Long ago the old Irish Farmers in tilling the soil had not the advantages that we possess nowadays. They had to dig the soil. The people usually in Winter time and in early spring went and dug trenches in the land about four yards apart. This was to have the land dry so that if there came a wet spring the water could run off the land into the trenches. They had to dig the land with spades. In Harvest time when the corn was ripe they had to cut it with an implement called a hook. The meadow had also to be cut with a scythe. No doubt in by gone time the farmers had a hard life but now it is much easier as everything is done by machinery.