Scottish agricultural implement makers

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.

One of the famous implement and machine makers in Ayrshire is Pollock Farm Equipment Limited. Its roots go back to 1867 when Andrew Pollock started a shop in the Cowgate, Machine. By 1877 his address was the “Implement and Machine Works, Mauchline”. He was an agricultural implement maker, a smith and a smith and farrier.

Andrew quickly recognised the importance of providing farmers with a broad range of implements and machines. In addition to making his own ones, he also acted as an agent for other makers. By 1886 he acted for W. N. Nicholson & Son, Newark on Trent, famous for their horse rakes. In later years he also sold manufactures from other of the makers such as Thomas Corbett, Perseverance Iron Works, Shrewsbury, and Harrison, McGregor & Co. Ltd, Leigh, Lancashire. All are major English makers.

Andrew became well-renowned for his own manufactures, winning a number of awards for them. But it was those implements for cultivation of the soil, hay and straw trussers, potato diggers and cheese presses that he was especially known, even well through the twentieth century. His manufactures were, according to the North British Agriculturist in 1893, “characteristically those designed for farming as carried on in Ayrshire and the adjoining counties”. He was also an inventor, applying for two patents in relation to his machine for topping and tailing turnips in 1878.

He was well-known throughout the implement-making community of Scotland, also exhibiting his manufactures at major agricultural shows including the Highland Show where he was a regular exhibitor from 1875 onwards.

The historical record will only give us a few details about the work and activities of some of the Scottish agricultural implement makers. Sometimes they may appear fro a year or a small number of years in local trade and other directories. They may advertise on one or two occasions in the farming press. Or they may appear at the Highland Show when it was visiting their area. Local records such as valuation rolls, census and other family history papers may provide additional information.

One Ayrshire implement maker for which there are few details is John Morton, Boghall Smithy, Galston. He is recorded at that address in the mid 1890s. By the fiirst decade of the twentieth century he may have moved premises, as there is a John Morton recorded at Strath Road, Newmilns. At Galston, Morton undertook business which extended to the south of Scotland. He exhibited at the Highland Show in Edinburgh in 1893, at the Dumfries show in 1895 and the Glasgow show in 1897. There he exhibited his rick lifter and a patent steel plough. By the first decade of the twentieth century, trade directories record him as an agricultural implement maker, a millwright and a smith.

Have you seen any implements or machines made by John Morton?

The photograph of the nameplate was taken at Ayrshire vintage rally, July 2016.

One of the well-known Ayrshire implement and machine makers of yesteryear was George McCartney & Co., engineers, Cunnock. The company was already established by 1850. By 1894 it was located at Glaisnock Street in Old Cumnock, and in 1903 it gave its address as Burnside Works, Cumnock, where it remained in business until the 1930s.

In 1893 the company described itself as engineers, millwrights and ironmongers. It was also an agricultural implement maker, electrical accessory and appliance manufacturer, engineer, manufacturer and mechanical engineer. It was most well known fro its thrashing machines and reaping machines. In 1870 the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland awarded its silver medal for its 3 or 4 horse power thrashing machine and in 1875 that society also awarded it a medium silver medal for one of its thrashing machines. It was its thrashing machines that it also heavily advertised in the Scottish agricultural press, in the North British Agriculturist from 1861, and the Scottish Farmer from 1893. In 1910 its threshing machines included a 3 feet 8 in bolster high speed threshing machine, with crank shakers, riddle and fanners (which sold at £77; with double blast £83), its “Eclipse” combined thresher and dresser, 20 inch wide, with horse gear (for £32); and a 16 inch thresher dresser, with revolving shakers and horse gear (for £27).

The company was a frequent attender at the Highland Show from 1850, though after 1852 it did not attend again until the 1870 show. Attendance was sporadic, with the company favouring the show in the south of Scotland and central Scotland show districts.

The company continued in business until 1933. However, its legacy continued. On 14 October 1933 William Dickie & Sons, East Kilbride advertised “McCartney & Co., Cumnock, the old established firm has given up business. We have secured the patterns and drawings for their threshing mills, water wheels, gears, water bowls &c.” If you bought a threshing mill from Dickie’s of East Kilbride, after 1933, the chance is that it would have been one that used the patterns from George McCartney & Co.

The photographs of the nameplates were taken at the Ayrshire Vintage Rally, July 2016.

If you wanted to buy a set of rollers in 1952 you could choose from a variety of types and from a range of makers.

Rollers came in a number of different types and included flat, Cambridge, ridge, and triple-gang rollers, which could be horse or tractor drawn. Widths ranged rom 7 feet wide to 24 feet wide. Some of the makers manufactured speciific types, while others made a broad range, for the two different types of power.