CHAP. II. 



RENNIE'S MASTER ANDREW MEIKLE. 



105 



CHAPTER II. 



KENNIE'S MASTER ANDREW MEIKLE. 



ANDREW FLETCHER, of Saltoun, fled into Holland during 

 the political troubles in the reign of Charles II., arid 

 during his residence there he was particularly struck by 

 the expert methods employed by the Dutch in winnow- 

 ing corn and shealing barley. The chaff was then ordi- 

 narily separated from the corn by means of wind upon 

 a knoll, or a draught of air blowing through the barn- 

 door ; and barley was shealed by pounding the grains 

 with water in the hollow of a stone, until by that means 

 the husks were rubbed off. Fletcher saw that there was 

 a great waste of labour in these processes, and during 

 his residence abroad he determined to introduce the 

 Dutch methods into his own country. Writing home to 

 his brother, he desired him to send out to Holland one 

 James Meikle, an ingenious country wright of Wester 

 Keith, 1 for the purpose of learning the above arts and 

 importing the requisite machinery into Scotland. After 

 a stay of about two months in that country, Meikle re- 

 turned home, bringing with him a winnowing-machine, 

 commonly called a pair of fanners, and the ironwork re- 

 quisite for a barley-mill. These were safely transported 

 to Leith, and afterwards conveyed to Saltoun, where the 

 barley-mill was erected and set to work ; and for many 

 years it was the only machine of the kind in the British 

 dominions, so slow were people in those days to copy the 



1 It would seem that the ancestors 

 of Meikle were held in esteem as in- 

 genious workmen for generations ; the 

 Scots Parliament having, in 1686, 

 passed a special Act for the encourage- 



ment of John Meikle, founder, who, 

 it appears, was the first person to in- 

 troduce the art of iron-founding into 

 Scotland. 



