Shin Forest and tractor driver Donnie Dingwall.
Image courtesy of Forest Research Newton, Elgin.
This colour image from 1960 is a classic view of an international tractor pulling a cable operated Cuthbertson plough in the long peat flows of Sutherland. John Keenleyside retired Chief Forester who was a significant time in Forest Research identifies this location as Dalchork Forest, Lairg. The first planting in this block in 1960 was the area south of the Dalnessie Lodge road and took place around the power line. The faint outline of a large hill in the back ground could be Ben Klibreck.
John Keenleyside writes ‘This is Shin Forest, Lairg, where Experiment No. 1 - P.61 - SS Provenance Experiment was located in Dalchork Forest plantation. The ploughing took place in November1960, the operator being Donnie Dingwall from Contin, Torrachilty Forest.
This was the first ploughing in the Dalchork section and was successful but the experiment had to kept going up with a lot of fertiliser, initially P (phosphate) and then later N (nitrogen) in the form of Urea. I know all about the fertiliser as it was humped in back packs from the main road over half a mile away’
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Groups: Caithness and Sutherland, Forest Research, Forestry Areas, Tractors Ploughs and Drainage Machines