sloc-buntàta

sm Potato pit. The potato-pits in Sutherlandshire before the clearances were made about 3ft. square and nearly 3ft. deep. In a shelving bank that greatly resembles an old beach, above the shepherd's house at Learable in Kildonan, may be seen in a row some twenty or thirty such pits, now partly filled up by the falling in of the sides. In olden times, when a blacksmith's customers had to bring him their own fuel, an empty potato-pit was used to convert the necessary quantity of peat into charcoal. This kind of pit is still used for potatoes in the county — CR. It was, of old and till recently, the custom in Uist to dig a hole in the floor near the hearthstone and now and again take a live peat from the fire, dip it in water and put it into this hole. The charcoal thus accumulated was for use in the smithy, as everyone who needed the smith's services had to provide the necessary charcoal — DC.

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