Category: About this site

Duncan MacNeill was an agricultural implement agent and dealer at 22 Halbert Street, Glasgow in 1931. By 1933 he had opened up a premises in Orchard Place, Stirling, from where he was an authorised Fordson agent. Duncan saw opportunities to develop his business and in 1939 he incorporated his company as MacNeill Tractors Limited. An advert in the Scottish Farmer in the following year describes his company as “McNeill Tractors Ltd of Glasgow and Stirling, showrooms 147 Bothwell Street, Glasgow”. By July 1940 the company was “McNeill Tractors, St Peter’s Lane, Glasgow”, the Bothwell Street entrance having been discontinued for urgent National reasons. The company continued to trade until at least 1960.

While the company’s early focus was on Fordson tractors, it came to be a major forceful the distribution of David Brown tractors in Scotland. In 1956 the company advertised in the Scottish Farmer as “MacNeill Tractors Ltd, agricultural and automobile engineers, 20 Graham Square, Glasgow, distributors for David Brown and Albion implements; stores and woks, 57-61 Meiklewood Road, Glasgow. Also stores and services depot, Edward Road, Stirling.”

The company’s relationship with David Brown Tractors was an interesting one, starting during the Second World War. In 1943 Duncan MacNeill set up a sister company Duncan MacNeill Tractors (Edinburgh) Limited, which was incorporated in March 1943. It had a share capital of £5,000 divided into 5000 ordinary shares of £1 each. Its articles of association included an article which showed a close association with David Brown Tractors: “so long as David brown and Mess MacNeil Tractors Ltd, are equally interested in the share capital of the company, two Directors shall be nominated by David Brown and two by Messrs MacNeil Tractors Ltd. The Directors so nominated shall not be subject to election by the company on general meeting, nor shall they be subject to the regulations for retiral and rotation of Directors contained in these Articles.” The first of the Directors were the Company Secretary of David Brown – Sydney Braithwaite – and the commercial manager – Fredrick Bowyer Marsh. The qualification of a Director was to be the holding of 250 shares in the capital of the company. From MacNeil tractors were nominated Duncan MacNeil, engineer, and John Stewart Bauchop, manager. The first return of allotments for April 1943 shows MacNeil, Bauchop, Braithwaite and Bowyer with each 250 shares. In addition, David Brown Corporation of Great Britain Ltd had 500 shares. Macneill Tractors Ltd had a further 500 shares.

In April 1946 Duncan MacNeill Tractors (Edinburgh) Limited passed a special resolution to change its name to D. B. Tractors (Scotland) Ltd, subject to the approval of the Board of Trade. That approval was given in May 1946. The following months saw changes in the shareholding structure of the company. Duncan MacNeill resigned his Directorship in November 1946. The annual return of 21 December 1946 saw the shares of MacNeill, Bauchop, Braithwaite and Bowyer as well as MacNeill Tractors Ltd all being transferred to the David Brown Corporation of Great Britain Ltd. A further return of 13 September 1947 showed that the David Brown Corporation of Great Britain) Ltd had 1998 of the 2000 shares, with its commercial manager and sales manager each having a further share.

Further changes were brought about in the next few years. The company changes name again again. A resolution was passed on 13 December 1949 to change the name to David Brown Tractors (Scotland) Ltd. The approval of the change was made in early January 1950. The annual report of December 1951 showed a profit of £1,119,17.8. Though the company ceased to trade on 30 June 1953, it continued to file annual returns until January 1971. The company was dissolved on 30 January 1973.

What happened to Duncan MacNeill? He set up other companies to sell and deal in plant and agricultural machinery. In the mid to late 1950s he set up McNeill farm Industries, 69 Payne Street, Glasgow (later Bath Street and works at Port Dundas). It was sequestrated in December 1959. From 1962 to 1967 set up and ran D. MacNeill Industries Ltd, plant and agricultural machinery merchants, 95 bath Street, Glasgow.

The business activities of Duncan MacNeill and David Brown provide interesting insights into business organisation to sell tractors into Scotland. You might still see a McNeill nameplate on tractors around the rally fields.

The photographs of the David Drown from McNeill Tractors Ltd and accompanying invoices was photographed at the Scottish National Tractor Show, September 2013. The line up of David Brown tractors was photographed at the Daviot Vintage Rally, October 2016.

