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If you were a farmer in Perthshire or the surrounding counties from the 1930s to the early 1950s and you wanted to purchase a Caterpillar tractor you might have thought about purchasing one from L. O. Tractors Ltd of Perth. L. O. Tractors of St Catherine’s Road, Perth, were already operating as an agricultural tractor distributor in 1938; they continued in business until at least the end of 1950. Local directories also record them in 1939 as an engineer, iron founder and millwright, as well as an agricultural tractor distributor. Their agencies included Caterpillar and John Deere.

In 1948 they exhibited at the Royal Highland Show a range of Caterpillar track type tractors, as well as equipment for them made by The Birtley Co. Ltd, Birtley, Co. Durham, tractors and agricultural machinery manufactured by Deere & Co., Moline, Illinois. They also sold the “Angus” single and double row potato diggers, also sold by Jack Olding & Co., Herts.

If you are looking through old issues of the North British Agriculturist and the Scottish Farmer, you might notice the distinct adverts of L. O. Tractors. The company was also one of the small number of advertisers in the Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland  (http://archive.rhass.org.uk/…/transactions-of-rhass-…/610883)

Powerful adverts to advertise powerful tractors!

The photographs were taken at the Fife Vintage Agricultural Machinery Rally, June 2016.

It isn’t often that there are demonstrations of steam ploughing in Scotland. As a working practice, it continued on farms until the early 1950s. The last working sets appear to have been in East Lothian.

The steam ploughing at B. A. Stores uses the double engine system, with an engine at either end of the field. It became synonymous with John Fowler & Co. (Leeds), Ltd, the most famous ploughing maker of all, though not the only one. The plough is pulled between the engines, going backwards and forwards. One set of ploughs work one way; the plough is tipped up, and the other set work back the other way.

If you are ever around the rallies where the Scottish County Tractor Club exhibits, you will always know that they put on a superb display, whether it is in the selection of tractors, or the performances around the rally ring. The Club’s display at the B. A. Vintage Country Fair at the weekend was no exception. The Club is celebrating its 15th birthday. So in County Club style, it put on something rather special with the tractors on display (around 30 of them – that is a lot of horses together!).

The growing of crops in drills started in Scotland in the eighteenth century. The first crops to be grown were turnips follow much later with potatoes (they were first grown in the field in the early 1740s).

Ridging ploughs were a key implement in opening furrows for potatoes. After planting the soil was turned back over the potatoes with a ridger, plough or hand hoes. The splitting back of the ridges with a tractor-drawn rider required a lot of concentration – well, if you were not paying attention you had to look at your “mess” for a number of weeks until the growing plants hid your job.

In 1952 there were a number of turnip sowing makers in Scotland who sold a range of machines. Some were renowned and long-established makers.

In you were a farmer or agriculturist in the Lothians you could purchase a turnip and mangold sower from J. L. & J. Ballach, Gorgie Implement Works, Edinburgh. The company was renowned for its “New Champion” makes, either 2 row or 4 row, with the 2 row being horse drawn and the 4 row being tractor drawn. They had disc or plain coulters. They to be used on drills with a 26 or 28 inch width.

If you were at Ayr Show yesterday you would have noticed the rather striking and well-filled display of farm implements and machines by Pollock Farm Equipment.

150 years is a long time to be in business. There are few Scottish agricultural implement and machine makers that have managed such an achievement. Andrew Pollock of Mauchline, later A. & W. Pollock, Mauchline, and Pollock Farm Equipment, have been notable makers of a wide range of implements and machines, which are first served the farmers of Ayrshire. Now the Pollock name is known world wide.

If you are familiar with the history of Alexander Jack & Sons, Maybole, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries you will be aware of john Marshall, a partner in the business. When the business was dissolved on 22 January 1876 by the sole partner, Alexander Jack, it was then carried out by Alexander Jack and John Marshall, “engineers, agricultural implement makers and wood merchants” in Maybole. Marshall continued to be a partner in the firm until his death in 1909; by 1905 he was also a managing director.

