no opportunity of purchasing manure. It is objected to the scythe, that it does not lay the heads so regular, as when the crop is cut by the hand; this certainly is the fact, and unquestionably is a disadvantage, especially where thrashing machines are used; it is also said, that, in cases where the crib is thin, and at the same time completely ripened, if the stalk has acquired a degree of hardness sufficient to bear the stroke of the scythe, the shock will be so great as to shake out many of the grain; or, if the straw is of a soft texture, in place of being cut and gathered by the scythe, the crop will be beat down, and a great part of it left uncut. These objections, however, apply only to cases where it has been allowed to stand too long, as in every instance, where it is cut at the proper period, it is found to bear the stroke of the scythe, without either shaking out the grains of breaking down the stalks.
Sickle-Formerly two kind were used, the broad and narrow; the former is now entirely laid aside, and the latter substituted in its place. As the sickle is an instrument in use everywhere, and as the one used in this county possesses no peculiarity, any particular description is unnecessary.
Rake-When the crop is cut by the scythe, the common hay rake is generally employed, and, in expert hands, answers the purpose extremely well; the same implement is sometimes used when the crop is cut by the hand, a person following the cart, and gathering what is left on the places where the stokes have stood. A different kind of rake has been partially tried, and found to answer the purpose, much better than the hayrack. The length of the head is from ten to fifteen feet, the handle about seven feet, with a piece of wood across the end of it, by which it is drawn by two men; the teeth are of wood or iron, the last are the best, as well as the most durable, and are a little bent forward at the point, which gives them the power of retaining and carrying the ears along with them, much better than they would otherwise do. To make clean work, especially if the ridges are gathered, the field is raked across; in that way, every thing is taken up; but, when it is preferred to draw the rake in the directions of the ridge in the direction of the ridges, it may be considerably improved, by cutting the head into two or three lengths, and joining them with hinges, which will allow it to bend and accommodate itself to the curvature of the ridges. The advantage of this kind of rake has been found considerable, even in cases where every possible attention has been paid to the cutting of the crop; but, as it frequently happens, that owing to dampness, greens of the straw, or a foul grassy bottom, it is necessary to leave the crop unbound for a day or two, during which, if it is overtaken by a high wind, much of it will be scattered and lost, unless considerable pains are taken to gather it, by hand-raking and otherwise-Where the long rake is used for that purpose, the expense will in no instance exceed 4d sterling per acre. And experiment, made upon a field of 30 acres, will convey some idea of the benefit that may be derived from the use of that instrument. The field was in barley, and the rankings, when thrashed yielded £14 5s 0d.
Carrying the crop-many years ago, the crop was brought home on sledges, afterwards on close carts with a frame on the top; at present, hay and the different kinds of grain are carried upon the open spoked cart, known by the name of corn-cart, which, from its lightness and construction, seems better adapted to the purpose, than any thing of the kind hitherto emploed. These carts appear capable of some improvement, by lining their sides and bottom either with thin planks or canvass, the expense of which would be very inconsiderable, and the whole of the grain, beat out in the operations of uploading, unloading, and the carriage from the field, saved.”

The photographs of the scythes and binder canvasses were taken at the National Tractor Show, Lanark, September, 2015.