Trial of Henderson Plough — At Sorn
Forestry Commission copyright images of Forest Research photographs courtesy of Glenn Brearley, Roslin. C1690
A wonderful study of men watching a man at work!
Briefly described in Andy Neustein’s History of Plough Development in British Forestry – Ploughing on wet soils he records the following: ‘The next event , ill recorded and only dimly remembered by surviving spectators, was a demonstration in 1933 at Gartmore, Stirlingshire, of a draining machine produced by Messers Henderson of Catrin, Ayrshire, later of Stepps , Glasgow. This machine either drawn by a tractor or winched, was also tried at Lennox, but presumably it did not reach expectations and no further work with it appears to have been done. (Versions of this machine were described in the Scottish Journal of Agriculture, Volume XIII 1920.) The demonstration was attended by Mr D H Ross. A forester of the Forestry Commission .....’
This image is produced from a very small photograph and is fairly indistinct but it does show the plough being winched with a tractor with surprisingly wide tracks for the era. The other very interesting point is the use of an arch frame to carry the plough. Is this the forerunner of later ploughs by D H Ross and James Cuthbertson?
It is very unclear from the image whether the arch has been pulled forward of the main plough body, or how the two parts are attached. There is a suggestion of a rope going up to a rotating barrel on top of the frame at one end of which could be a hand crank. The exact purpose of the vertical rod is unclear but has similarities to later plough features. The mechanism at the very rear between the mould boards is also a bit of a mystery. Can anyone suggest the functions?
For its time this is a very impressively deep drain, perhaps a bit narrow, again the use of a double throw mouldboards at this depth must be innovative. There are no obvious signs of coulters unless the wide roller at the front had a central cutting disc incorporated.
Any further information on this plough would especially be very welcome.
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Groups: Forest Research, Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, Groups of people, Tractors Ploughs and Drainage Machines