CiNii Books - 'Iron harvests of the field' : the making of farm machinery in Britain since 1800

In many ways this book tells a familiar story in British industry: of innovation and enterprise in the early decades ...of worldwide dominance at a time when Britain was the workshop of the world ...of wars and economic downturns ...of foreign competition ...and of relative and absolute decline on the path of de-industrialisation in the latter part of the twentieth century. For most of this period the farm machine industry grew and matured. It is an inspiring story of technological achievement and of industrial success, as farmers and engineers brought iron and steel to fields which had previously been the domain of locally made timber implements and power provided by horses.Agricultural technology moved on, inexorably, from broad-cast seed and the sound of the threshing flail, via the portable steam engine and the threshing machine, right through to the modern world of giant tractors - each with the power of 200 horses - combine harvesters and impressively efficient farming methods.This book traces the broad sweep of the whole industry over 200 years, looking at many individual companies and products to explain how and why the farm machinery industry developed in the way it did. Important individual machines are described and illustrated in detail. The British farm machine industry is unlikely ever again to be large by world standards, nor to dominate the world stage as once it did. Yet the author traces a rich vein of innovation, enterprise and technological inspiration, often taking place within the large number of relatively small-scale, craft-based workshops which were so prevalent in the early decades. Rather than mere manufacturing, therefore, perhaps it is this tradition of technical innovation and invention which marked out the British farm machinery industry for historical greatness, and perhaps it is this tradition which will continue to mark it out in the future.

Table of Contents

List of tables ix Preface and acknowledgements xi 1 The origins of an industry, 1750A-1820 1The agricultural revolution 1Farming implements before 1800 4The technological revolution 9The entrepreneurs and their businesses 11The primacy of East Anglia 15Conclusion 18 2 Towards a national market, 1820A-1850 19The economic background 19The agricultural background 20Growth of the industry 23Products and technical change 28Transport developments 32Sales and marketing 35 3 At the works around 1850 39The growth of the factories 39Work in the factory 45Conclusion 49 4 A brief supremacy, 1850A-1875 50The expansion of the home market 50Technical and product change 51Steam Power I: Evolution of the portable engine 52The spread of the threshing machine 57Steam Power II: The steam plough 58Reaping machines 66Mowing machines 70Improved field machinery 73The growth and prosperity of firms 79Marketing 81The rise of the export trade 87Conclusion 91 5 Exports to the rescue, 1875A-1913 92Problems in the home market 92The shift to exports 94Marketing, agents and overseas depots 97The rise of North American competition 98The last export boom 101Conclusions 103 6 A mature industry, 1875A-1913 104The rise of some firms and the fall of others 104Specialisation in steam 112Portable engines 113Ploughing engines 115New products 120Dairy machinery 120Internal combustion engines 123Tractors 126The legal framework, scale of production, and profits 131Conclusion 136 7 At the works in 1913 137Expansion and the larger factory 137Work in the factory c.1913 141Labour conditions and trade unions 142Masters and men 146 8 Dynasties around 1914 147Founding families 147Local influence and social responsibilities 150Gracious living for the third generation? 152Conclusion 156 9 War work, 1914A-1918 157The background 157Government armament contracts 157Labour during the war 162The loss of exports and overseas assets 164Profits and taxes 166The agricultural market and the food production programme 169Fears for the future 178 10 A new world, 1919A-1939 183The boom of 1918A-19 and the slump of 1920A-23 183The collapse of export markets 187Attempts at restructuring the industry 191Changing patterns of demand at home 200The search for new products 206Diversification saves some firms 212Fordson, Ferguson and the revival of the market 214Conclusion 224 11 War work again, 1939A-1945 225Early preparations 225New opportunities in agriculture A- Plough for Victory 228Tractors 228Other machinery 232Government regulation and control 233Loss of export markets 241Armament work 242Imports and Lend-Lease 244Profits and taxes 247The industry in 1945 250 12 A very brief supremacy, 1945A-1973 254The new post-war world and the long economic boom 254Post-war readjustment 255Agricultural policy and prosperity 256The tractor boom 258Growth and structure of the industry 269New opportunities, new products 274The export boom 284Conclusion 286 13 Coping with the competition, 1973A-2000 288The new economic environment: deindustrialisation 288Changes in home demand 290The industry's output 291The maturity of the market 293New products and new versions of old products 295Tractors 295Field machinery 300Changes in the global machinery business 302The rise of foreign competition 304Readjustment and restructuring 306The industry at the end of the twentieth century 312 14 Retrospect 315Long-term factors in the development of the industry: technical change, demand and entrepreneurship 315A part of the British economic decline? 319Conclusion: a story of continuing change 321 Notes and references 323 Bibliography 338 Index 345

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'Iron harvests of the field' : the making of farm machinery in Britain since 1800

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