New Year’s Day was one of the big holidays in the farming year. While some farmers and the farm workers had a holiday on this day, in some years work continued apace. My father’s farming diary for Pilmuir, Balerno, indicates that on January 1 1957 he was out carting turnips. However, in the more enlightened years of 1959 and 1960 he had a holiday. The one in 1958 was also carried over to January 4 – that was a major holiday.

January was a month of looking after the livestock, feeding and mucking them out, threshing and baling, as well as looking forward to the new agricultural year. Ploughing was one of the major tasks to be undertaken during the month. In 1958 my father was busy with the lea ploughing over a number of days.

Just think about how indispensable barrows are on the farm for moving foodstuffs and other produce around the farm.

If you were a farmer or agriculturist looking to purchase a new barrow in 1910 you could choose one from a number of makers in Scotland.

While hay was traditionally carted loose into towns and cities, new means were developed to compress hay into bales to make it easier to transport. Hay baling presses started to emerge and be more widely iused in the 1890s. By 1908 Henry Stephens’ The Book of the Farm could state about them:

“Much ingenuity and enterprise have therefore been exerted in the devising of hay-presses-additional impetus being given to these efforts by the railway companies offering a reduced rate for carriage when 50cwt or more is packed on to an ordinary railway waggon. For this purpose, such pressure as will pack nearly alb of hay or straw into a cubic foot is sufficient.
At various trials of hay-presses have been conducted throughout the country, and in this way several efficient appliances for the purpose have been brought into notice. Large presses for steam-power have been introduced, but smaller presses for horse- or hand-power are more widely used.”

If you were a farmer at the end of the Fist World War you may have had an interest in tractors that were starting to be used on Scottish farms, or had used one of them. The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland was also interested in the tractors and tillage implements, running a series of trials from 1915 into the early 1920s.

The Society’s trial held between 17 and 20 October 1922 was provided an important forum for the exhibition of tractors – including the Glasgow tractor – and implements, especially ploughs, made by Scottish and other makers.

The Scottish ploughs were made by some of the leading plough makers of the day, showing their recognition that tractor ploughs were the way forward for the Scottish agriculturist. The ploughs included ones from Robert Begg & Son, Implement Words, Dalry, had a double-furrow self-lift tractor plough which was described as “strongly constructed”. The committee described it as “a well-constructed, easily adjustable plough, readily adapted for either stubble or lea, and suited for all classes of soil. It did good work both on stubble and lea, and the plots ploughed by it were considered to be amongst the best on the ground.”

Morton Engineering Company, Ladylands, Corstorphine, Edinburgh, had a new combined utility implement for general purpose tractor work which embraces a 2-furrow adjustable plough and subsoiler, 9- or 11- tine cultivator, 9-tine stubble scarifier, 5- or 7- tine grubber. The committee described this new plough, convertible into a grubber or cultivator” as being “well designed, simple in construction, and readily adjustable. It did very good work on stubble and excellent work on lea, where its performance reached a very high standard. The Committee are of opinion that a combined implement of this description is a creditable production, and one likely to commend itself to farmers”.

A. Newlands & Sons Ltd, St Magdalene Engineering Works, Linlithgow, demonstrated a self-lift 7-tine grubber, constructed on the same principles as the old Scotch parallel frame grubber, but made specially strong for work with a tractor, as well as two self-lift cultivators, one with 9 tines, the other with 11 tines, and a self-lift brake harrow to work in conjunction with a cultivator.

G. Sellar & Son, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, demonstrated its Sellar B.D.F. type, 2/3-furrow self-lift tractor plough which had a main frame of simple construction combined with strength; it was made of best quality Bessemer steel. It also had a self-lift tractor grubber. The Committee described the 3-furrow, convertible to 2-furrow plough as a “good plough”. It was “easily and quickly adjustable to varying widths and depths. Its work did not reach the highest standard at the demonstration, the principle objection noted being that it did not sufficiently bury the surface vegetation.” The grubber was described as “a well-made powerful 5-tine self-lift grubber, wich broke an unploughed stubble to a depth of 7″ or 8″, and did its work in a first-rate manner”.

A number of Scottish implement and machine makers demonstrated implements from other makers, usually from companies outside Scotland. For example, Henry Alexander & Company, Nottingham Place, Edinburgh, a Fordson dealer, had an Oliver no. 7 2 furrow 10″ to 12″ adjustable plough. Henderson Brothers, 29 Barnton Street, Stirling, had a Massey-Harris 2 furrow adjustable plough, a Massey-Harris 9-tine self-lift cultivator, a Massey-Harris tandem disc harrow and a Massey-Harris spring-tooth harrow. Alexander Jack & Sons, Maybole, had a Dux- self-lift tractor plough with subsoiling attachment. Wallace (Glasgow) Limited, 34 Paton Street, Glasgow, had an Oliver no 78 3-furrow self-lift tractor plough, 10″ wide.

