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If you were a farmer in the Lothians in 1919 you would have had a number of implement and machine makers to purchase your machines from. Some were local while others trades across the Lothians and also across Scotland and further afield.

The North British Agriuclturist carried an extensive article on the agricultural traders in the Lothians in 1919. It provides a great deal of information about them, their activities and the history of their company.
“The first on our list is Mr Alex Ballach of Messrs Ballach & Sons, Leith, who has had a very long association with the implement trade. He was trained in agricultural engineering under the late Mr G. W. Murray of Banff, and has had a varied experience in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and later on in Newton-Stewart, whence he removed to Leith about a dozen years ago. No one knows better the requirements of the farmer than does Mr Ballach. He has been eminently successful in the making of corn drills and drill scarifiers, and whatever he puts out is known for its efficiency as well as its finish.

… Mr Alex Newlands of the firm of Messrs Newlands & Sons, St Magdalene Engineering Works, Linlithgow. Mr Newland’s firm was founded by his late gather in 1861 at Inverurie, but in 1880 the latter removed to Linlithgow and acquired the premises of that famous ploughmaker-the late Mr George Ponton. Some years after his father died in 1907 Mr Newlines, along with his brother, Mr George MNewlands, erected larger worrks to increase the capacity of the output of the firm’s implements, which are principally cultivators, chilled ploughs, drill ploughs, horse rakes &c.
… Mr Wm Poole JP, possibly now the best known of all the Scottish agricultural engineers. For the past forty years he has been identified with the introduction and improvement of many of the labour-saving machines now in extensive use by the farmers of the country. On the farm of Castle Mains, Dirleton, in August 1878, Mr Poole conducted the first trial of a sheaf-binding reaper ever held in Scotland, namely, the McCormick wire sheaf-binding reaper; and during the same month at the first trial of sheaf-binders held by the Highland Society on the farm of Liberton Tower Mains, Edinburgh, he secured the Society’s Gold Medal for that machine. Owing to the strong objection to wire-bound sheaves, this machine did not become a success; but, following this, in the early “eighties” Mr Poole sold and started at work for the late Mr Waugh of Eweford, Dunbar, the first twine sheaf-binder ever put to work in Scotland (a McCormick). Closely following the introduction of the McCormick binder, Mr Poole introduced into this country the now better-known Deering twine sheaf-0binder, and, through his efforts in the harvest fields, and suggestions of improvements, this binder is now one of the most popular throughout Great Britain nd Ireland. It may well be said, through his continuous and long experience in our harvest fields, he is one of our greatest authorities on harvesting machinery, and no one now living in Scotland has bestowed greater benefits in this respect on our farmers. In 1915, in response to a requisition by the agricultural engineering trade throughout Great Britain, Mr Poole was elected a director of the Highland Society to represent their interests. During his term in office, he accomplished good work on that board in getting the Society to make an inquiry amongst farmers throughout Scotland as to the efficiency and economy resulting from the use of milking machines. The information obtained was of a satisfactory nature, and, as a result, the use of milking machines has been largely increased. So far as general work on the average farms of Scotland is concerned, Mr Poole has never been satisfied with the oil agricultural tractors that have been introduced into use during recent years, and from a recent interview, we find that he is of opinion that the tractor suitable for all-round work in Scotland is still to come. In that belief, he submitted a motion adopted by the board of the Highland Society to the effect that it should hold trials of British designed and British made oil tractors, and to award substantial prizes to the machines found to be best suited for work in this country. When these trials take place he is of opinion that oil tractors far in advance of those in present use will be produced by the engineers of our own country. At present, Mr Poole is president of the Scottish Agricultural Engineers’ Society.
Mr A. M. Russell, we always look upon as “The Universal Provider” for the varied wants of agriculturists. Shortly before the outbreak of the war he removed his headquarters adjoining the old Corn Exchange, to extensive premises at the east end of the Grassmarket. Mr Russell is a specialist in many lines, and, as our readers well know, is a specialist also in the way he advertises his goods. Mr Wm Smith is the Scottish representative of the Dairy Supply Co. Ltd, and we may almost venture to call him “the grand old man of the implement trade”. If he does not approve of a Separist policy he at least approves of a policy of the separator, especially is it should happen to be an Alfa Laval. In addition to being a J.P., Mr Smith is a Parish Councillor. He is an acknowlwdged authority on all dairying matters, and the author of a very useful guide to dairying, which has had a large sale.
Mr Jas H. Steele is one of the juniors in the agricultural implement trade, but he has a long experience and successful record behind him. For a long number of years he was with Messrs A. & J. Main Ltd, and later represented Messrs P. & R. Fleming of Glasgow in the Scottish capital. Born and brought up on a Lanarkshire farm, he has a practical knowledge of agricultural requirements, and this gives him a great advantage in the upholding of his business motto, “Everything for the Farm”. In addition to agricultural machinery, his firm hold agencies for Messrs A. Cross & Sons Ltd, Glasgow, and Messrs Gartons Ltd, Warrington, Through enterprise, pushfulness, and attention, Mr Steele has gathered a large clientele, and supported by an able staff, he has “lengthened his cords and strengthened his stakes” by opening a new depot at 61 Harrison Road, close by Merchiston Station, on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

