The two men are building a corn stack or ‘mulan’ which will provide winter feeding for horses, cattle and hens and seed for spring sowing. In the background is a row of haystacks. Corn stacks were built with the heads of the sheaves to the centre so the finished stack contained a column of seed.
Four sheaves were placed upright in the centre with further sheaves added around the centre, working clockwise. The sheaves were always kept with the seed uppermost so any moisture would run away from it down the straw.
The diameter of the stack was carefully measured using a special rope, either six or seven fathoms long, marked with a knot at one end and a block at the other. The stack was re-measured every two rows to keep it straight. These traditional methods are still in use today by a few crofters on the island.
Black and white photograph of building a cornstack at Whitehouse.
The two men are building a corn stack which will provide winter feeding for horses, cattle and hens and seed for spring sowing. In the background is a row of haystacks. At harvest time, the cut corn would be bundled by hand into sheaves, six of which would be stood together to form stooks. When sufficiently dry, the stooks would be transported by horse and cart to the stackyard. Corn stacks were built with the heads of the sheaves to the centre so the finished stack contained a column of seed. These traditional methods are still in use today by a few crofters on the island.
Photocopied extract from `Oighreachd agus Gabhaltas`: `Aimhreit an Fhearainn an Tiriodh, 1886` by Prof. Donald Meek.
Paper about the land agitation on Tiree in the 1880s, in particular the disturbances centring on Greenhill, the arrival of the marines and the subsequent court case.
Includes unofficial translation ‘Land Agitation in Tiree in 1886’ by Donald Meek.
This petition was sent in 1851 to Sir John MacNeill, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the Relief of the Poor in Scotland. Sir John was married to a daughter of the 8th Duke of Argyll, who appended the petition to his ‘Crofts and Farms in Hebrides’ addressed to the Napier Commission of 1883.
A hundred and thirty-six islanders signed the petition. Ninety-nine of them were landless cottars; the remainder were small tenants, of whom only four paid rent over £10 a year. They represented the class of islanders that the Duke was anxious to clear from his estate.
Around a third of the petitioners were given assistance to emigrate with their families on board the ‘Conrad’, ‘Birman’ and ‘Onyx’ in July 1851. Another twenty-seven families from the island left with them.
Photocopy of book `Argyll Estates Instructions` 1771-1805 edited by Eric Cregeen.
The instructions given by John, the 5th Duke of Argyll to his Chamberlain in Mull and Morvern and his Chamberlain in Tiree with an introduction by Eric Cregeen.
Draft letter dated September 1968 from Tiree Council of Social Service to the Divisionary Vetinary Officer.
Draft letter from theTiree County Councillor and Robert Beck, vet and Chairman of the Agricultural Sub-Committee, on the advisability of the cattle owners of Tiree to join the Brucellosis Accredited Herds Scheme while the cattle are still free from infection.
Letter dated 16/5/1969 to Donald MacLean, Kenovay from from the secretaries of the Reef grazing Committee and the Balephetrish General Common.
Notification that the recipient of the letter, who introduced three heifers to the island from Islay in contravention of the Brucellosis Scheme, is debarred from using the Reef and Balephetrish Common Grazings until such time as all his cattle have been tested and proved to be free of infection.
Letter dated 10/2/1969 to the Divisionary Vetinary Officer from Robert Beck, vet and Chairman of Tiree Council of Social Service Agricultural Sub-Committee.
Draft letter to accompany the signatures of 100% of the resident herd owners on Tiree who wish the island`s cattle be treated as one herd for the purpose of becoming accredited under the Brucellosis Scheme.
