diff --git a/src/buffer.c b/src/buffer.c
index 443f90ff894..38c3150f2c5 100644
--- a/src/buffer.c
+++ b/src/buffer.c
@@ -1757,6 +1757,7 @@ other_buffer_safely (Lisp_Object buffer)
     {
       AUTO_STRING (scratch, "*scratch*");
       buf = Fget_buffer_create (scratch, Qnil);
+      Fset_buffer_major_mode (buf);
     }
   return buf;
 }