In olden times farmers had no machines to thresh their corn, but they usually it with a flail.
This flail was made up of too parts, the buailtean and the staff.
The buailtean was made from holly-wood and the staff was made fom ash-wood. These two pieces of sticks were joined together with a piece of leather made from horse skin and it was generally known as the gad.
One old saying says if the staff was made from hazel and the buaitean was made from hollly it would be much better.
But aroud here they say its better if the buailtean was made from holly and the staff made from ash.