Crofting Then and Now (1)

Harvesting at Tong Park in 1932

The first crofting task in the spring was ‘putting out the manure’. The cattle and yearling lambs had been kept indoors in the winter, the manure was mixed with seaweed and spread on the fields. Nothing was wasted. Every croft had a potato patch and strips of ground where they grew oats and clover. The potatoes were planted by the time the village was cleared of sheep on the 10th of May, then there was weeding, harrowing a lot of back breaking work, but all well worth it for a tasty crop of spuds.

The clover was cut, then turned with a rake to lift it slightly off the ground, in those days there was sunny weather and a gentle breeze. In no time the hay was drying and it was stacked up in a ‘goc’ a wee heap. When the hay was dry enough to be taken into the barn, it was still ‘fresh’ and they used to sprinkle a handful of rough salt through it, to keep it from overheating.

Today no one has time, there is so much rain now. I have seen a big difference in the weather in my lifetime. 30 years ago no-one made bales here, we didn’t know what they were. Every blade of grass was dried by the wind and sun, it took days in the drying but that weather is not there anymore. If it wasn’t for the baling system there wouldn’t be any hay for the animals nowadays. You have to be patient and wait for those two or three days when the grass is dry, cut it and bale it immediately. If you waited for it to dry on the ground it would be spoilt with the rain. 

Roddy MacIver, Tong