Draining Tools Barracks, Rannoch Forest Circa 1965
Photograph courtesy of Duncan Menzies, Banchory.
The main tools of the hill hand draining trade. Standing upright with the cross bar handle is the rutter spade used to cut two parallel lines about 20 inches apart and up to 18 inches deep through the heather and grass covered peat. The same tool and sometimes another similar tool with no extended side wing (a cross cut rutter) was then used to cut slices 6-8 inches thick between the two initial parallel cuts. The slices were levered forward by pulling sharply back and fore on the handle of the rutter and then the second man using the drain drag (or howk) drove the three tines of that tool into the 18 inch by 12 inch by 8 inch slab of peat (called a turf) and hauled it to a position clear of the drain. The curved handle end of the drag enabled easier grip for pulling up the heavy weights of the turves. The drain crossing the ploughing can just be seen behind the tools.
Before ploughing was developed for peat areas, the hand cut turves was the only way the trees could be planted on the wet boggy land. Instead of being hauled out and left at the drain side the turves were placed in a grid iron pattern of about 5 foot spacing on the ground between the drains. On hill slopes the drains, which were about 25 feet apart, ran across the slope with a slight fall and the turfs were hauled and laid out 3 rows deep on downside and 2 rows deep on uphill side of each drain. Even after ploughing was developed many small areas inaccessible to the machines were still hand turfed.
Later in the winter and early spring the trees were planted into the middle of the turf using a spade to cut the turf side open and then the boot stamped in to seal the cut closed again. The aim was to leave the tree safely sitting vertical, its roots near to the point where the rotting ground vegetation layer was covered by the large turf.
Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, Tools, equipment and clothing
Group: Gale 1953 - 66 pictures
3 Comments
Comment left on 12 January 2021 at 12:33 by DAMIEN MC GEE
Chieftan Forge, the company that used to be the main producer of the rutter and hack are no longer in the foundry business. But, I believe that they are still in business, supplying the horticultural industry. I have pasted their last contact details that I have, below:
Name: Chieftain Forge
Address: 4 BLOCK, WHITESIDE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
City: Bathgate
County: West Lothian
Postcode: EH48 2RX
Phone: 01506652354
So far as I am aware there are no other firms that are still producing these tools.
Depending upon your location, I would advise that you speak with adjacent hill farmers/crofters, private estate, or forestry workers who may have kept a set of tools, rather than see them scrapped, as many were.
You should be aware that rutters were manufactured with different sizes, left/right handed for cutting the drain sides, or with no cutting wing, for cross cutting the turf ribbon into turves. The turves were extracted from the drain and then spread using the hack and the tree were planted into the turves after they had weathered and settled in position. Reference FM image No.:2855
Please post if you are successful in finding the tools.
My regards, Bill Rayner Comment left on 12 January 2021 at 21:19 by Bill Rayner