Preparing seed beds in Ledmore Forest Nursery
The images are courtesy of Michael Lawrence of Bankfoot whose grandfather, Sandy Rose, was Forester and Head Forester at Ledmore Forest Nursery from 1950 (when land was acquired) until his retirement in 1969. In 1966 the nearby Strathord Forest was brought under his charge. The year of the photograph is estimated to be around 1957.
In this scene the tractor is sitting at the top of the roughly prepared seed beds ready to begin operations on another bed when the men are ready to carry out the follow up manual actions require to complete the process. The worker nearest to camera is spreading some type of fertiliser on to a bed that has been tined on either side and flattened in the middle with the same tractor tool that carried the tines. The soils at the sides looks as though it has been pushed back by the nursery workers as shown in Image No 5307 but not rolled. Have the broadleaved seed been sown?
Note the fertiliser holder is the type used by farmers over many years held up in the front by a single neck strap and two waist belts from the side corners. This design allowed farmers when sowing crops to use two hands to scatter the grain in arm swinging arcs covering both of their sides and front in an even manner as they walked at a steady pace in lines up and down the prepared fields.
The man walking back up on the right is Chalmers Thain (Snr). Can any of the other workers be named? Any comments and stories of working in Ledmore Nursery would be very welcome.
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Groups: Forest Nurseries, Forestry in Action, Groups of people, Other Vehicles and Machines