[nb-NO]Object number[nb-NO]
59/456
[nb-NO]Description[nb-NO]
The dibble is a seeding tool used for sowing crop seeds before the general introduction of the seed drill. One person would walk backwards down the row with a dibble in each hand 'dibbling' two rows at a time while another, frequently a woman or child, followed placing seeds in the holes. This is a wheat dibble and was used in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries in the Old Buckenham district of Norfolk. It is made of iron and has a wooden handle.
[nb-NO]Physical description[nb-NO]
1 dibble: wood, metal (iron)
[nb-NO]Archival history[nb-NO]
MERL Recording form – ‘Who used it: Not used in owner’s lifetime. // When was it used: Late 18th and early 19th centuries. // How was it used: A dibber was held in each hand, and the worker walked backwards, pressing the dibbers into the ground and giving them a half twist as he did so. Women and children followed him, putting a few grains of wheat in each hole made. Leys were turned in by the plough, and the wheat dibbled on to the upturned sod. A gate, bushed with quick thorn, was dragged over the field by a horse to cover the seed. // Where was it used: In Old Buckenham district of Norfolk. // Has it a local name: Wheat dibber. // When this object was used do you know if it was common in many parts of the country or only in the place from which it came: Common in East Anglian wheat-growing districts. // Who made it: Not known. // When was it made: Late 18th century (probably). // Where was it made: Not known. // From what materials is the object made: Iron: with wooden handle, or with a piece of cloth wound round it. // Is it corroded or broken or damaged in any other way: Slightly rusty, but otherwise the ironwork is in good condition. The handle has disintegrated. // What are its approximate measurements: Length 2 ft. 7 ins. Width of handle 4 1/2 ins. // Have you a photograph of the object: No. // Has it any unusual characteristics: The handles of some wheat dibbers are of wood: this one probably had a binding of cloth. The wooden handled ones, so my father has told me, were in improved version, and came later. // Additional information: The dibber was turned out of a shed which was attached to a farm-workers cottage. // Could you please make a rough sketch of the object: [sketch]’
[nb-NO]Object name[nb-NO]
[nb-NO]Material[nb-NO]
[nb-NO]External document[nb-NO]
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_3095.tif - High resolution image