The hay harvest was always hard work. There was the endless turning of the drying grass on the ground to ensure that it dried evenly and was dry enough to store. There were numerous attempts to try to mechanise the work of the hay harvest, including machines that were more effective and efficient at turning over and aerating the drying grass. There were also attempts to make reduce the amount of crop that was to be forked and moved.
In 1918 Mr G. Paterson, Wester Frew, Kippen, near Stirling, has patented a hay coiling machine with loading attachment. It was described at length in The Scottish Farmer on 14 December 1918. It stated:
“A new hay collector
Mr G. Paterson, Wester Frew, Kippen, near Stirling, has patented a hay coiling machine with loading attachment. The machine is very cleverly designed, and the full-sized models which have already been made have worked with commendable precision and satisfaction. The apparatus consists of a pivoted mould with releasing doors and an endless band for loading. As the machine is drawn forward the elevator or conveyor automatically operates by chain gears from the axle of one of the wheels and lifts up and discharges the hay over the top of the mould. This mould is shaped like a coil, and when travelling to be filled the taper end is towards the ground. When it is in that position a man or boy tramps the hay into it as it falls from the elevator. When the mould is filled, the man in charge of the horses releases the catch lever, with the effect that the mould, with the hay therein, automatically tilts over to the inverted position, the man in the interior at the same time jumping out on to the ground. After this a cross bar is released, and the mould opened on either side so that it travels forward, leaving the rick standing in its proper position. As the mould is freed from the rick the gates are again closed and it is turned to its original position. The forward movement is continued, and the process is thus complete. This hay coiling machine is considered to be a valuable implement for securing the hay at harvest time, and manufacturers have an opportunity of taking it up.”
The article noted that Mr Paterson was looking for manufacturers to take up his design. By 1921 Robertson & Mclaren, Craigmill, Stirling, were making and advertising their “Victory” hay ricker. It was described as “a new implement for collecting and ricking hay”. It was exhibited at the Highland Show in 1921 and won a silver medal from the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. It also received a good deal of attention in the agricultural press.
The hay ricker changed the shape and appearance of the hay fields in areas where it was used. It was a favourite in the Carse of Stirling where large acreages of timothy were grown and the fields were flat.
The hay was made into windrows. The ricker was then drawn over the rows. It caught the hay with its revolving rakes, carrying it up an elevator and dropping it into a cage behind where a man (or two) tramped it down. When the cage was well-filled the cage was turned right over, two doors at the back of the cage opened and a rick produced.
Hay rickers were used in some parts of Scotland and throughout Britain until well after the Second World War. In 1952 you could obtain a “Mallard-Adams” from A. Adams, Langabeare Barton, Fatherly, Devon, or Rickerby Ltd, 33 Botchergate, Carlisle.
