Object number
51/396
Description
A dibble is a seeding tool used for sowing crop seeds before the general introduction of the seed drill.
The dibble is a seeding tool used for sowing crop seeds before the general introduction of the seed drill. One person would walk backwards down the row with a dibbler in each hand 'dibbling' two rows at a time while another, frequently a woman or child, followed placing seeds in the holes. This dibble is made of iron and would have had a wooden handle.
Physical description
1 dibble: metal (iron); good condition - although hand grip missing
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'Dibbles of this type were used for planting many crops before the general introduction of the drill. Smaller varieties are, of course, still used in gardens. // Thomas Tusser mentions the use of dibbles in “Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry” which was published in 1557. The most common way of using a dibble was for the sower to walk backwards down the row with one in each hand dibbling two rows at a time. Another person, frequently a woman or child, followed placing seeds into the holes. This dibble is made of iron and had a wooden handle which is missing. The point is of a somewhat unusual shape and not solid as in the point of 51/237 M. This one measures 34 inches.'
Object name
Material
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_271.tif - High resolution image
