Why Do Some Scots Say 'Mony A Mickle Maks A Muckle'?

The English translation of this is basically many little things make a lot of things.
It is very old Scots and is used mainly on the East Coast of Scotland and the outlying islands such as Shetland and Orkney, but it is not in common use.
Historically it was used by George Washington in 1793, when he was writing about aggragates.
Some (English) lexicographers feel that it is actually wrong and he was confused about the words mickle and muckle. But muckle is still used on old Scots vernacular today and is prevalent in some Scottish dialects.
So it does make sense when viewed from the Scottish perspective: but the English seem to think its all a bit muddled !

The words 'mickle' and 'muckle' actually have the same meaning, they are simply variants of the same word. They both mean big, large or great. George Washington was actually mis-remembering; but it seems that what he mis-remembered is what is remembered.  The correct phrase would be something like 'Mony a little maks a muckle'. The little things, when you add them up make something big. The meaning of the words mickle and muckle can be found in the Dictionary of the Scot's Language under the word 'muckle' (www.dsl.ac.uk

The English translation is that 'many of one thing make a bigger thing'.