Ploughing in a Felled Forest near Kishorn
The photograph is courtesy of the family of George Dey. George took many forestry photographs in his forestry career and many are now shown on this web site. Check under ‘Groups’ and George Dey Collection.
Restock ploughing operation at Ardoch Forest (part of Achnashellach Forest amalgamation). The large Caterpillar D7 tractor with large double furrow mounted plough is battling its way through the stumps of a felled forest. The driver is almost certainly Archie Clyne (from Ardross?) who drove the only machine combination of its type in North Scotland.
This rear view of the operation shows clearly the plough being pulled through brash and stumps and turning out a very steep sided furrow and drain. This machine due to its size and weight could only work on a limited number of firm dry sites but cultivated the ground to quite a depth (nearly 1 metre). The replanting operation was easier to complete and the trees benefited from the weed suppression and cultivation. The down side was the finished surface which was a series of high ridges and deep furrows likely to cause problems in the future. The tractor could also get hung up on very large stumps and it was often an extremely difficult operation to pull it clear.
The PDF shows the double furrow plough head and plough beam in more detail. Note the name Clark fixed on the plough head and also the beam mounting on the tractor indicating that the whole assembly was made by Clarks Engineering Works of Parkgate, near Dumfries. Clarks had a long history of making ploughs and plough heads for the forest industry.
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Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, George Dey Forestry Collection, Tractors Ploughs and Drainage Machines