The Committee considered that there had been a significant advance in ploughs since the earlier trials of the Society. It reported that “much good work was performed. All ploughs are now fitted with a self-lift attachment. Many of them are also provided with and efficient means of adjustment to different widths and depths. In view of the varying conditions of soil in Scotland and the variety of work to be undertaken, a plough that is not adjustable must be regarded as being unsuitable. There is still room for improvement, but in the case and rapidity with which adjustment may be effected. In this connection it may be noted that a tractor plough, taking 2 or 3 furrows, requires more adjustment than a horse plough.”

Next time you are at a ploughing match and you see trailing ploughs, think about the early days of the tractor ploughs and the important work of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in promoting them to the Scottish agriculturist.

The photographs of trailing ploughs and ploughing with them were taken at the Scottish Ploughing Championships, October 2016.

The major agricultural shows dominated the agricultural calendar. If you were a Scottish farmer, the peak of the show year was the Highland Show or the Royal Highland Show. For the Scottish implement and machine makers, it was one of the highlights, if not the highlight of the year. It was the place to launch new implements and machines (and enter one for the prestigious “New Implement” award), and to sell manufactures to the Scottish and other farmers and agriculturists. For some of the most important Scottish makers the Royal Show, or the “Royal”, usually held in June, was another important event in their calendars. So too, was the Smithfield, held in the middle of December.

The Smithfield was one of the most important shows for the English implement and machine makers to launch new manufactures. For the most important Scottish makers, the Smithfield was a chance for them to bring their manufactures to the attention of the English makers where all the “big” names were in attendance, as well as the English farmers and agriculturists. It was also an important forum for them to extend their reputations and their markets.

The number of Scottish implement and machine makers that attended Smithfield was, however, small. Their attendance reveals a great deal about who were the key players in the Scottish implement and machinery industry, their aspirations and the manufactures that they wanted to promote to the English agriculturist. Their numbers varied from year to year according to whether they had new manufactures and other factors. In 1903 there were six Scottish exhibitors; there were 14 in 1914.

Some of the Scottish makers were regular attenders. they included: Andrew Pollock (later A. & W. Pollock), Machine, J. D. Allan & Sons, Murthly, Thomas Hunter & Sons, Maybole, Alex Jack & Sons, Maybole, Ben Reid & Co, Aberdeen, and John Wallace & Sons Ltd, Glasgow. It is interesting to note how many of them are from Ayrshire.

Because of the limited amount of space at Smithfield, and the expense of taking implements, the Scottish makers exhibited key implements and machines. They also reflected their key manufactures and new productions, as well as improvements to them. They were also ambitious in what they took, as well s the stands that they hired: in 1903 the Scottish farmer reports “Andrew Pollock, Implement Works, Mauchline, Ayrshire, deserves credit and energy and pluck that promoted him to take stand 50, where his wares were on show”.

In 1903 J. & R. Wallace exhibited several of their manure distributors. Andrew Pollock’s manufactures included a cart with hay loader. J. D. Allan exhibited their thistle and bracken cutters. Thomas Hunter had a scarifier, drills, food coolers, hoes and many other implements. Alex Jack had potato-diggers, and manure distributors. ben Reid & co., had manure distributors, cultivators, pumps and other implements. John Wallace & Son Ltd, had “their usual exhibits” which included mowers and reapers, ploughs, potato-difggers and harrows.

All of these implements and machines were intimately associated with these makers. By 1903 they were associated with them. For example, the implements of Alex Jack & Sons were “well known: while John Wallace & Son was “already famed for their agricultural implements”.

We no longer have the Smithfield Show. But if you ask members of the agricultural community and implement makers what they associate December with, they might hjust say “Smithfield” and start reminiscing about the show and going to London.

The photographs of nameplates,, seats eetc were taken at various rallies and events in Scotland in 2014 and 2015.

If you were a farmer or agriculturist looking to buy a new plough in 1899 you would have had a wide selection to draw from. Throughout Scotland, and especially in the eastern agricultural districts there were small makers associated with particular districts, with their ploughs being adapted for particular soil types and types of work. There were also larger makers some of which were located in the market towns, as well as the towns and cities. The prominent makers included A. Newlands & Son, Linlithgow, George Gray, Uddingston, George Sellar & Son, Huntly, Ben Reid & Co., Aberdeen.

