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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



THRASHING MACHINES, 



The monthly meeting of the members of the 

 Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland was 

 held on Wednesday, the 24th March, 1858. The 

 Right Hon. Sir John M'Neil, K.C.B., in the 

 chair. 



Mr. Hor£, Fenton Barns, said — In introducing 

 this subject, perhaps a slight sketch of their his- 

 tory might not be uninteresting, particularly as it 

 enables us to review the progress that has been 

 made in mechanical science, the great saving of 

 labour, both human and animal, that has been 

 effected, and the large additional quantity of food 

 produced, by the more perfect manner in which 

 grain is now separated from the straw. In early 

 times this separation was performed by laying 

 down the straw with full ears in a narrow circle, 

 named in holy writ "the thrashing floor," and 

 treading it out with the feet of oxen. It was one 

 of the benevolent edicts of the divinely commis- 

 sioned Jevvish Lawgiver. " Thou shalt not muz- 

 zel the ox when he treadeth out the corn." This 

 method is still followed in Eastern countries; and 

 even at the present day, as we learn from the 

 latest authorities, in some of the States of America, 

 a large proportion of the grain is trodden out by 

 horses. With grain easily raised, and cheap in 

 comparison to the wages of labour, and in hot and 

 dry climates, which renders grain more easily 

 shaken from the straw, this manner of performing 

 the work may not be so unsuitable as might at 

 first be supposed ; still, under every circumstance, 

 there must be great waste of the blessings of divine 

 providence. It is believed that the Jews possessed 

 instruments which may be described as thrashing 

 machines; but these were only heavy pieces of wood, 

 sometimes shod with flints, sometimes revolving 

 cylinders or teethed wheels, and being dragged by 

 the oxen over the grain, in a manner multiphed the 

 number of their feet in contact with it, and, con- 

 sequently, the work was done in less time. I 

 believe it is not known when that simple imple- 

 ment the flail was first invented or used as a 

 thrashing machine. It was well known to the 

 ancient Romans, and at present is in general use 

 throughout the continent of Europe. Even in 

 some districts of England it is still a common 

 implement on large farms, at least it was so before 

 the repeal of the corn laws. In Scotland it has 

 long been restricted to the Highland crofters. 

 Early in the last century there are various accounts 

 of attempts made to construct more compHcated 

 machines to save labour in beating out the grain. 

 One, if not the first, of which there is any record 

 was by Mr. Michael Menzies, an Edinburgh advo- 

 cate, who resided in East Lothian; his brother 

 bemg proprietor of Letham, near Haddington, and 

 also sheriff of the county from 1718 to 1725. A 

 patent was obtained for Mr. Menzies' machine in 

 1732, and it was declared by the Society of Im- 

 provers in Scotland, "to be likely of great use to 

 farmers, both in thrashing the grain cleaa from the 



straw, and in saving a great deal of labour." It 

 was on the principle of driving a number of flails, 

 which were made to revolve round a cylinder, by 

 means of water power. But from the force with 

 which it was wrought the flails were soon broken 

 to pieces, and the invention proved a failure. 

 Another thrashing machine was invented about 

 1758, by Mr. Michael Stirling, a farmer in the 

 parish of Dumblane, Perthshire. This machine 

 was similar to the flax scutching mills of the day. 

 It has been described as a vertical shaft with 4 

 crossed arms enclosed in a cylindrical case 3^ feet 

 high, and 8 feet diameter. Within this case the 

 shaft and its arms were driven with considerable 

 velocity. The sheaves of corn being let down 

 gradually through an opening on the top of the 

 box, the grain was beaten oflf by the arms, and 

 pressed, with the straw, through an opening of the 

 floor. The grain was separated from the straw by 

 riddles shaken by the mill, and then cleaned by 

 fanners, also driven by it. It was reckoned the 

 great defect of this machine that it broke off the 

 ears of barley and wheat instead of beating out the 

 grain. It succeeded better with oats, and was 

 used by Mr. Stirling himself, and also by some 

 others for several years. It was driven either with 

 water or cattle. A few years after Mr. Stirling's 

 machine came into the partial use it attained, mills 

 of a similar construction were introduced into 

 Northumberland by Mr. Edward Gregson, only 

 they were worked by hand power. Some time 

 after this, or in 1772, Mr. Oxley erected a thrash- 

 ing machine at Flodden, moved by horses. The 

 corn was fed in betwixt two fluted rollers, and 

 struck by switchers, placed at 3 inches distant, on 

 the cross arms of an open drum : the scutchers 

 were made of wood, and attached by leathern straps, 

 or hung on hinges, as they were described. There- 

 after, or in 1773, Mr. Ilderton erected two thrashing 

 machines, one at Ilderton, and another at Hawk- 

 hill, both near Alnwick. They were worked by 

 horses, and were made to rub the grain out by 

 projecting pieces of wood (on the circumference of 

 a large cylinder) rubbing against several fluted 

 rollers. He used these machines many years, but 

 it was frequently necessary to put the straw twice 

 through before it was perfectly clean. Sir Francis 

 Kinloch, of Gilmerton, who was a man esteemed, 

 in his day, for his mechanical knowledge, had seen 

 Mr. Ilderton's machine, and also the common flax 

 mill. He endeavoured, by combining the two, to 

 produce a workable machine. Sir Francis had a 

 large model made ; and as it could not be wrought 

 by hand power, he sent it to Mr. Andrew Meikle. 

 miller, and maker of barley and flour mills, at 

 Houston Mill, Prestonkirk, that its effects might 

 be ascertained by the water wheel of Mr. Meikle's 

 barley mill; but in making the trial the model was 

 torn to pieces, and a like fate befel a machine of 

 full size, which Sir Francis erected a few years 

 afterwards for one of his tenants, How far Mr, 



