John and Christina MacPhail of Balinoe
Photograph of John and Christina MacPhail of Balinoe.
Courtesy of Mrs Mairi Campbell
John MacPhail (Iain Eacha’ Ruaidh) and his wife, Christina (Hutty Nèill an Tuathanaich), of Balinoe are pictured with a standard plough used for preparing the ground for sowing corn and potatoes.
Out of his working clothes, the crofter is celebrating the end of his spring ploughing. The polished ploughshare is oiled and ready to be returned to the implement shed until the autumn when it will be used for opening potato drills.
The plough is hitched to two exceptionally well-bred Clydesdales of the Tiree type. Introduced in the 1870s, Clydesdales were crossed with local ponies to produce lighter and faster draught animals for which Tiree was famous in the early 20th century.
Black and white photograph of John and Christina MacPhail of Balinoe.
L-R: John MacPhail (Iain Eacha` Ruaidh) of Balinoe and his wife Christina (Hutty Neill an Tuathanaich) with a plough drawn by two exceptionally well-bred Clydesdales of the Tiree type. Out of his working clothes, the crofter celebrates the end of his spring work. Note the polished ploughshare is oiled and ready to be returned to the implement shed till next spring. (Crofting details supplied by Donald MacIntyre, Gott)
