Black and white photograph of a crofter gathering seaweed by horse and cart.
A crofter gathering seaweed by horse and cart to be used as fertiliser.
1999.113.22
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Tag Archives: gathering food and other materials
1999.113.24
Black and white photograph of crofters carting marram grass for thatching.
Two crofters carting marram grass for thatching behind Ben Hough in the 1930s or 1940s.
2003.3.1
Audio cassette recording of Gordon Donald talking about thatched houses.
Gordon Donald talks about the thatched houses of Tiree, their construction and upkeep, how they withstand storms and differ from ‘black houses’; he lists all the thatched houses in Tiree and their owners and talks about people who can thatch, cutting marram grass, cottars’ houses and their legal rights, and the cost of renovating two thatched houses in Kilmoluaig.
2000.28.15
Black and white photograph of people working at the tangles.
Working at the tangles at the Green, Kilmoluaig in 1927.
1997.184.3
Lachlan MacPhail carting seaweed
Photograph of Lachlan MacPhail carting seaweed
Courtesy of Mr Ailig MacArthur
Lachlan MacPhail, originally from Luing, is pictured with a cartload of seaweed outside the shepherd’s cottage where he lived in Crossapol. A fork has been stuck in the back of the cart to stop the seaweed slipping off.
Gathered from March to May, the seaweed is spread on grass or on ground to be planted with corn or potatoes. Red seaweed known as ‘bàrr-dearg’ was considered the best for this purpose but only came ashore on certain tides usually in the month of May.
The soils of Tiree are predominantly light and sandy and need feeding with organic matter every year to keep their fertility. Although not considered as good a fertiliser as manure, seaweed improves the condition of the soil and aids water retention.
Black and white photograph of Lachlann MacPhail, Crossapol.
Lachlan MacPhail from Luing with a cartload of seaweed outside the shepherd’s cottage where he lived in Crossapol, Tiree, probably taken in the early 20th century.
2002.99.1
Audio cassette recording of Donald MacDonald of Heanish and Australia interviewed by Maggie Campbell in Scarinish on 19/6/2002.
Donald MacDonald of Heanish and Australia talks to Maggie Campbell in June 2002 about leaving Tiree at the age of 16 to join the Merchant Navy, his early memories of Tiree looking for birds’ eggs, fishing and collecting whelks; Donald and his sisters Janet and Isabel talk about the RAF on Tiree, teachers at Scarinish School, the shops, changes in farming and the village of Heanish over the years.
2000.10.15
Book `To See Oursels – Rural Scotland in old photographs` by Dorothy I. Kidd.
Photographs with captions covering farming, fishing, transport and trade, craftwork and housework, entertainment and children.
2000.8.1
Photocopy of SNH report on the littoral resource & management options in the Western Isles.
An assessment of the littoral seaweed resource and management options in the Western Isles.
2002.53.1
Colour photograph of Jack Carter collecting tangles.
Jack Carter collecting tangles at Balephetrish in 1984.
1999.11.11
Photocopied letter to Duke of Argyll from John M Geekie, 31/8/1872.
Letter detailing methods of payment of the Seaweed Company to their workforce, and their application for land to graze horses.
