Survey of English Dialects recording in Outwood, Surrey

• Original object type: Artefact

Description

[Side 1] Horace compares farming now and in past, reflects on impact of mechanisation, considers manure more productive and beneficial than 'artificial' [= artificial fertilizer], comments tractors improve speed but have negative impact on land, insists yields bigger in past, discusses reduction in farming locally, describes local windmills incl. oldest working mill in England, recalls farmers bringing corn for grinding. [Side 2] Horace talks about farm waggons, recalls uncle working as wheelwright and farmer, talks about ploughing with horses incl. use of 'land' [= one of set of strips into which ploughed field is divided] and importance of 'water-furrow' [= deep furrow made to remove surface water from ground and improve drainage], comments ditches no longer maintained and crop yields significantly reduced, reflects on benefits of building 'rick' [= haystack] compared with bails for hay production, talks about danger of stack fires, describes role of stacker, explains importance of 'staddle' [= raised platform on which stack is built to deter vermin] and 'faggots' [= bundle of sticks used as base for stack].

• Date range: Sep 1959
• Date: 1959
• Collection: Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture
• Physical Identifier: LAVC/SRE/D/2/D279