When the North British Agriculture wrote a series of pen pictures of the most important figures in the Scottish agricultural implement and machinery trade in 1893 they included John Marshall. That newspaper’s account provides insights into his life and work as well as that of Alexander Jack & Sons. It reads:

“Provost Marshall, as he is generally called, on account of having for some years been Provost of Maybole, is well known throughout the length and breadth of the United Kingdom as the head of the eminent agricultural engineering firm of Messrs Jack & Sons, Maybole. At all the leading shows, not only in Scotland but also in England and Ireland, the “Caledonian” reapers and mowers are certain to be seen, and Mr Marshall is sure to be there with them. The firm of Messrs Jack & Sons was founded by Mr Marshall’s father-in-law, Mr Jack, who in 1835 began business in a small way as a wood merchant, cartwright, and agricultural implement maker at Auchendraine, on the banks of the Doon, near Maybole. The site of the works originally held by this firm now forms part of the beautiful grounds of Mr James Coates, who recently succeeded his father, the late Sir Peter Coates, of Paisley thread fame. In 1852, Mr Jack purchased the site of the present works of the firm and built these works from his own plans. In 1876, Mr Marshall became partner with Mr jack and, on the death of Mr Jack, Mr Marshall became sole partner of the firm. Under Mr Marsahll’s skilful and energetic management the business of Messrs Jack & Sons has continued to flourish in a marked degree, and the works of this firm are now amongst the most extensive of the kind in Scotland, while the name of the firm is accepted throughout the whole of the United Kingdom as an absolute guarantee of the high quality of the implements turned out at these works. The principal implements made by Messrs Jack & Sons are the “Caledonian Buckeye” reapers and mowers, together with rick lifters, cultivators, carts, rollers, potato diggers, horse rakes, turnip owes, &c. They also carry on a large home timber trade, having extensive sawmills both at Maybole and in the north of Ireland, which gives them special facilities for the manufacture of carts, vans, lorries, and wheels, for which their name is widely known throughout the United Kingdom. Mr Marshall individually is a most genial gentleman, whom it is a pleasure for any one to meet, and no one stands higher than he does in the estimation of his fellow exhibitors. When Mr Anderson, of Messrs Ben Reid & Co., retired from the presidency of the Scottish Agricultural Engineers two years ago, Mr Marshall’s brother engineers expressed their warm appreciation of his many admirable qualities by electing him to the presidency of the Association, and this honourable post he still holds.”

Next time you see an Alexander Jack & Sons implement or machine around the Scottish rlally fields, think about the important role played by John Marshall.

The photographs were taken at the Ayrshire vintage rally, July 2016.

If you were a farmer or an agriculturist looking to purchase a turnip sower in the first decade of the twntieth century you could choose one from a number of makers.

James Macdonald, writing in Stephens’ Book of the Farm writes of turnip seed drills in 1908: “various have been the forms of turnip-sowing machines, and modes of distributing the seed. The old heavy square wooden-framed machine with its revolving seed-barrel, once so common, is now seldom seen. Its weight was useful in heavy soils, but it was cumbrous, and the seed-barrel required great care to give an equal delivery. The improved modern turnip-drill sowing-machine is light, elegant, and easily managed. It consists of a simple iron frame, with shafts, handles, two rollers, seed-boxes, spouts, and coulters. The arrangements for working the seed-boxes, and for regulating the quantity of seed deposited, vary considerably, but the better known drills are all thoroughly efficient and reliable in working. The modern machine, represents an excellent machine, made by James Gordon, Castle Douglas. Most of these modern drills can also be arranged with larger boxes for the sowing of mangels. Rollers can be attached to the rear of the machine, but these are only sometimes used.”

If you were an Ayrshire farmer or agriculturist looking to purchase a range of implements and machines from local makers in 1949, you would have looked at the catalogue of Alexander Jack & Sons Ltd, Maybole.

