The Encyclopedia of Country Living: An Old Fashioned Recipe Book, Updated 9th Edition

I love this book! Carla Emory is an expert on homesteading and she has amazing information on every subject with step by step details on how to do it yourself. Her instructions encourage you in believing you can do what she did. The illustrations, while few, are very well done and each portion of the illustration is labeled where needed. I was so impressed with this book that I purchased it for the library I run. It is never on our shelves because since it was cataloged, it has been checked out continually. This is a book everyone interested in learning how to buy a plot of land and everything connected with it to making your own candles should own. It's a great book just for reading and learning about country living and reasonably priced as well. Country Living Cover 1 Copyright page 6 Contents 7 Acknowledgments 8 What This Book Is 9 Who This Book Is For 10 About the Time Traveling in This Book 10 1 Oddments 11 Oddments Contents 12 Introduction 13 Making the Move 14 Letters to Carla 14 The Homesteaders 16 Choosing and Buying Your Land 17 But Where? 17 Buying Your Land 18 Information Please 24 Government Resources 24 Back-to-the-Landers' Books and Magazines 26 Looking for Love? 32 Mail-Order Suppliers 32 Schools of Country Living 34 About Nonpolluting Energy Resources 36 Storage in Case of Emergency 40 Living Simply ("Primitively") 42 Mothering When It Gets Very Cold 44 Keeping the House Warm 46 Giving Birth by Yourself 46 How to Care for Your Dead 48 Backwoods Housekeeping 48 Country Clothing 53 Quilting 54 Candle Making 55 Money Management 57 The Three Steps to Profit 57 How to Pinch a Penny 59 Health Matters 62 Lyme Disease 62 Non-Lyme (Big) Ticks 63 Poisonous Bites 63 Measurements: Metric Equivalents 64 Miscellaneous Recipes 67 2 Introduction to Plants 69 Introduction to Plants Contents 70 Introduction 72 Pollution Matters 72 Air Pollution 73 Water Pollution 74 Harmless Cleaning Agents and Other Eco-Safe Formulas 76 About Unhealthy Residues in Food 77 Water 79 Being Frugal with Water 79 Your Water Source 79 Moving Water 81 Soil 83 Soil Texture, Layers, Depth 83 Soil Composition 84 Cultivating the Soil 87 Animal-Powered Cultivation 90 Machinery for Cultivation 92 Earthworms 94 Planning Your Garden 97 Laying Out the Garden 99 USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 106 Buying Seeds, Saving Seeds, and Plant Propagation 108 Buying Seeds 108 Vegetable Seed Catalogs 109 About Latin Plant Names 112 Orders and Families 113 Saving Seeds 114 Vegetative Propagation 116 Planting and Growing Your Garden 117 Planting 117 Starting Transplants 118 Undercover Gardening 119 Coping with the Competition: Weeds, Pests, and Pestilence 123 About Weeds 123 Coping with Pests and Pestilence 124 Mushrooms 125 Hunting Wild Mushrooms 126 Harvest and Preparation 128 About Sprouts and Vegetarian Diets 130 Sprouts 130 Vegetarianism 132 3 Grasses, Grains & Canes 137 Grasses, Grains & Canes Contents 138 Introduction 141 Of Book Writing, My Childhood, and Grain Growing 141 About Grasses, Grains, and Canes 142 Of Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Grain 143 Planning Ahead 143 Of Seed and Soil 145 The Growing Grain 147 Harvesting Grain 148 Old-Time Hand (Non-Petroleum-Using) Harvesting Technology 148 Mowing 148 Binding 149 Curing the Grain 150 Building an Old-Time Rick to Store Unthreshed Grain 151 Threshing 152 Of Dehusking and Winnowing 154 Of Drying, Storing, Grinding, and Cereal 154 Storage Technology 154 Fighting Pests in Grain 155 Grinding Your Grain 156 Cereal 159 Grain Amaranth 160 Growing Grain Amaranth 160 Harvest and Use 161 Bamboo 161 Growing Bamboo 162 Harvesting and Cooking Bamboo 162 Barley 163 Growing Barley 163 Harvesting and Using Barley 164 Buckwheat 165 Growing Buckwheat 166 Harvesting and