| 1. Land division and allocation |
| (a) Specific portions or allotments into which arable land is divided |
| ged | plot between two ditches. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| fannag | small plot of cultivated land. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| pairk | field – usually with some dyke. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| talamh “cork” | corn field. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| talamh “butata” | potato field. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| talamh “sneapin” | turnip field. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| talamh glas | ley ground. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| talamh dubh | ground after potatoes are lifted. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| (b) Various types of arable land |
| [note] | [NOTES: this page is missing. There are two pages with 1. (c) instead.] |
| (c) Actual dividing and allocating of land, e.g. casting lots |
| cur crinn | casting lot. |
| (d) Land owned or held under leases of various duration |
| 2. Harness of a horse |
| (a) The harness of a horse as used in the performance of different tasks |
| (b) Different parts of the harness for carting |
| strin | bridle. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| a’ bit | the bit. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| strathar | saddle. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| diollaid | riding saddle. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| briogais | breeching. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| hemachin | hames. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| a’ back-chain | chain over saddle. (Stoer, Assynt) Like the back chain all the other names used are purely English. |
| plaid agus strathar | saddle for two creels. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| (c) Different parts of the harness for ploughing or harrowing |
| 3. Carts |
| (a) The common farm-yard cart |
| carn | cart. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| carn coopigag | couping cart. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| (b) Different parts of a cart |
| 1. Body |
| bocus a’ coirn | body of the cart. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| sparran | beams. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| dorus toisach | front door. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| dorus “dheiree” | back door. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| 2. Trams |
| na trammichan | trams. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| 3. Wheel and axle |
| cuile | wheel. |
| aishel | axle. |
| fillies | felloes. |
| cergail | iron ring round the felloes. |
| cioch | nave. |
| tol na cioch | hole in hub. |
| “carnel” | axle pin. |
| 4. Decorations |
| [colours] | Usual colours of Stoer carts were: sides green or blue / wheels, top side boards and trams red. |
| (c) Other words associated with carting |
| cur a h-each as a carn | (Stoer, Assynt) |
| leig a h-each as a carn | (Stoer, Assynt) |
| trog a carn | (Stoer, Assynt) |
| 4. The plough |
| (a) Different kinds of ploughs |
| crann | plough. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| crann “drellaig” | double furrow or drilling plough. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| [note] | Two horses always used in our ploughs. |
| (b) Parts of a plough in detail |
| stron a crinn | part of plough for attaching swingle trees. |
| amal mor | main or big swingle tree. |
| amal beag | small swingle tree. |
| druim a crinn | the back from the shafts to the nose of the plough. |
| a bord | the board. |
| a sock | the sock. |
| cooltir | coltair [sic] [coulter]. |
| na stiltachin | the stilts or handles. |
| 5. Harrows and swingle trees |
| (a) Different types of harrows |
| cliath | harrow. Consisted of four wooden main beams with six cross beams. Probably eight tines (iron) in each row, about 32 tines each placed so that they ran in different runs. Pulled by one horse with one amal beag. |
| (b) Swingle trees |
| amal mor | main swingle tree. |
| amal beag | two small trees used. |
| na “tressachin” | the iron chain traces. |
| na “dooanin” | the “s” hooks. |
| 6. Spring work |
| (a) Fertilisers and fertilising |
| 1. Fertilisers |
| [“gooana”] | in my young days all artificial fertilisers were collectively termed “gooana” (guano). Seldom used. |
| feamin dhearg | red ware washed up on beaches. Each part of the shore was divided between every crofter. “Latha rinn na feamin” was a fertile source of bickering and the occasional fight! |
| feamin dubh | the bladder and other types of seaweed which was cut with “corrans” and carried up in creels. Frequently went with boats to outlying islands to cut this ware. Always used for potato manure. Many boats lost through overloading. |
| “laigadal” | the red tangle with long red fronds only obtained at spring tides – ( traigh “laingadal” [sic]). Generally used for turnip manure. |
| inneir | dung (horse, cow or sheep dung). |
| 2. The actual work performed, e.g. transporting seaweed/manure to field |
| crathadh inneir | spreading dung. |
| 3. Implements used for lifting, carrying and spreading manure or seaweed |
| grape | fork. |
| claive | creel. |
| barra | barrow. |
| (b) Turning and tilling the soil |
| 1. Implements used for turning or tilling the soil |
| spaad | spade. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| grape | fork. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| cas-chrom | foot plough. (Stoer, Assynt) The last cas-crom [sic] I saw used in Stoer was over 60 years ago. |
| 2. Parts of the implements used |
| 3. Words used in connection with tilling the soil, e.g. digging |
| rooar | delving. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| kenivag | end of “ged” left unploughed where the horses turned. Usually turned with the spade. (Rooar na kenivagin) (Stoer, Assynt) |
| (c) Seed planting |
| 1. Names of seeds planted and words used for sowing or planting them |
| “cork” dubh | black or sandy oats. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| cork geal | white oats usually the potato oat – a popular variety 50 years ago. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| eorna | barley. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| butata dubh | the old blue variety. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| butata geal | favourite variety was the Champion before Kerr’s Pink. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| 2. Names of any special sack, basket etc. used for carrying seed when sowing or planting |