In addition to ploughs being made by prominent makers in Scotland, a number of the leading agricultural implement and machine makers were agent for other makers. P. & R. Fleming & Co., Glasgow, was agent for Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ltd, Ipswich, as was W. H. Kirkwood, Lothian Bridge, Dalkeith. Milne & MacDonald, Lockerbie, was agents for the Cockshutt Plough Co., North America, as was also Alexander Jack & Sons, Maybole. John Wallace & Sons Ltd, Glasgow, was agent for a wide range of Oliver ploughs.

While ploughs were used for a wide range of purposes, including ordinary ploughing, deep ploughing, and the making of drills, farmers could purchase a range of ploughs for their ordinary work. A. Newlands & Son sold a two horse swing plough for £1 15s as well as a prize swing plough with steel mould board also for £5 15s. George Gray had a range of models of its prize swing plough. Wheel ploughs, more usually associated with English agriculture, were also available with P. & R. Fleming selling a Ransomes’ plough with double wheels for £4 10s or one with a single wheel for £4 5s.

Chill ploughs had gained popularity and were being sold by a number of the implement and machine makers. Wm Storie & Son, Newton St Boswells, sold Ransomes chilled ploughs with wheels and skim coulters (for £4 5s each). Newlands made its own child steel plough with wheel for £4 2s 6d. Probably the most famous of all of the chilled ploughs were those made by Oliver and sold by John Wallace & Sons Ltd, Glasgow. Wallace sold a wide range of these ploughs including Oliver’s long handled chilled plow, Oliver’s lea chilled plow, Oliver’s combination chilled low, Oliver’s chilled plow, Oliver’s large chilled low, with jointer and Oliver’s one horse chilled plow. Other notable chilled ploughs were also imported from Canada: the “Dux” plough made by Cockshutt Plough Co. The most noted importer of the “Dux” ploughs was Alexander Jack & Sons, Maybole, which widely advertised its agency of them in the Scottish agricultural press. Among its range of “Dux” ploughs was “The Dux 96”, selling at £4 2s 6d, the “Dux 96” with double wheels, “The senior Dux”, and “The senior Dux” with skim coulter. Also available were Anglo-American ploughs such as the Anglo American chilled iron plough with two wheels, skim and tail presser sold by Thomas Hunter & Sons, Maybole or the Anglo American plough no 1 sold by George Sellar & Son, Huntly.

Turn wrest ploughs were also available with P. & R. Fleming selling one from Ransomes for £4 12s 6d. Wallace had an Oliver’s turn wrest plow for £4 5s. Double furrow ploughs were also available.

There were also improved features associated with ploughs: we have noted the availability of steel mouldboards; there were steel shares, skim coulters and tail pressers, cutting wheels, and improved coulter fastenings. Reversible points were also available. George Gray, Uddingston, sold a patent “red star” plough with reversible points for £4 2s 6d and a patent “red star” plough with reversible points and two wheels, for £4 10s.

If you were looking to purchase a plough in 1899 you could could choose from ones from a range of makers (most of whom were widely known and renowned by that time) and with a range of designs and features, with important influences from North America.

The photographs show horse ploughing with a Ransomes wheel plough at the Easter Ross ploughing match, October 2015.

A number of the Ayrshire implement and machine makers rose to prominence in Ayrshire, across Scotland and throughout the world for their manufactures. One of them was Thomas Hunter & Sons, Maybole.

Thomas Hunter, a smith, in Maybole, announced his implements in the North British Agriculturist on 8 May 186. By 1883 his business had expanded so that he worked out of the Implement Works, Maybole. He was joined by his sons by 1895, renaming his business from Thomas Hunter to Thomas Hunter & Sons. That name was to continue until April 1914 when the company reorganised and became a company limited by guarantee: Thos. Hunter & Sons (Maybole) Ltd.