Storing 166 Buckwheat Recipes 167 Corn 168 Names and Kinds of Corn 168 Planning for Corn 171 Planting and Growing Corn 172 Harvesting Sweet Corn 174 Preserving or Eating Sweet Corn 175 Harvesting Dent, Flint, Popcorn, and Indian Corn 177 Eating Dent, Flint, Popcorn, and Indian Corn 181 Millet 186 Varieties 187 Planting, Harvesting, and Using Millet 187 Oats 188 Planting and Growing Oats 188 Harvesting and Using Oats 189 Quinoa 190 Planting and Growing Quinoa 191 Harvesting and Using Quinoa 191 Rice 192 Rice Varieties, Climates, and Rotations 192 The Paddy and the Planting 193 Harvesting and Processing Rice 195 Rice Cooking 196 Wild Rice 197 Growing Wild Rice 197 Harvesting Wild Rice 198 Processing and Using Wild Rice 199 Rye 200 Planting and Growing Rye 200 Harvesting and Processing 201 The Sorghum Family 202 Broomcorn 202 The Grain Sorghums 203 Of Varieties, Planting, and Growing 203 Harvesting, Processing, and Using 204 The Sweet/Forage Sorghums 205 Planting and Growing 205 Harvesting, Stripping, and Pressing 206 Boiling Down 207 Spelt 209 Sugar Cane 209 Teff 209 Wheat 209 Planting and Growing Wheat 209 Harvesting, Storing, and Using Wheat 210 Unleavened, Egg, and Acid-Base Leavened Breads 213 Unleavened Breads 213 Breads Leavened with Eggs and Beating 214 Acid-Base Leavenings 215 Yeast Breads 219 How to Use Recipes from an Antique Cookbook 219 Bread-Making Equipment 220 Yeast Bread Ingredients 221 Kneading and Rising 224 Shaping and Baking 225 Of Sourdough Breads and Starters 228 Using Leftover Breads 231 Special Breads: Gluten, Crackers, Pastas, Steamed or Boiled Breads, and Fruitcakes 232 Gluten 232 Crackers 233 Pastas 235 Steamed and Boiled Breads 237 Fruitcakes 239 4 Garden Vegetables 243 Garden Vegetables Contents 244 Introduction 247 Allium: All the Onions 247 Allium Varieties 247 Scallions 248 Allium Group 1 248 Allium Group 2 250 Allium Group 3 251 Allium Group 4 251 The Leaves We Eat 255 Introduction to Greens 255 The Non-Brassica Greens 259 The Carpetweed 260 The Chicories 260 The Dandelion/Lettuce Group 262 The Goosefoot Greens 265 Sagebrush Tribe 268 The Valerian 268 The Wonderful, Motley Brassica Horde 269 The Cabbagy Brassicas 269 The Edible Flower-Bud and Stem Brassicas 275 The Leafy Brassicas 278 The Stems We Eat 281 Asparagus 282 Cardoon 284 Celeriac 285 Celery 285 Celtuce 286 Florence Fennel 286 Globe Artichoke 287 Rhubarb 288 Legumes 289 Introduction to Legumes 289 Pisum Sativa: The Peas 290 Varieties 290 Planting and Growing 290 Harvesting 292 Preserving 292 Recipe Ideas 292 The Phaseolus Beans 293 Snap Beans 293 Green Shell Beans 295 Shell (Dry) Beans 295 Other Phaseolus Beans (Alphabetical List) 299 The Non-Phaseolus Beans 300 Fava Bean 300 Garbanzo Bean (Chickpea) 301 Lentil 301 Peanut 302 Pigeon Pea 304 Southerns 304 Soybean 304 Winged Bean 309 Yardlong Bean 310 Flower Seeds 310 Basic Seed Recipe Ideas 310 Flower Seeds (Alphabetical List) 311 The Roots We Eat 315 Introduction to Roots 315 Starchy Roots 316 Potato 316 Sweet Potato 320 Lesser-Known Starchy Roots 321 Nonstarchy Roots 322 Beet 322 Burdock 325 Carrot 325 Chufa 327 Hamburg Parsley 327 Jerusalem Artichoke 328 Jicama 329 Lotus Root 329 Parsnip 330 Radish 331 Rutabaga 333 Salsify 333 Scorzonera 334 Skirret 335 Turnip 335 Water Chestnut 336 The Gourd Family 336 Botanical Groups and Seed Saving 336 Pollination and Flower Eating 337 Eating Cucurbit Seeds 338 The Gourd Family, Classified by Use 338 Squashes 338 Summer Squashes 338 Winter Squashes 340 Exotic Squashes 342 Craft Gourds 344 Squash Sponge: Luffa 346 Melons 346 Cantaloupe 347 Watermelon 347 Cucumbers 347 Planting and Growing 348 Saving Seed 348 Harvesting 349 Recipe Ideas 349 Pickles 350 Nightshades 353 Eggplant 353 Ground Cherry 355 Martynia 356 Okra 356 Pepper (Hot) 358 Pepper (Sweet) 360 Tomatillo 362 Tomato 362 5 Herbs & Flavorings 371 Herbs & Flavorings Contents 372 Introduction 373 Herbs 373 The Business of Herbs 374 Harvesting Herbs 375 Preserving Herbs 376 Products and Processes 377 Food Seasonings 382 Seasoning Mixtures 382 Which Herbs/Spices for Which Foods? 