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Whether your reference is a city city block or a rural road , this 928 - page soft-cover volume is an resistless invitation to endure like a trailblazer in a twenty - first - century Earth .
The Encyclopedia of Country Living ( via Amazon )
With over 2,000 recipe and 1,500 recommend resources for living off the land , do - it - yourself projects ranging from making jam at your kitchen counter to continue sheep on a country acre are at your garbage disposal with this in - deepness guide to the commonwealth life .
Emery get the notion to spell a book in 1970 , a year after receiving a gift subscription to Organic Gardening magazine . What began as a formula solicitation , betray in mimeo installment via an advertising in the back of that cartridge clip , would blossom into road trips , fairs , TV appearances , and a life that was anything but country - similar or childlike .
For over 30 years , Emery tweaked her “ Original Manual for live Off the Land and Doing it Yourself , ” seeing it through ten edition , before her pass off in 2005 . Her hard-nosed template is as relevant today as it was during the seventies back - to - the - land movement , and the Y2 K Millennium storage-battery grid - loser panic attack .
A Wealth of Wit and Wisdom
The Encyclopedia of Country Living measure 8.4 x 1.6 x 11 inch and count 3.5 Lebanese pound . This hefty paperback volume has a black - and - whitened color scheme . It contains diagrams , illustrative sketch , tables , lists , and some photos of Emery and menage in a exploiter - favorable data format .
I got my first mental picture of the book over 20 years ago , and it was love at first read . Emery ’s conversational manner and inspirational anecdote are so strong and friendly , I was hooked directly . And , while I ’ve never ventured off the grid myself , I find her manual to be an excellent source of recipes , information on growing herbs and vegetables , and ideas for kids ’ shoal and reconnoitering project .
Four brief sections appear at the beginning of the book . They are : Acknowledgments , What This Book Is , Who This Book is For , and About the Time trip in This Book . Each describes an aspect of the text , with apologies for the charmingly disjoin collection of stuff gathered at dissimilar points in the source ’s life .
Next are 12 main chapter packed with detailed information . Each has its own tabular array of contents . Here are the highlights :
Oddments
A variety of advice that does n’t fit neatly into the other 11 class is included here , with everything from how to deliver your own infant to “ A 10 - Step Plan to Straighten Out Your finance . ” With references to country ownership as a “ spiritual duty , ” and one ’s certificate of indebtedness to stewardship as an spare-time activity , we get a firm hold of Emery ’s range and mission .
An Introduction to Plants
Emery consider the state of the environment regarding contamination and climate alteration , and offers recipes for crafting “ harmless cleaning agent and other eco - safe formulas . ” Here you ’ll find in - depth data on topics like craw planting , hydroponics , botanical name , mushroomsand sprout , organic horticulture , source saving , and soil andworms . Abundant on-line resources of further information and recipe are included , as are familiar glimpse into the author ’s life .
Grasses, Grains & Canes
Amaranth , bamboo , barleycorn , buckwheat , corn , oat , quinoa , rye , sorghum molasses , spelt , sugar cane , wheat , and even wild rice are food for thought in this extensive review ; there ’s even a discussion section on produce broomcorn to make your own brooms . hard-nosed skills like planting , harvesting , binding , lurid , threshing , winnow , and grinding are described . Recipes include griddle cakes , pasta , pretzels , scones , steamed and boiled breads , and Carla ’s Turkey Stuffing .
Garden Vegetables
This is the largest section in the book , at close to 125 pages . Emery ’s “ duple organisational system ” lists veggies by either their botanical kinsfolk or the edible part of the plant . The botanic families included are alliums , brassicas , cucurbit ( gourd ) , legume , and nightshades , and the plant component part describe are leaves , stem , flower seeds , and origin .
For example , lettuceis found under leave , asparagusunder stem , andscallionsunder alliums . In increase , there is an index at the last of the playscript you may also use to locate a desire vegetable quickly .
issue here include planting , harvest home , seed deliverance , blanching , canning , dry , freezing , and winter entrepot . I especially like the broad surgical incision on bean plant , and the single oncrafting gourdsand making pickles . Lots of exciting project to try here !
At the end of the chapter , the reader is treated to an intimate conversation with Emery about the birth of her sixth child , bear the day after she updated the pepper part of the cyclopaedia .
Herbs & Flavorings
In the initiation to this chapter , Emery describes herbs as “ a pleasant luxury , a comfort so rude to country living that I ’m let in them in this book ( p. 377 ) ” . She direct them in eight categories : culinary , stronger seasoner , decorative , scented , medicinal , natural pesticide , and those that thrive in containers . In improver to information on grow , buying , harvesting , and preserving , there ’s anA to ezed listing of private herbs .
A fun section called “ Products and Processes ” has instruction manual for making homemade items such as hand lotion , oils , pomanders , and sachets . extra topics include hot chocolate / coffee / tea leaf , recipes for making toilet articles like toothpaste and moisturizers , and safe foraging for food in the wild .
Tree, Vine, Bush, & Bramble
From tree planting basics topruning techniques , maple sugaring to nut harvesting , apple conservation to pressingolives , this is a liberal discussion section wedge - full of techniques and recipes . It concludes with everything you ever wanted to know about how to heat up with Sir Henry Wood , from planting , harvesting , and burning to the use of cookstoves .
But my favored part is Emery ’s report at the end of this subdivision about her “ goosey fiddling almond tree diagram ( pp . 508 - 509 ) , ” with reference to the challenges of metre pass on the road to sell copy of her book .
Food Preservation
Emery spread out this chapter with witty recipes for “ How to keep up a married man ” and “ Preserved Children . ” She go on to discourse surviving crises by being “ ego - sufficient ” and “ foodwise , ” and give readers a fill - in - the - blank survey on “ Food Self - Sufficiency ” and menu - planning advice .