If you were a farmer in the 1960s you would still have recognised a good number of the key names in agricultural trading that had been recorded in 1919. It says a lot about the stature and importance of these business men and their businesses.

The Board of Agriculture’s county surveys include a good deal of information about farming, agricultural practices and implements and tools. The Stirlingshire survey, written by patrick Graham, provides a couple of account on haymaking in the county in 1811. It is interesting to se what aspects of haymaking continued until well into the twentieth century.

“The hay is generally cut about the end of June or beginning of July. In the carses of Falkirk, Bothkennar, &c. 300 stones are reckoned an ordinary crop. In the western districts, 200 and even 180 stones are reckoned a good crop. In the upper grounds of Strathblane 100 stones are the ordinary crop; in the lower grounds 300 stones are not uncommon. From that parish alone, 10,000 stones of hay are annually sold, mostly in the Glasgow market.
A few weeks after the hay is taken off the ground, a second crop of clover alone springs up with great luxuriance. It is cut down,f or the most part, for soiling, and furnishes an excellent food for milch cows and for horses. Sometimes that which remains remains till the frost begins to set in (by which this tender plant is soon destroyed), is mixed up into a stack with early threshed straw. It heats or ferments, in a certain degree, and gives succulence to the straw, forming a very nutritious food for cattle.
This second crop is clover is often, as has been noticed, ploughed down for a wheat crop; and furnishes an enriching manure to the ground.”

How was haymaking undertaken in the olden days before all the mechanisation to make it easier to handle the crop?

The Board of Agriculture’s county agricultural surveys provide some detailed account on agricultural processes as well as agricultural implements and machines. George Robertson, the surveyor for Midlothian, provides the following detailed account of haymaking for that county in 1795. It is worth quoting at length:

