Object number
55/199
Title
Stainforth's Severquick,
Description
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 stamped 'Stainforth's Severquick'.
Physical description
1 sugar beet knife; wood and metal; good condition
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘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’. // This particular knife was used by Mr Arnold Hayden of High Roding, Essex, a farm labourer. It has a wooden handle 5.3 inches long, and a slightly curving blade 9 inches long. This has a maximum width of 1.9 inches near the handle narrowing to 1.6 inches at the top. It is stamped ‘Stainforth’s Severquick’.’
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Associated subject
Associated person/institution
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_818.tif - High resolution image
