[nb-NO]Object number[nb-NO]
51/136
[nb-NO]Description[nb-NO]
A dock lifter is for uprooting docks, a common pasture weed. Unlike thistles, which can be cut or bruised, docks must be uprooted to be destroyed. The dock lifter consists of four parts: an iron forked point with two prongs, a jutting iron prong perpendicular to the fork for pushing the fork into the ground with the foot, a curled semi-circular piece which acts as a fulcrum for leverage, and a wooden handle. The fork is pushed into the ground immediately behind the dock plant and, by levering the tool, the weed is uprooted.
[nb-NO]Physical description[nb-NO]
1 Dock Lifter: metal [iron] and wood; good condition
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>2. <B>Dock Lifter</B><P> The dock is another tenacious weed which has a very long single root that goes deep into the ground. If it is not dug out, the plant will re-grow. The dock lifter has two prongs that can be inserted down either side of the main stem. Then the whole tool is rocked backwards on the curved back of the blade to prise the root out of the soil. The operation needs care, and preferably is carried out when the soil is moist, to prevent the root snapping.<P> 51/136</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV><DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>2. <B>Dock Lifter</B><P> The dock is another tenacious weed which has a very long single root that goes deep into the ground. If it is not dug out, the plant will re-grow. The dock lifter has two prongs that can be inserted down either side of the main stem. Then the whole tool is rocked backwards on the curved back of the blade to prise the root out of the soil. The operation needs care, and preferably is carried out when the soil is moist, to prevent the root snapping.<P> This example dates from the late nineteenth century and is from the collection of tools put together in the 1930s by the rural writer Harold Massingham. His book about the collection, <I>Country Relics</I>, was published in 1939.<P> 51/136</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
[nb-NO]Archival history[nb-NO]
MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/136 // NAME: DOCK LIFTER // NEG NO.: 35/207 // STORAGE: P. Ex. [Permanent Exhibition] Seeding.', MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, circa 1951] - '[insert] MASSINGHAM FILE [end insert] // THE COTSWOLD TRADITION // AN EXHIBITION AT CIRENCESTER PARK // MAY-SEPTEMBER 1951 ... // RECEIPT. // Received with gratitude the following articles, collected from Reading University on the 29th April, 1951: // ... Spud. Tool for Weeding ... // Loaned by The Massingham Collection.', MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, circa 1951] - 'Museum of English Rural Life // Equipment to be loaned to the Cotswold Tradition Exhibition // Cat Ref. No.: // 51/136 M // [tick] Dock Lifter [Cleaned] [tick] ...'
[nb-NO]Object name[nb-NO]
[nb-NO]Material[nb-NO]
[nb-NO]External document[nb-NO]
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_207.tif - High resolution image