“Haymaking is performed here on the simple principle of giving it no more work than just suffices to win it, in order to preserve, as much as possible, the natural juices and flavour. The process differs, as the hay is either from seeds, or natural, according to the circumstances of these different cases.
When hay from seeds, such as clover and rye grass, is cut down, there are two things respecting it to be remarked: 1. The swath is laid in pretty regular order, in form somewhat like to the blade of a razor, in which the ears incline to the edge, while the bottoms are piled up one above another in the opposite direction at the back. 2. The stalks, individually, are firm and straight, and like to reeds; naturally unsusceptible of moisture, but very readily admitting a passage through them to the air, or the wind, as it blows over the field. In consequence of these two circumstances, hay, in this situation, is not difficult to to be win or made; for in dry weather, the air readily penetrates through it, and dries it quickly; and in wet weather, it is not apt to imbibe the rain, but rather sheds it off along its upper tire of stalks, and of course can stand a considerable deal of rain without receiving much damage, ad very readily becomes again dry on thereturn of fair weather; a fact well confirmed by experience; while, at the same time, its aromatick flavour, as well as natural colour, is very little exhausted or altered, as there is but a small proportion of its bulk exposed to the weather, the greater part remaining sheltered as under a shade, and dries by degrees, But should the haymakers, in the view of accelerating the process, turn it in the swath, the following circumstances will occur: 1. The swath, instead of presenting a regular inclined surface, naturally adapted to lea the rain off as it falls, will lie expanded, loose, and irregular; well adapted indeed to receive the influence of the winds, or of the rays of the sun in dry weather, but equally ready to catch rain in case of a shower. 2. The hay itself will have become so much bruised, or softened, in the operation, as to retain, and even imbibe, that moisture which in the former case it would have repelled or shed off. The consequence must be, (as it is known to be in fact), that hay, in this situation, if once it gets wet, is much more difficult to be got dry again, than if it had not been turned at all.
There are, however, cases which frequently occur, in which it is proper to turn hay. This, if it has received rain, or has been protracted in the making, by a long continuance of damp weather, it must be turned in the swath at all hazards; and in most cases it will be proper to turn it in the forenoon of the same day in which it is meant to be put into large ricks in the afternoon; but in general, the process cannot be greatly advanced by that operation in good weather; and as it really retards it if followed y wet, the best way is it to let it alone till it is finally to be made, which in dry weather will be in about three days after it is cut, when it may be put into ricks of from 40 to 80 stone weight, where it may remain ten or twelve days longer, by which time it will be fit to be put into sows, or stacks, of any dimension. There is, however, one fact to be admitted, that in this mode of hay making the upper side of the swath, (exposed perhaps for three days together to the weather,) may be too much win, while the under side, for want of exposure, may be too little. There is, however, another fact, equally well ascertained, that by the time the hay is in the rick for 24 hours, the whole becomes one homogenous mass of the same degree of temperament; that which was too dry imbibing the superfluous moisture of that which was scarce dry enough, so that no distinction can afterwards be observed. The expense of making hay of this description amounts to from 1s to 1s 6d the acre, according as the crop may be from 150 to 300 stone weight, supposing the weather to be favourable. In wet weather, one cannot calculate what the expense may be, not the time that will be required.
In making of natural, or meadow hay, other circumstances take place, which make a different, and more expensive mode of operation necessary. In this case the swath is far from being laid down in a regular form, while the hay itself is neither firm nor straight; but, on the contrary, very soft and much interwarpt together, and generally so thick at the bottom, that, when turned up by the scythe, it is so compact and close, as totally yp exclude the external air; therefore it becomes necessary, not merely to turn this kind of hay from time to time, but to ted it very minutely, spreading it like a blanket, as evenly as possible, over the whole surface of the ground, o that no part of it may be much excluded from the influence of the drying winds, ore rays of the sun. In this way, when the weather is good, natural hay may be made, in eh course of a week, ready to be put into cocks of 20 or 25 stone weight, where it ought to remain, well tied down, and neatly dressed in the sides and at the bottom, for eight days more; when it may safely be collected into larger ricks, and finally into sows of greater dimension. In wet weather, this process is no doubt protracted to a longer period, but still it will be found, that to spread it as thinly over the field as the ground will admit of, will be the surest way to preserve it from material injury; for although, in this case, it is exposed to every shower that falls, yet as it is not any where of much thickness, the water is not retained, but sinks through it, to the ground; and on the return of the first breeze, in a few hours the upper parts will be dry, and if then turned, the under side, in like manner, will receive the same benefit.
A much more complex mode of hay making was formerly in use in this county, but is now pretty generally exploded, on account of the objections to which it is liable. This consisted (with hay of all descripptions) in spreading it out immediately after the scythe, in the fore part of the day, and putting it into cocks before night, which were increased in size from day to day, in proportion as the hay had advanced in making, till in the the end it became fit for the sow, or larger stack. On fair weather, there can be no question, that with this perpetual bustle, which was mistaken for exertion, the hay might be made in not much longer time, though with much greater expense, and perhaps be little inferior in quality, than it can be in the simple mode first mentioned. Yet, in wet weather, the point most to be guarded against, in every one circumstance above stated, it was miserly defective. The hay from the repeated teasing it was subjected to, was not only deprived of its natural juices and flavour, but from the soft bruised state to which it was reduced, it became quite unfit to repel moisture, but, on the contrary, imbibed it like a sponge, It is indeed true, that hay in cock receives less of the rain that falls, than hay that is spread over the whole surface of the ground; yet it is equally true, that hardly a single drop which falls on such hay as this is exhaled naturally, neither can it penetrate through it to the ground; but in the worst manner that can happen, it sinks down into the heart of the heap, where it occasions fermentation and rottenness, unless speedily relieved, by being again shaken out, in whatever state the weather may be.
Indeed to this alternative are hay makers, on this system, frequently reduced, more particularly, if in their endeavours to guard against a shower, and taken at unawares, they have re-cocked their hay after the rain has begun to fall; a mistake, from their ill-grounded apprehensions of danger from exposure, they are very ready to commit. In fact, this whole system, from beginning to end, is, of all others, the most tedious, the most expensive, and the most hazardous; superfluous labour at the best, in fair weather, and injurious in no small degree of times of rain, which in many hay-making seasons is but too prevalent in this country.
Hay is seldom hurt here by heating; and as to its taking fire, from that circumstance, it is unknown in this county. The only instance that I have heard of in the neighbourhood, happened at a Distillery, in an adjourning county, near the border of this, where a sow of hay, of 20,000 stone weight, (about 200 tons) was conjectured to be in the way of taking fire; upon which, all hands were ordered to take it down and spread it out, when some of it, as it was carrying away, was actulaly seen to burst into flame! a circumstance, that many people here will not credit, to very little were were accustomed to such an accountable fact. Several such accounts have, however, been stated in newspapers as happening in England; where, if it is the practice to make their hay in the manner last mentioned, (as seems to be in some counties the case), the one circumstance will account for the other, as hardly a plan of hay-making could be derived more ready than it to engender such a phenomenon.”

