From sticks and stones, antlers and bones - Mervyn Billot

The scope of this book is impressively broad, beginning in Neolithic times and concluding in the twentieth century. No one can farm without tools, and the progression from simple handcrafted implements to sophisticated modern machinery is a fascinating story. The author has carried out much research, and explored the archives of other places as well as his native island in order to paint on a broader canvas. It sets in context important local inventions such as the potato planting plough designed by Jean Le Boutillier in 1835 and used for over a century both on flat land and the steep Jersey ctils. The result is an informative and comprehensive analysis of the development of agricultural tools and machinery over the millennia skilfully interwoven with vignettes of social history.