Countryside & Small Stock Journal articles from September 1997

Countryside & Small Stock Journal archives from September 1997

Let's bring back 'ol Shep! Pedigrees don't mean much when it comes to what's important in a farm dog.(Cover Story)
September 1, 1997... The Flint Hills stretch sinuously along the eastern Kansas border, seasonally dressed in spring and summer green, autumn gold, or winter white. I grew up in those rolling, tree covered hills during the late thirties and early forties, one farm...

The origins of the Asian Shepherd.(dog breed)(Cover Story)
September 1, 1997... The Asian Shepherd comes from a rich ancestry of nomadic shepherd's dogs. This breed developed as civilization developed. The progenitors of the Asian Shepherd spread westward from its beginning in eastern Asia. As early man moved to find...

Seeing ancient history by looking at a dog.(Asian Shepherd)(Cover Story)
September 1, 1997... On February 12, 1996, a small square of ancient history came to live with us: a reddish-fawn, black-faced Russian puppy with docked ears and tail. Her breeders named her Shenel because her puppy coat was the grey of the Russian soldiers'...

Apple butter.(includes recipe)
September 1, 1997... An annual event occurs in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley that is as predictable as summer's end. By late September, huge copper kettles are taken out of storage and appear in backyards, church parking lots, parks and any number of other...

Open-pollinated corn: old-fashioned, but still valuable.
September 1, 1997... To witness the bounty that is corn, drive through almost any section of the midwest in August. The vast acreage devoted to corn strains the eye and wearies the mind. Unless you're a farmer awaiting the harvest, it is easy to forget the value...

Don't neglect the value of the corncob.(uses for corncobs)(includes recipe for corncob jelly)
September 1, 1997... A few days back I stopped by one of the neighbors to see how their chickens were laying. They had just come back from town and were unloading a couple of bales of wood shavings from their pickup. I asked them what they wanted the shavings for...

Ideas for marketing your fall ornamentals.(pumpkins, gourds and squash)
September 1, 1997... We seem to have no problem coming up with a bountiful pumpkin crop. Our problem is finding buyers for all the pumpkins. One reason is that, to borrow the wonderfully descriptive phrase used by many of our fellow Countryside readers, we...

It's fair time! You'll find fun - and more - at even the smallest county fair.
September 1, 1997... A few years ago I entered four items in a local agricultural fair. The two blue ribbons I won gave me the fair bug, so now I eagerly await the start of the next fair season (July through October for most of the country). Fairs are a...

Bellfair cattle: the first dual purpose miniature.
September 1, 1997... Bellfair miniature cattle are the first dual purpose miniature breed of cattle developed in America. Developed by Tracy Teed of Conway, Washington, Bellfair cattle are 50% Jersey, from high test Jersey cows bred to a small (35") Dexter bull,...

Hooked on chickens.
September 1, 1997... I guess it was my friend who got me hooked on chickens. It all started innocently enough. My dad had a small flock of mixed-breed chickens which I never paid much attention to -- after all, they were just "dumb" chickens. My friend, however,...

More advice on draft horses.
September 1, 1997... My husband and I just had to respond to Mr. Miller's trade against draft animals (81/2:52). We have a 13-year-old Percheron mare with whom (and her late sister) we have done a large variety of work and public functions. Gail Damerow dealt with...

An ad for "adopting unwanted animals" populates this homestead.
September 1, 1997... When we bought our seven acre farm in the rural Delaware Bay area, we barely had enough money to restore the farm house and fence in the five acre pasture area. We knew we wanted to begin to plan our "farm family" but lacked the funds to buy...

What the sheep books don't tell you.
September 1, 1997... Many excellent books cover the nuts and bolts of raising sheep. But over the past 35 years I learned many things the hard way. Raising lambs requires more work than raising a steer, but due to their small size they are fairly easy to...

Fall is the time to harvest honey.(beekeeping tips)
September 1, 1997... September and October are harvest time for honey. Mistakes here can be costly to the bee population. The longer northern winter requires more feed and more care of the hive. After harvest, at least 60 pounds of honey should be left in the...

Discover the advantages of oriental vegetables.(vegetable gardening)
September 1, 1997... Gardeners who've discovered oriental vegetables are finding out how many advantages there are to growing them. Turnips that grow as fast as radishes are perfect for the gardener who wants to get in a crop between the end of a harvest and the...

When you run out of garden space, look up.(vertical gardening)
September 1, 1997... Is lack of garden space your problem? Try vertical gardening. Take a garden fence, for example. It's not always the most attractive feature, but it can be. Each summer sees our fences converted into attractive, fruitful, living walls. We...

Harvest-time recipes for the country kitchen.
September 1, 1997... Dallas Henderson Bellaire, Texas Grace's fierce pickles 2 quarts apple cider vinegar 8 teaspoons dry mustard 16 teaspoons salt 10 teaspoons sugar 1 large onion, sliced in rings 4 teaspoons prepared horseradish 1...

From city to farm ... and loving it all the way.
September 1, 1997... I always get the urge to write in, right when I get my new magazine, so this time I'm really going to do it. Here goes. We got our little piece of the country about two years ago and what an experience it has been so far. We have five...

Learning to live with "urban sprawl."(homesteading narrative)
September 1, 1997... Kate Lederer Red Meadow Farm 2291 40th St. Somerset WI 54025 After reading many articles in Countryside dealing with the cons of urban sprawl, population relocation or whatever you want to call it, I thought I'd...