Thomas Hunter was an eminent agricultural engineer. In 1893 the North British Agriculturist provided a cameo of him. It states: “Mr Thomas Hunter, of Maybole, has long been one of the best known and most frequent exhibitors of all the leading agricultural shows, not only in Scotland, but also in England and Ireland. Since the death of the late Mr John Kemp, of Messrs Kemp & Nicholson, Stirling, Mr Hunter may be said to be the “father of the Scottish agricultural implement trade”. He was born in Maybole, and bred to the implement trade, which he learned with his father. At the age of sixteen years he set up a business on his own account in Liverpool, and exhibited on two occasions in the Haymarket, Liverpool, at the shows of the “Manchester and Liverpool”, which is now known as the Royal Liverpool, Manchester, and North Lancashire Agricultural Society. As showing the immense progress made by that Society, it may be mentioned that in these early days there were only about half a dozen exhibitors in the implement section at the show. On the death of his father, Mr Hunter returned to Maybole. Mr Hunter has been a regular exhibitor at the Highland Society’s shows for the last forty years, and for a good few of the first of these years his implement exhibits had all to be conveyed by carrier to Glasgow. The principal implements made by Mr Hunter are swing and chilled ploughs, the “triple drill” plough, which opens three drills at a time, and is largely used in the early potato districts; the “Hunter hoe and scarifier”, a most useful appliance in root and potato culture; the Hunter turnip raiser, another most useful implement for lifting the turnip crop, diagonal harrows, drag harrows, rollers, turnip slicers, sheep racks, &c. As showing the appreciation which Mr Hunter’s appliance shave met with at the hands of agriculturists, we may mention that he has been awarded more than 250 gold and silver medals and money prizes at the leading agricultural shows. No better testimonial as to the high quality and great usefulness of the appliances designed and manufactured by him could be desired than that furnished by the unique record which he can show of gold medals and other prizes awarded to his exhibits by the implement judges at the principal agricultural shows. Mr Hunter has an excellent business manner which peculiarly fits him for the work of an implement exhibitor, and in social life he is most genial and well-informed gentleman, whose society is always profitable and agreeable.” The company’s implements included a wide range of cultivating implements. In 1867 they included drill grubbers, horse hoes, drill harrows (for medium or heavy land), land rollers, zig zag harrows (for medium of heavy land), chain harrows (for medium or light land) and a plough with potato raiser. By 1867 the company was also making implements from other makers and patents. They included Tennant’s grubber, one of the most renowned implements of that time, and Dickson’s new patent double patent double drill turnip cleaner, another one.

The company was also an early agent for a number of the renowned English (and also Scottish) makers. In 1871 they included Mellard & Co., Rugelet,and in 1875 W. N. Nicholson & Son, Newark on Trent (for hay makers), R. Tinkler, Penrith (noted churn maker) and G. W. Murray, Banff. By 1899 it was agent for other companies such as John Richardson, Carlisle, Plano Manufacturing Co., London, and J. & F. Howard, Bedford.

As noted by the North British Agriculturist, the company had numerous awards. Those from the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, the national agricultural society, were especially important. They included a silver medal for two patent turnip thinners in 1873, a minor silver medal for its collection in 1875, and a first and second prize (with G. W. Murray & Co., Banff) for a turnip lifter in 1881. The company also entered a number of implements and machines for the Society’s trials, including its trial of seed cleaners (in 1882), a trial of turnip thinners (in 1883), a self-acting double-drill revolving turnip-thinner (in 1886), a trial of manure distributors (in 1894) and a trial of turnip lifters (in 1895).

The company passed a resolution to wind up on 30 May 1921. By 1924 the North British Agriculturist was advertising Hunter’s hoes, but the company was referred to as “Alexr Jack & Sons Ltd, Maybole, proprietors of Thomas Hunter & Sons (Maybole) Ltd. It continued to advertise in the North British Agriculturist until at last May 1934.

Some Hunter hoes bear both the Hunter name and a Jack name. The Hunter hoe secured Hunter’s legacy. A few Hunter hoes can still be seen around the rally fields. When you see one, think about the great legacy of the Hunter name in Scotland and around the world.

The photographs of the Hunter hoe were taken at the Scottish National Tractor Show, Lanark, September 2014.

We all remember the hard work of shawing the turnips or neeps by hand.  It was a cold wet and tiring job. Numb hands and a sharp knife could also make it a dangerous job. And the job could go on for day after day.

In the 1890s the Scottish agricultural implement and machine makers, especially those in the areas where large acreages of neeps were grown, looked at how they could try to remove the drudgery from this work. Some were well-known makers of implements; others were local blacksmiths.  They had the challenge of making an implement that could loosen the neeps from the drills in which they grew, tail them, and also top them.  And neeps didn’t grow evenly in the drill.  Nor did they grow to the same size.