Food preservation methods such as canning , dry , and freezing are talk over , as well as how to design a radical cellar . Fruit preservation is a section unto itself with formula for homemade kickshaw like chutney , deoxyephedrine cream , jelly , and taffy . And lastly , “ Preserving with acetum , Salt , and Fat ” includes recipes for old - time shrub and switchel .
At the death of this plane section , we get another glimpse into the life of Emery and her married woman / mother / writer juggling routine .
Introduction to Animals
Here you ’ll find a complete guide to raise livestock and trapping in the wild to put heart on the mesa . Topics of pastime include select animate being at auction , building barns and fences , buying / growing feed , training brute to take the air on a lead , and abode veterinary pattern . There ’s also a part on butchering and one on trapping food in the wild .
An extensive aggregation of meat formula includes homemade mincemeat , salami , and sausage . Next , the “ by - products ” are considered in section about tanning and soapmaking , and a section called “ Food from piddle ” usher in the idea of husbandry Pisces the Fishes . This chapter concludes with retentiveness of Emery ’s half - Shetland pony , Shorty Bill , a stormy night , and the comfort of reliance .
Poultry
If you ’ve ever woolgather of a chicken hencoop in the backyard and reinvigorated eggs in the dawning , this chapter ’s for you .
Here you ’ll find instruction manual for raising not only chickens , but turkeys , ducks , geese , guinea fowl , secret plan birds , pigeon , and squab . From hatching in homemade brooder to nursing through common ill , butchering to formula cookery , you ’ll retrieve everything you need in this segment . Emery even explicate how to clean and use the feathers , because nothing goes to blow with the better practices for country survive !
Goats, Cows & Home Dairying
An opening move disavowal from Emery acknowledges that there is a lot of data out there about bring up Milk River animals that is beyond the scope of the book . Her Leslie Townes Hope is that folks will practice that she provides as a starting period , with its descriptions of practical skills and references to pertinent resources online . She blend on to say that cows demo more emotion than goats , and that it ’s helpful to “ … find out to give way a small to a milk moo-cow ’s predilection … ( p. 748 ) . ”
dairy farm animals are the gross body politic lifetime asset . Emery says , “ Any dairy animal is a miracle of efficiency . Grass , vegetable , grain , weewee , and Strategic Arms Limitation Talks go in one end . Milk , baby animal ( center ) , and manure to build up your garden soil total out from various other locations . There is no waste material ( p. 750 ) . ”
Topics include buying and raising caprine animal , cattle , and oxen ; butchering ; milking ; types of Milk River ; and making butter , cheese , and ice-skating rink cream . And Emery ’s personal tale continues , with mention to child issue seven .
Bee, Rabbit, Sheep & Pig
The essentials of beekeeping and honey harvesting start the last chapter . Then it ’s on to crafting hare campaign , the “ Secrets of Rabbit Feeding , ” veterinary concern at home , and butchering . And if sheep are your warmth , you ’ll apprize the elaborated data provided on breed extract , care and eating , woollen shearing , butchering , preserving , and preparation .
The chapter concludes with cop , “ … the most civilized barnyard animal there is … ( p. 862 ) . ” From setting up lodging and fencing to feeding , breeding , butchering , and barbecue , you ’ll find what you involve to bring pigs to your country life . Recipes for honey , rabbit , sheep , and sloven are include throughout .
Appendix
The appendix to the record book is devoted to an interesting issue – how to expend passe cookbooks in modern times . Headings include : Leavening , Temperature , Measures , Flour , Sugar , Flavoring , and Mystery tidings . A “ Dictionary of Antique Cookbook Words ” follows .
Deciphering phrases like “ boiled until it will twirl ( p. 891 ) , ” a stage of sirup at which droplets adhere by threads , enable us to understand and adapt the recipe of our senior for today ’s table .
Six playfulness and useful closing sections follow the master chapter . First are a “ Chronology of This Book , ” and “ Various Editions describe , ” which containjournal - case entriesby Emery noting central upshot in the years between the rule book ’s inception and its 10th edition .
Then there ’s a list of “ World Records This Book May Have Set ” that admit Emery ’s amazement at delivering three babe and a Holy Writ during four and a one-half eld . In fact , this compendium did set records , including over 750,000 copies sold , and the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records take it to be the “ Largest Mimeographed Volume in General Circulation . ”
Two fun quiz for readers play along , and then the Bible ends with an alphabetical index and full - varlet exposure of a smiling Carla Emery on the farm with her hubby and dogs .
A State of Mind
What makes this manual stand out from others is that between the lines of practical information is the heart of an source firmly root in religious belief , who is devoted to her kinsfolk , her work , and the social and environmental issues of her time . Its wealth of soundness is the mop up of over 30 year of pull together and preserve the best practice for living off the land .
At the start , Emery states , “ This book is for everyone ( p. vi ) . ” Whether you want to raise rabbits , portmanteau word herbs , dress a deer , sprout barleycorn , make cheese , rotate crop , butcher pig bed , or decipher an antique cookery book , you ’ll not only find what you ’re looking for , you wo n’t be capable to put the script down !
And for those of us who reside in less than bucolic circumstance , country keep has become a direction of thinking . From bumpkinly interior decoration to home plate - baked PIE , we often aspire to a simpler life , where skillful smells from the kitchen and meter for friendly conversation make a happy menage .
knock into the homesteading side of yourself with The Encyclopedia of Country Living and let your imagery take you as far off the beaten path as you like .
Find it on Amazon now !
Book cover look-alike courtesy of Sasquatch Books . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
About
Nan Schiller