Little surfer girl becomes a homesteader.
September 1, 1997... D'arcy Stoddard PO Box 756 Magalia CA 95954 I grew up as a little s Southern California eating tv dinners in front of the tube. No matter where we lived (and we moved a lot!), we lived "on the boulevard." Surrounded by...

A retirement homestead in Kansas.
September 1, 1997... Vera Dean Hoisington, Kansas "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." How many times have I heard that phrase in my lifetime? Never really gave it much thought -- it was just one of those things that people...

Home power and generators.
September 1, 1997... Larry Elliott solar Tech 27250 Willard Rd Bend OR 97701 I just finished reading 8 1/3 and felt compelled to write. This issue, like so many in the past, has helped me gain a little more knowledge about all the...

Interest in homeschooling is running high.(includes related article)
September 1, 1997... Jim and I have received an unbelievable amount of mall and phone calls in response to our letter in 81/2. We are overwhelmed by the kindness of others in sharing their knowledge and being genuinely helpful. Many of the people who wrote to us...

Death of a barn.(barn burning)
September 1, 1997... I watched a hundred-year-old barn burn to the ground one day. As the crackling flames shot up in the air, rapidly engulfing the old building, a large raccoon suddenly appeared on the ridge of the roof. The raccoon had been roused from its...

Environmental allergies.
September 1, 1997... If you suffer from severe allergies, after having yourself tested, also test your house. In addition to harboring dust and dirt, it has been found that carpeting can contain more than 350 chemicals. Manufactured woods, such as particle...

Free-ranging feline terminators take a heavy toll on rural wildlife.(destruction of wildlife by domestic cats)
September 1, 1997... Kitty turns killer when allowed to roam, and in many rural areas, that spells doom for native songbirds as well as mice and other pest species. Studies have shown that nearly all free-ranging cats -- even the well-fed ones -- kill wildlife. A...

Skunks.(includes related remedy for skunk odor)
September 1, 1997... The Woods Hick I've noticed many articles in Countryside dealing with earning money from the countryside. For a while I made some extra money descenting skunks. It's a smelly business, but there isn't much competition. Actually, a...

Trash, or treasure?(homesteaders and salvage)
September 1, 1997... "Junk" makes living on a small income on 6 acres possible and enjoyable We have lived beyond the sidewalks for just over two years, so we don't have a huge amount of good stuff saved yet. Of course, we do have several dozen plastic...

Paper or plastic? It doesn't matter. You can reuse either one!
September 1, 1997... Even though I am a writer, I had vowed not to send anything until I felt I really had been living the homesteader's life for a while, and had lots of advice to share. Well, we've only been in our little piece of paradise for a year (an acre in...

What every country person should know about rural fire protection.
September 1, 1997... Your first question may be "Who is this guy?" For the purpose of explaining that I speak from experience, I offer my credentials: appointed and served for three years as the first fire chief of a small rural volunteer fire department; Oklahoma...

The Backyard Orchardist.
September 1, 1997... Of all the challenges of "homestead production," growing fruit for the family has been one of the most daunting for me. Vegetables I can grow (most of the time), rabbits I can do chickens I have mastered (usually) beef in the freezer I can...

The Backyard Berry Book.
September 1, 1997... Of all the challenges of "homestead production," growing fruit for the family has been one of the most daunting for me. Vegetables I can grow (most of the time), rabbits I can do chickens I have mastered (usually) beef in the freezer I can...

Keeping Life Simple: 7 Guiding Principles, 500 Tips and Ideas.
September 1, 1997... This book made me nervous. Trust me to buy and devour most any latest-trend-in-self-help, pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps, life-enhancing tome and espouse its theme, but this book I can't recommend to anyone other than those so overwhelmed...

The Sauna.
September 1, 1997... Some purists might protest that saunas are for yuppies, not real homesteaders. But why should homesteaders strive to emulate the laborious skills of our simple peasant ancestors, without copying their relaxations and enjoyments as well? ...

Complete Book of Cordwood Masonry Housebuilding.
September 1, 1997... Anyone who has ever considered constructing an unconventional building because of the costs and skills involved in stick construction or any other reason, should definitely investigate cordwood masonry. This book might be all you'll need. ...

They can run, but they don't fly.(ostrich ranching)(includes related information on the failure of ostriches and emus to develop a market)
September 1, 1997... Over the last few years, the ostrich industry has undergone some drastic modifications, making ostrich ranching a viable option for alternative farming. It seems each growth industry goes through a process of attrition. The ostrich industry...

Jelly, jam and marmalade.(includes recipes)
September 1, 1997... For generations, making jelly or jam meant adding a sweetener to fruit or juice and cooking this combination until it jelled. Then came packaged pectin. No longer was the homemaker dependent upon the vagaries of nature, nor did she wonder...

Recipes for cooking game.
September 1, 1997... Having been rained out of work today, I have time to finally write this. I'd like to pass on a few game recipes. It took us a long time to find the ones we really like. Deer Here in New Jersey, we have small deer. Ninety pounds is...

My "sheltered" life: country living suits this young lady just fine.
September 1, 1997... I am a thirteen-year-old girl who is going into the eighth grade. I live on a 75-acre tree farm in the hills of northwestern Pennsylvania. We are fairly self-sufficient. We have laying chickens, horses, dogs, and a cat to keep the mice...