Jack had been famous for a range of implements and machines including potato diggers, hay machinery, and carts. The company continued to make these implements as well as others. They included: Tractor trailer, low loading, fitteed with Dunlop 7.50×10 pneumatic wheels, with tractor hitch and 8 in brake drums Cart and rick lifter combined, with Dunlop pneumatic wheels, 7.50×10 and horse shafts Coup cart no. 13, general purpose, long body with 9 in side boards, Tractor hitch, 10 in brake drums, harvest wings, and front lever wheel Coup cart, no 9, 18 in hinged pattern, with 7 in side boards and Dunlop 8.00×19 wheels and axle Coup cart, no 6, 16 in with 7 in sideboards and Dunlop 8.00 x 19 wheels and axle Barrow, no. 3, farm, with Dunlop wheel Barrow, no. 1, 1/2 sack, with Dunlop wheels Barrow, no. 1, turnip, with Dunlop pneumatic wheels Truck, feed, with Dunlop wheels Hay collector for horse Hay sweep for Ferguson tractor Potato digger, Caledonian Manure distributor, no 3 Imperial “Ajax” distributor, for lime and slag  Plough and manure distributor and dibbler, triplex three drill for tractor draught Plough, manure distributor and dibbler, Triplex tree drill, for attachment to power lift on tractor  Three drill cleaner Weeder, for horse draught Weeder for tractor Disc drill scarifier for tractor power lift “Crown” horse hoe Three drill cultivator for horse Divider knife.

A wide selection of noted productions from an eminent Ayrshire implement maker!

The photographs were taken at the Ayr Vintage Rally, June 1015.

If you wanted to but a potato planter in 1952 you could have chosen one from a number of makers throughout Britain.

By this date there were few makers of potato planters in Scotland. The most notable was J. L. & J. Ballach, Gorgie Implement Works, Edinburgh. It manufactured its “Richardson”, a 2 row multi-purpose machine with Ferguson attachment. It was a tractor mounted planter, for three point hydraulic linkage. It was for using on drills with a width of between 24 and 30 inch wide.

Most of the makers of planters were made by English makers, with some of them being well-known. They included the tractor maker, Harry Ferguson Ltd, Coventry. It had two models. One with a 3 cwt capacity, attached to a hydraulic mounted toolbar. It was hand operated with an adjustable timing device. It came with a conversion set for chitted seed. A second planter had a 3 1/2 cwt hopper attached to a hydraulic mounted Ferguson toolbar. It was of the hand dropper type with a timing device. It could be provided as separate models for seed potatoes and chatted potatoes, spacing the seed at between 8 and 16 inches. You can still see some of the Ferguson tattle planters round the Scottish rallies.

Other makers included E. O. Culverwell, Lewes, Sussex, with its three row, semi-automatic, tractor trailing or hydraulic mounted, “Cover-well”. It could be used with Fordson Major tractor. W. T. Teague (Machinery) Ltd, Truro, Cornwall, had a 2 or 3 row planter for use with the Fordson Major and Nuffield tractors. It was designed with hoppers for either unchitted and with trays for chatted seeds. Transplanters (Robot) Ltd, Sandridge, Hertfordshire, made a range of models for 2 or 3 rows, for tractor use. One of its models, a 2 row, tractor drawn, semi-automatic, had a fertiliser attachment. It worked off the flat, with ridging bodies or discs. It worked on drills 28 inches as standard, though it could also work on ones for 24, 26 and 30 inches. It could space the sets from anything between 12 and 36 inches. at anything from between 1 and 6 inches below the ground.

Another maker that was well-known in Scotland was Modern Designs ltd, Longfield Road, Twyford, Berkshire. It was known for its “Packman” planters. it made three models, all for the tractor. One of them was its tractor drawn, 3-row semi-automatic, which worked on 26, 27, 28 or 30 inch rows. It could space the sets (chitted seed) between 7 1/2 and 18 inches apart. It had a hopper capacity of 6 cwt. It required three people on the back of the planter – one to put seed into the cups for each drill. One of the drawbacks of the planter was that if the operator let down the planter too quickly at the end of the field it would shear the bolts for the ploughs and when the tractor left the end of the field, the plough bodies would be left at the end of the field!

Despite the fact that Scotland was such an important country for potatoes (seed and ware) by the 1950s, there were few Scottish makers. Scottish farmers and agriculturists had to look further afield to England to have a wide selection of planters. This was also to be the same for potato harvesters that were to come onto the scene in increasing numbers in the following decade.

The photographs of the Packman planter were taken at the Fife Vintage Agricultural Implement rally, June 2016.