The photographs were taken at the Fife Vintage Agricultural Machinery Rally, June 2014.

Hay bogies or sledges were used to haul hay in rucks or ricks to the farm steading. In essence, they were a flat tipping trailer with a winch.

There were a number of makers of hay bogies. In 1912 Dickie Brothers, agricultural engineers, Stirling, manufactured an improved one for £6 10s. The most well-known one was made by A. Jack & Sons, Maybole, Ayrshire. There are still a few of the Jack bogies to be seen around the rally fields.

What was it like to harvest the hay crop in Fife in olden days when the horse ruled and there was little machinery – no horse rakes, bogies, hay turners and the like?

The Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement published the county agricultural surveys of agriculture for each county in Britain between 1794 and 1817. It includes accounts of agricultural activities, tools and implements. The following is an account of the hay harvest in Fife in 1800.

“Hay harvest begins in July, sooner or later, according as the season is more or less favourable. In hay making, two things are chiefly attended to;-first, the time of cutting; and, secondly, the hammer of winning or drying the hay. When the rye-grass is sown with a view to save the seed, as soon as it is fully ripe, it is cut and bound up in sheaves, dried in stocks, and put up in stacks like barley or oats. But if hay only be the object, it is cut down at least a fortnight before it be ripe, and while the seed is not yet in a state to be easily separated from the straw. Several advantages arise from this practice. The hay will be much superior in quality than when allowed to be fully ripe; will have a better flavour, and possess more of the natural juices. When completely ripened, before it be cut, the seed is apt to be mostly lost in the process of winning, stacking, cutting down again, and carrying to the rack or hay-loft. And this kind of grass, when fully ripe, and deprived of the seed, is a little superior to oat-straw. Another advantage is, that, by cutting before it be ripe, the ground will be less exhausted. When plants of any kind are allowed to run to seed, the leaves fall or wither; and the stem grows dry and hard, and consequently incapable of deriving any further nourishment from the air. The soil, therefore, being now obliged to supply the whole food necessary for maturing and perfecting the plants, must be greatly scourged and exhausted. This injury to the ground will be prevented by removing the crop before it be fully ripe. Another advantage, derived from early cutting, is, that the succeeding crop of clover will be more forward and more luxuriant, and the rye-grass, springing again, will render it more weighty and abundant. And, which is of no small consequence, if the whole second crop shall not be necessary for green food, more time will be allowed for making it into hay. Perhaps the best method of managing this, to make it rather more than half dry, and then mix it intimately with fresh old straw, and put it up into a stack. It will, in this state, make excellent winter food for cattle.
The mode of winning hay is not uniform; but is generally regulated by the kind and nature of the grass, and the state of the weather. Sometimes hay from the seed, such as clover and rye-grass, is allowed to lye in the swathe for a few days after it is cut; and then, if the weather has been, and still continues to be dry, it is put into large cocks or tramp ricks in the field. Others, after allowing it to remain in the swathe for a short time, wither turn it over or spread it out on the morning of a dry day, and, on the afternoon, put it into large costs; after which, as soon as it is judged sufficiently dead, it to brought to the barn-yard and stacked. The former method requires less labour; and, therefore, when circumstances will permit, ought to be preferred. But should it meed with much rain in the swathe, and should it, at the same time, contain a large proportion of clover, it will be necessary, at all events, to spread it out. In such circumstances, should it be allowed to continue long in the swathe, it would come so close together, that the air could not easily penetrate it: It would become yellow, and lose its flavours before it could be dried. Repeated showers, or a long continuance of heavy rains, will do less harm to hay when spread, than when lying in the swathe, orin small cocks.
Natural grass, or meadow-hay, from its softness, and consequent closeness, when thrown off the scythe, will not admit of the same method of winning as rye-grass. The practice, therefore, is, to spread it soon after it is cut, and to turn it repeatedly at proper intervals. As soon as it is tolerably dry, it is put into cocks of a moderate size, which, if the weather continue favourable, are not spread out again, but turned over and increased in size, by putting two into ne; and then, when sufficiently dry, they are put together in tramp ricks, containing from 50 to 80 stones, neatly formed, and made fast with ropes, to secure them against the weather.
Heating in the stack, to a certain degree, is reckoned no advantage to hay, if this be occasioned by its own natural sap, but if by rain, the effect is otherwise.”

The photographs were taken at the Fife Vintage Agricultural Machinery Rally, June 2014.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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