Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1884) of Henry George “Harry” Ferguson, an Irish-born, British mechanic and inventor who is noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor and whose name lives on in the name of the Massey Ferguson company. Ferguson was born in Growell, near Dromore, in County Down, present-day Northern Ireland, the son of a farmer, of Scottish descent. In 1902, Ferguson went to work with his brother, Joe, in his bicycle and car repair business. While working there as a mechanic, he developed an interest in aviation, visiting air shows abroad. In 1904, he began to race motorcycles.

After falling out with his brother over the safety and future of aviation Ferguson decided to go it alone, and in 1911 founded a company selling Maxwell, Star, and Vauxhall cars, and Overtime Tractors. Ferguson saw at first hand the weakness of having tractor and plough as separate articulated units, and in 1917 he devised a plough that could be rigidly attached to a Model T Ford car—the Eros, which became a limited success, competing with the Model F Fordson. In 1917 Ferguson met Charles E. Sorensen while Sorensen was in England scouting production sites for the Fordson tractor. They discussed methods of hitching a plough to the tractor to make them a unit (as opposed to towing the plough like a trailer). In 1920 and 1921 Ferguson demonstrated early versions of his three-point linkage on Fordsons at Cork and at Dearborn.

A northern Irish dish is in order, even though Ferguson spent most of his business life in England. Potatoes are, of course, the great staple of Irish farming and cooking.

Irish Potato Farls

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
salt
¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Turn off the heat. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot to let them dry out. Mash the potatoes with a fork or potato masher until smooth.

Place the warm mashed potato in a medium bowl. Stir in the flour, melted butter, and salt to taste. Mix lightly until you have a dough and no pockets of dry flour.

Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface. Use a floured rolling pin to flatten the dough into a 9 inch circle about ¼ inch thick. Cut into quarters.

Sprinkle a little flour into the base of the skillet on medium-high heat and cook the farls for 3 minutes on each side or until evenly browned. Serve immediately.