'What are they?' I ask, apart from baskets that is.
'Twitch baskets' says the farmer, 'for weeding'. Finally I work out that twitch is a particularly stubborn form of grass hated in lawns and on smallholdings and these baskets were named after the horrible stuff.
But really they're for any weeds and now dozens of them are hanging redundant in an old shed. Some are being used by birds for nesting and at ground level they're used by hens as a cosy spot to lay eggs.
Why are they redundant? Because of chemical weed killers and mass mechanical application.
Progress, you can't beat it.