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Information about sheepdogs and clipping sheep by hand and b...

Fieldworkers
Date 1969
Track ID 4173
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1969.187.B12

Original Tape ID

SA1969.187

Summary

Information about sheepdogs and clipping sheep by hand and by machine.

Andrew Gibson talks about breeds of sheepdog, including blue beardies and bearskin collies. He describes how he would use a dog to gather the sheep. There might be twenty score of sheep in a hirsel [flock], but they were gathered in hefts of five score.

When they were taken for clipping, the sheep were put through a shedder to separate out the lambs. A catcher would bring a sheep out to the clipper. Description of clipping seated on a stool and, in the Moorfoot Hills, without stools. The sheep used to be marked with pik [pitch], generally Archangel tar [i.e. pine-wood tar], but these wouldn't come off, and later red or blue markings were used instead. As each sheep was clipped, the herd cried, "Buist!" and a boy came with the buist [iron stamp]. The clipper would cry "Ruchie [roughie]!" for another rough sheep to be brought.

Fourteen or fifteen men used to work together at clipping; now three or four can do three or four hirsels in one place. Explanation of why the early clipping machinery was no use on blackface sheep. Talk about clipping competitions. Andrew mentions a sheep clipper from Australia who could shear a sheep in a minute with a few long buffs [strokes]. By contrast a good hand clipper might take four minutes, or two at the least, to whank [slice] off a fleece of well risen wool.

Recording Location

County - Peeblesshire

Parish - Peebles

Village/Place - Peebles

Language

Scots

Genre

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good