In former times peat cutting was an art, and done in different way on different islands. First the top was flayed from the bank and set on the top of the bottom layer left over from an earlier year, there for the heather and moss growth to resume and eventually for the peat bank to regenerate. Only then were the peats cut with a tuskar, the shape being very variable depending on the tradition. The bottom layer was never removed down to the subsoil or rock, but left as a base to allow the flayed top later to continue to grow. Yes of course this would take time. But did you never hear the expression "When God made time he made plenty of it" ? Today's obsession with spinning faster and faster and yet going nowhere really means that most folk never do stand and stare like sheep and cows.