John Leckie was born in 1858 in East Lothian Scotand,
and was married to Margaret Helen Ferguson.
He established the Carberry Machine and Manufacturing Company Company
(Carberry Machine and Implement Repair) in 1903
The Carberry Machine and Manufacturing Company was incorporated in
1903, and was located on the west side of Toronto (east of Main). Here,
John Leckie repaired steam engines and separators, and advertised the
company as being the manufacturer of the “only successful grain pickler
on the market." Grain picklers, like the one patented in 1896 by Mr. R
Davidson, and used by Mr. Leckie, were popular devices of the era that
soaked seed grain in chemicals to control plant disease.
“These items are built to a variety of designs. Grain Picklers
attract some attention from Museum visitors, as the idea of pickling
grain is a strange one by today’s standards. However pickled grain was
not meant to be eaten directly by people but refers to the soaking of
seed grain in chemicals to control plant disease..
An example of a Grain Pickler from the Manitoba Agricultural Museum.
Smut, a fungal disease, was a common problem faced by early Prairie
grain producers. In barley, smut infections are more commonly known as
loose smut while in wheat, smut infections are better known as bunt or
stinking smut. It was found that soaking wheat and barley seed in
solutions of bluestone was somewhat effective in combatting smut. Then
it was discovered that a solution containing formalin, a form of
formaldehyde, produced better results. As the operation of
soaking the seed in a chemical solution resembled making pickles to
some extent, this operation became known as pickling grain. “
* From the Manitoba Agricultural Museum Website
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