No 212. Hummelling bere.

No 212. The Crofter’s Hummeller.
The crofter’s flail left the bere ( a Nordic barley) with awns still attached in large part. Early threshing mills had no hummellers but as they developed incorporated a built in awner called a hummeller. On a croft with no such mill available the task was just hard work. The quantities would be small enough at any one time but still had to be done. By 1878 G.W.Murray of Banff Foundry had designed and built a mill with built in hummellers. I have found no reference to a hummeller before 1870.

The simple hand mills a crofter would have would thresh the grain but would not remove either the chaff or the awns, so hummelling the bere was required. So a hand held hummeller was used, be the farm large or small.
Hummelling is of Nordic or Northern Scottish derivation, with a similar root to the hummelled cow that became the Aberdeen Angus Breed, denoting hornless or smooth.

Many hand hummellers were made of iron by local blacksmiths and varied much in size and design. Some could be said to be artistic depending on the whim of the blacksmith. I have seen a round one but it was a long time ago, I think on a croft on Rousam Head.

The hummeller had a short wooden “T” handle like a spade’s which was mounted vertically over a square or round frame by two or four curving supports which extended up to the central socket and shank. Each frame contained a number of thin verticle parallel bars up to 2 inches apart, overall size approximately 10 inches each way. Round frames were uncommon. Some frames were hinged so they could be used from the side or on a sloping pile of barley, being struck downwards more like the flail rather than punched downwards Heavier work than the simpler square one but reaching farther over a heap of bere.
To increase the number of cutting edges some hummellers were made with bars each way which formed a grid of intersecting blades, but I never saw one such. Again these took a great deal more in the making, but very effective.

The hummelling tool was brought down in a stamping motion upon the grain, turning it left or right with the “T” handle to cover the heap.
Bere would be laid thinly on a wooden floor, or sometimes heaped against a wall. Flagstone floors were not used as it would have damaged the grain for the malting process entailing sprouting the bere on the floor after soaking in a sack for a day in a pond. A small wooden platform laid on the flagstone or earthern floor would do the trick, to be set against the wall when not in use.

The heap of grain would then be stamped until all the awns had been broken off. Collected up with a wide wooden curved shovel or scoop, the grain would be thrown up into a draft of air outdoors to blow the awns away. Rather like panning for gold in Kildonan!!!
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If one was available it would be put through a fanners to separate the awns and the chaff from the bere. The work was very demanding.
A heavier roller type hummeller appeared in the late 18th or early 19th century which comprised a circular drum of varying length and diameter containing up to twenty or so horizontal blades slotted around the periphery. The heavyish drum revolved around an axle held within an iron handled frame, and relied on its weight to cut the awns as it was pushed and pulled over the heap of barley.
Although more expensive it required less physical exertion and proved popular in many parts of the country. Blades were sometimes added forming a latticed cutting edge in much the same way as the upright version.
In the Parish of Canisbay brewing was a long established custom and in their Church Session Records of 1652 to 1666 there were innumerable references to brewing. The granite hummeller I found in Cannisbay could well have been used in the Parish as per the Session Records, but I am not saying that one was!!
Under the Rev Wm Davidson, Minister there from 1652 to 1666 when he was translated to Birsay in Orkney, many Parishoners were before the Session to be punished for various drinking misdemeanors on the Sabbath.
In Nov. 1652 “Helene Ham & Issobel Southerland delate for selling drink in tyme of sermone. Hendrie & Donald Liell delate for drinking and tulzeing on the Lord's day. Dod Liell, elder in Cannasbey, delate for drying malt on the Sabbath day”
In Dec 1657 “ Alex Rosie delate for goeing to ye parish of Dunnett on ye Sabbath and craveing moneys, taking Jon Owman back wt him to Mey and drinkeing in ane ailhous and wald not come to ye kirk; lykewise, for carrying aqua vite on another Sabbath, was referred to ye Justice Court”.
In 1658 “The brousters in Mey, being charged for selling of drink on ye Sabbath day, compeired Adam Seaton & Jon Sinclair and enacted themselves, if ever ther wer drink sold in ther houses on ye Sabbath, or any of themselves fund drunk or drinking on ye Sabbath in any houss, they sall pay £5 Scotts and stand in sackcloath. But they were tolerated to give drink and lodgeing to strangers.”

So hummelling bere was a long establshed custom in Caithness, at least in Canisbay.!!!