2007/27

The roguing tool, a weeding tool, was developed in the late-nineteenth century to remove rogue plants such as lettuces, turnips, swedes and beet from seed crop. The neck of the tool is locked into the head of the rogue plant and then pulled hard to remove the whole plant from the soil. This roguing tool is part of a large collection of objects relating to Suttons Seeds Ltd., as well as other rural artefacts, compiled by John Cox, who worked at Suttons from 1931 to 1976, starting as an office boy and finishing as Company Secretary.

Suttons Seeds Ltd. Torquay, Descriptions of Tools and Apparatus from Suttons Seeds once used in the Seed Industry – ‘7. Plant Roguing Tool // Used to remove rogue brassica, Lettuce, Turnip, Swede, Mangold and Beet plants from a seed crop. The operator would lock the head of the rogue plant into the neck of the tool, then pull hard to remove the whole plant from the soil. The unit was developed in the latter part of the 19th century.’, MERL miscellaneous note, Greta Bertram, 2 August 2012 – Suttons Seeds Ltd. was founded in 1806 by John Sutton (1777–1863) and traded as a corn merchant. It was known as the ‘House of Sutton’ and had premises on King Street, Reading. John’s two sons joined the business in 1832 and in 1836 it was renamed ‘Sutton & Son’. In 1837 the company moved to the Market Place, Reading, and expanded into seeds and acquired nursery grounds in Queens Road, Reading. In 1840 they established a testing laboratory and in 1873 new buildings replaced those in Market Place. These included various offices, separate store rooms for different types of seeds and bulbs, recreation rooms, residences and a fire station. In 1962 Suttons moved to new grounds and premises on the eastern outskirts of Reading, before moving to Torquay, Devon, in 1976 and then Paington, Devon, in 1998.