Did you ever use sculls for gathering the potato crop?
The Dictionaries of the Scots Language define a scull as “a shallow scoop-shaped oval basket of wicker, wooden laths or wire mesh, used for carrying peats, turnips, potatoes, grain or the like.
This description refers to the shape of the basket, the materials which it was made of, and its uses. This suggests that the scull was a particular type of basket for specific uses. I was aware of its use as a wooden basket rather than a wire mesh one.
The term “scull” was recorded from 1701 onwards. The Dictionaries of the Scots Language records it until 1957, though it continued to be used on farms and other places.
The scull does not appear to have been used for gathering potatoes at the potato harvest until well through the nineteenth century. The first advert for potato sculls was in 1882. An advert in the Dundee weekly news of 30 September 1882 states:
“Dunning-potato sculls 1s 4d At David Dougall’s”. There are no further adverts for them until 1900. The Montrose review of 16 November 1900 included an advert for “Turnip and potato sculls, strong and cheap tallies, flower stakes, flower pots, of sizes-James Marshall, seedsman, Montrose”.
In following years their use on farms is confirmed from a notice for a displenishing sale at Craighead, in the parish of Crail. The East of Fife record of 10 November 1905 includes a reference to “potato sculls”. Detailed descriptions of sculls become available in 1907 from an ironmonger in Kinross – John & J. H. An advert in the Kinross-advertiser of 9 November 1907 notes the availability of a wide range of sculls for sale:
“To farmers and others
Special prices for potato sculls and creels &c
Oak spale sculls, 22 inches 1s 4d each, 14s per dozen
Oak spale sculls, 24 inches, 1s 6d each, 16s 6d per dozen
Oak spale sculls, 24 inches, 1s 6d each, 20s per dozen.
Cane sculls, 24 inches, 1s 6d each.
Wire sculls, 2s 3d, 2s 8d, and 3s.
Cane potato creels.”
Although there are only a few references to sculls in following years – largely in the Fife, Angus and Perthshire areas, by 1913 the term had spread to Kinross-shire, Dundee Fife, Kincardineshire and Mearns. By the 1950s it had spread to Banffshire, Moray and Nairn, Perthshire and Fife.
The number of references in the Scottish newspaper press for potato sculls increased especially from 1910 onwards until 1949. Thereafter, it declined quickly after 1959. In 1949 it was recorded 34 times in the Scottish press, usually in terms if displenishing sales such as those in Denside, Auchinblae, Drummuick Farm, Methven, Drumick Farm, Methven, Meadowside Piggery, Coupar Angus.
New scull baskets could still be purchased in the 1950s from businesses such as Barclay, Ross & Hutchison Ltd, 39 High Street, Montrose, Charles Lyon, ironmonger, Kirriemuir, Aberdeenshire Egg Producers Ltd, Turriff, and W. D. Syme Ltd, Brechin.
