The Cashcrom

The caschrom, probably the oldest tool known in the region and still used in the Long Island group and parts of Skye, consists of an oak or ash shaft nearly six feet long; a flattened head, nearly at right angles to the shaft, about three feet long, four inches broad, and 1½ inches thick; an iron coulter, of quadrangular form, attached to the head for penetrating the ground; and a strong wooden pin at the junction of the shaft and the head, to receive the pressure of the workman's foot. The labourer operates this primitive substitute for a plough by driving, with two jerks of his whole body, the coultered head into the soil, then turning the clod from right to left, walking backwards as he goes. He can pulverise an acre in twelve days, almost as effectively as if it had been subjected to two ordinary Hebridean ploughings. Though rude in form and costing only three or four shillings to purchase - and lasting ten to twelve years - the tool has advantages over both plough and spade, and is especially useful in boggy or stony ground.

The gazetteer also quotes the Rev Alexander Macgregor's paper from the ninth volume of The Journal of Agriculture. Macgregor provides further detail on the use and shortcomings of the caschrom, describing the laborious and prolonged process of tilling several acres. This work, often carried out in all weathers from Christmas to the end of May, severely affected the health of those using the tool.