| 3. Names of any special implement used for planting |
| 7. Summer work |
| (a) Cleaning and weeding potatoes |
| glanig a butata | cleaning the potatoes. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| sgriobag a butata | running the grubber or the hoe between rows. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| toaig a butata | earthing potatoes. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| (b) Thinning and weeding other crops |
| tannag na sneapin | thinning turnips. |
| 8. Autumn work |
| (a) Hay making |
| 1. The implement used for (a) cutting (b) raking and turning (c) lifting and stacking |
| speal | scythe. |
| corran | sickle – generally used for cutting grass out of ditches. |
| clach “blea” | [sharpener] usually a sandstone. |
| clach georaichin | [sharpener] usually a sandstone. |
| strake | an oblong piece of wood with emery cloth on each side – now superseded with the Carborundum stones. |
| 2. Name the parts of the implements mentioned |
| speal bheag | the two handed American scythe. |
| speal mhor | the old Scots scythe. Seldom used. |
| cas na speal | the handle. |
| “fivor” | the blade. |
| iarunn | the blade. |
| 3. Various stages of hay-making |
| scara | the swath. |
| dorrag | hay cole [?]. |
| (b) Corn cutting and securing |
| 1. Implements used for cutting, raking, binding, lifting into stacks etc. |
| rackan | rake. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| a’ fork | the fork. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| 2. Bands (for tying corn), sheaves, stooks etc. |
| baun | band – each house had its own different method of tying the bands handed down from the days of the rig-about system – when a storm might mix up sheaves from different rigs. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| scrooan | stook: eight sheaves – four a side. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| tudan | temporary stack. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| 3. Stack making (in yard) |
| larach na cruach | stones on which stack was built. |
| annais | when vertical height was reached and stack brought up to a point. |
| cridhe na cruich | the centre. |
| toppas | the last three sheaves tied together and trimmed to form a sharp point. |
| 4. Methods of carrying or transporting corn from field to corn yard |
| crooag | taking home the corn to the stackyard or barn. |
| uallach-arbhar | carrying corn on the back – tied with a rope. |
| (c) Potato lifting and storing |
| 1. Implements |
| [“croman”] | the “croman” was the most popular implement for lifting potatoes. Constructed like a small pick – broad blade with handle at right angle. |
| 2. Sack, creel, barrow etc. used for carrying potatoes in field and to steading |
| 3. Where potatoes are kept or stored |
| poul butata | pit – it was constructed by digging an oblong area about two yards long and 6" deep and two to three ft wide. Potatoes built up to a sharp point and covered with turf “scranan” – the heather side to the potatoes – and then covered by about 12" soil. About 3' high. In some sandy ground a round circular pit was dug about 5' deep and 3' dia. Took about 10 creels of potatoes. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| 4. Potato diseases |
| gasag | any disease. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| lumag | long thin shaws – usually caused by too much manure. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| (d) Other crops (Lifting and storing) |
| 1. Implements used for lifting |
| 2. How and where crop is stored |
| 3. Diseases/insects which attack the particular crop(s) |
| 9. Winter work |
| (a) Land drainage |
| 1. Drains, ditches etc. |
| deig | usually a “leader” into which other drains ran. |
| drena | an open drain. |
| drena douit | closed drain – stone channels. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| drena vootach | not common. Constructed in peaty soil. They dug until the peat was reached – about 18" wide and a peat was then lifted out of the centre about 9" wide, using a double bladed “tusker”. This was then covered with a heather sod and filled up. These drains lasted many years. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| 2. Implements used |
| reachar | rutting spade. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| spaad | spade. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| haake | a fork with curved tines for hauling the sods out of the ditch. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| gialag | crowbar. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| peek | pick. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| (b) Potato cutting for seed |
| 1. Instruments used |
| sgian | knife. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| garrag siol butata | cutting seed potatoes. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| scoltan | part with best eyes retained for seed. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| gluan | part rejected – used for feeding sheep and cattle and sometimes used for the table if potatoes were scarce. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| 2. Different kinds of potatoes |
| Champion | |
| Kerr’s Pink | |
| Golden Wonder | |
| [butata dubh] | before the Champion was introduced well over 60 years ago, a dark blue variety with blue streaked flesh, called butata dubh, was generally used. |
| (c) Corn threshing |
| 1. Implements used |
| mullin da laive | hand threshing mill with handle on each side turned by two men. One man fed the sheaves into the mill. |
| mullin bualie | [See mullin da laive.] |
| tuiste | flail. Constructed of two circular pieces of hard wood joined together by a thong usually constructed of sheep skin. The part held by the thresher was about 3' and the striking part about 4' in length. |
| fannars | |
| 2. Threshing |
| bualag | threshing. |
| [foddar-barrie] | straw for thatching was never put through the mill. It was always threshed by the flail – tuiste [q.v.] – and called foddar-barrie. |
| (d) Grain winnowing |
| 1. Devices used |
| criather | sieve. (Stoer, Assynt) Latterly hand-turned fanners were used and merely called by the English name. |
| 2. How constructed and materials used. Winnowing |
| [criather] | the criather was constructed by a skin – probably sheepskin – stretched on a wooden ring and holes burnt through the skin by a hot iron. (Stoer, Assynt) |
| fasganag | winnowing. |
| 10. Permanent structures/buildings for storing crops |
| (a) Stack-yard |
| lhioss avar (lios) | stackyard. |
| (b) Barn and parts of a barn |
| sooal | barn. |
| 11. Modern implements and machines |
| a’ tractar | the tractor. |
| a’ reepar | reaper. |
