Objektnummer
55/200
Beskrivning
This beet knife was used by the donor, a farm labourer from High Roding, Essex, to 'crown' a sugar beet when it has been lifted from the soil. The roots are taken to factories to be turned into sugar while the crowns are used to feed cattle. The blade of this knife is hook-like and the point was probably used as a peck for throwing the roots onto the heap. It is stamped with 'Cripps, Chelmsford'.
Fysisk beskrivning
1 sugar beet knife; wood and metal; fair condition
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>Sugar beet knife, EssexThis knife or hook was designed for working with sugar beet. The curved projecting point allowed the user to pick up an individual root easily in order to throw it onto a heap. This particular dates to around 1900 and was used by a farm labourer from High Roding, Essex. The blade is stamped ‘Cripps, Chelmsford,’ which is most likely the maker.MERL 55/200</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
Arkivhistorik
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – [55/199] – ‘Sugar beet is generally sown from early April to mid May, and is generally harvested in November. The roots are very firmly fixed in the ground and a special tool, known as a beat lifting plough is used to loosen the beet in the soil. They are then pulled by hand, knocked together to remove as much of the adhering soil as possible. The beet are next carefully topped, the leaves and the whole ‘crown’ cut away with a knife of this type. The roots are thrown into heaps to be loaded and delivered to the factory, the leaves, on the other hand are invaluable as fodder for cattle, and on Fenland soils the plant grows a high proportion of ‘top’ to ‘root’.'
Produktionsplats
Chelmsford
Objektnamn
Material
Digital referens
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_815.tif - High resolution image