384 Alfalfa to Yucca—Garden to Table 386 Cocoa, Coffee(s), and Tea 416 Do-It-Yourself Cosmetics 419 Wild Food Foraging 422 6 Tree, Vine, Bush & Bramble 425 Tree, Vine, Bush & Bramble Contents 426 Introduction 428 Planting a Tree 429 Guerrilla Tree Planting 430 Climate 431 Choosing Your Plants 431 Tree/Fruit Propagation 432 Buying Tree, Vine, Bush, or Bramble 433 How to Plant a Tree 434 Pruning 436 Pruning Tools 437 How to Prune 438 Sugar Trees 440 Nut Trees 443 Enter the Wonderful World of Nuts! 443 Getting Started 444 Nut Crop Management and Recipes 445 Through the Nut Alphabet 446 Temperate-Zone Fruits 454 Apples 455 Apple-Pear 459 Apricots 459 Cherries 460 Elderberries 462 Jujube 463 Mulberry 463 Nectarines 463 Pawpaws 463 Peaches (and Nectarines) 464 Pears 465 Persimmons 466 Plums 468 Quince 469 Subtropical and Tropical Fruits 470 Vine, Bush, and Bramble Fruits 482 Grapes 482 Kiwis 485 Passion Fruit 485 Bramble, Bush, and Other Tiny Fruits 485 Brambles: Red and Black Raspberries and Blackberries 486 The Non-Bramble Berries 487 Wood Heat 489 Managing an Existing Stand of Trees 489 Reforestation 489 Harvesting Wood 490 Burning Wood 493 Of Wood Cookstoves 495 Of Green Leaves, Courage, and Foolishness 498 7 Food Preservation 499 Food Preservation Contents 500 Introduction 502 Organizing Food Production, Storage, and Use 503 City Food Preservers 503 Plan Ahead 503 Menu Making: 365 Independence Days 504 Food Preservation Methods 507 Books, Containers, and Equipment 509 Drying 510 Detailed Step-by-Step Drying Instructions 511 Drying Methods 512 Fruit Leathers 514 Storing Dried Food 515 Using Dried Food 516 Freezing 517 Buying and Installing a Freezer 517 Steps to Freezing Food 518 Using Your Freezer 521 Defrosting Food for Cooking 523 Canning 523 The Science of Canning 524 About Botulism 525 Canning Methods and Supplies 526 Twelve Life-Saving Canning Rules 530 General Canning Instructions 530 How Long Will Canned Food Keep? 534 Root Cellar Storage 535 Storage Places 536 Out-of-House Storage 537 Maintaining Your Storage 539 Regularly Check the Stored Food 540 Sugaring—And Fruit Preservation 541 Fruit Juice and Juice Products 541 Preserving Juices 542 Summer Ices, Frozen Fruits 543 Jams and Jellies 544 Syrups 547 Fruit Sauces 548 Other Sauces 548 Fruit Butters 548 Ketchups 549 Spiced Fruit 550 Brandied Fruit 550 Preserving with Vinegar, Salt, and Fat 552 Pickles 552 Vinegar 552 Salting 555 Larding 556 8 Introduction to Animals 559 Introduction to Animals Contents 560 Introduction 562 Resources 562 Considerations About Keeping Animals 562 Genetics 565 Heritage Breeds and Exotics 566 Predators 568 Barns and Fences 569 Building a Barn 569 Fencing 571 Feed 574 About Forage Crops 574 Pasture 574 Hay 576 Silage 578 Animal Feeds You Buy 579 Animal Doctoring 580 Common Home Vetting Procedures 580 Managing Livestock Reproduction 582 Castration and Dehorning 583 Digestive Ailments 586 Diseases/Infections 588 Parasites 589 Introduction to Butchering 589 Custom Slaughter and/or Cutting 590 Home Butchering 590 About Cutting Up 593 About Cooking and Eating Meat 594 Wild Critters 595 Hunting Birds with a Shotgun 596 Large Wild Mammals 596 Recipes for Wild or Gamey-Tasting Meats 600 Small Wild Mammals 602 Snail, Snake, Turtle, and Frog 603 Preserving Meat 605 Freezing 605 Canning 606 Drying 607 Meat Products 609 Gelatin 609 Gravy 611 Hash 612 Mincemeat 612 Sandwich Mixes 613 Sausage and Hamburger 614 Soups from Meat 619 By-Products: Soap and Tanned Hides 620 Soap Making 620 Tanning 626 Blankets, Rugs, and Clothes from Skins 631 Horns 632 Food from Water 632 Mariculture 633 Greenhouse / Hydroponics / Aquaculture Combo 634 Pond Fish Farming 634 Preserving Food from Water 638 9 Poultry 641 Poultry Contents 642 Introduction 644 Chickens 644 Getting Started: Information and Supplies 644 Chicken Breeds 646 Starting by Buying Adult Birds 649 Starting by Buying Chicks 650 Places to Buy or Order Poultry 651 Brooding Chicks 652 Chick Water 656 Chick Food 656 Hatching Eggs in an Incubator 658 Chickens That Hatch Their Own Eggs 662 Chicken Housing 665 Chicken Injuries, Diseases, Parasites 669 Roosters 672 Laying Hens 673 Water and Food for Chickens (and Other Adult Fowl) 677 Eggs 680 Laws on Home Poultry Processing 686 Butchering Chickens 689 Cleaning and Using Feathers 696 Turkeys 698 Turkey Breeds 698 Turkey Reproduction 699 Brooding Poults 700 Of Turkey Housing and Yards 701 Butchering 702 Cooking a Turkey 702 The Waterfowl: Ducks and Geese 704 Of Water and Waterfowl 704 Of Ducklings and Goslings, Food and Water 706 Housing for Post-Brooder Geese and Ducks 707 About Feathers 708 Cleaning Ducks and Geese 709 Of Ducks in Particular 709 Geese 714 Guineas 719 Guinea Attributes 719 Getting Started 720 Guinea Reproduction 720 Catching a Guinea 721 The Game Birds 722 Game-Bird Housing 722 Pheasants 723 Partridge 723 Quail 724 Peafowl 725 Pigeons and Doves 725 How to Kill, Pick, and Clean a Pigeon 727 10 Goats, Cows & Home Dairying 731 Goats, Cows & Home Dairying Contents 732 Introduction 734 Dairying 735 Milk a Sheep? Cow? Goat? 736 Goats 737 Getting Started with Goats 739 Fencing, Housing, and Food 742 Goat Reproduction 744 Goat Vetting and Grooming 748 Goat Butchering 749 Cattle 749 Getting Started 749 Dairy Cattle 750 Beef Cattle 752 Oxen: Cattle That Pull 753 Cattle Housing 755 Feeding Cattle 755 Cow Reproduction 757 Newborn Calves 758 Cow Butchering 761 What's the Beef? 765 About Milking 768 A Review of Dairy Sex 768 How to Milk 768 Milking Problems and Problem Milkers 770 About Milk and Milk Products 774 Milk Types 774 Milk Handling 775 Foods Made from Milk 776 Cheese 780 Making Soft Cheeses 781 Making Semi-Soft, Firm, and Hard Cheeses 784 Hard Cheese Recipes 787 Cream 791 Separating the Cream 791 Sour Cream 792 Whipping Cream 793 Butter 793 Buttermilk 795 Ice Cream 795 11 Bee, Rabbit, Sheep & Pig 799 Bee, Rabbit, Sheep & Pig Contents 800 Introduction 802 Bees 802 Learning to Beekeep 803 Getting Started 806 Protective Clothing 807 Equipment 808 Working with Your Bees 810 Water and Food 810 Bee Diseases, Parasites, and Pests 812 Harvesting the Honey 814 When to Harvest? 814 How Much Honey to Take? 814 Storing Honey 815 Using Honey 815 Rabbit 817 Getting Started 817 Rabbit Breeds 818 Housing 819 Water 821 Food 821 Rabbit Reproduction 824 Rabbit "Vetting" 826 Rabbit Butchering 828 Sheep 830 Getting Started 831 Foods and Feeding 834 Housing and Fencing 835 Reproduction 836 Sheep Vetting 839 Wool: Shearing to Spinning 839 Who Will Shear? 840 How to Shear 840 Wool 841 Sheep Butchering 843 Killing a Sheep 843 Skinning a Sheep 844 Gutting a Sheep 844 Aging Mutton 845 Cutting Up 845 Preserving Lamb and Mutton 846 Cooking 846 Pig 847 Getting Started with Pigs 848 Home Sweet Home, For Pigs 850 Fencing For Pigs 852 Food for Pigs 854 Keeping a Sow and Raising Piglets 857 Breeding Your Pig 858 Pregnancy and Farrowing 859 Pig Vetting 860 Butchering the Pig 861 Getting Ready 861 Killing a Pig 862 Scalding a Pig 862 Skinning a Pig 864 Hanging a Pig 864 Gutting the Pig 864 Preparing Suckling and Barbecue Pigs 866 Cutting Up the Pig 866 Headcheese and Scrapple 868 Chitlins 869 Making Lard 869 Pigs' Feet 872 Chronology of This Book 875 Various Editions Described 880 World Records This Book May Have Set 880 Your Achievement Checklist 881 A Final Exam for You 881 Index 883 A 883 B 883 C 884 D 886 E 886 F 886 G 887 H 888 I 888 J 888 K 889 L 889 M 889 N 890 O 890 P 890 Q 891 R 891 S 892 T 893 U 894 V 894 W 894 Y 895 Z 895 country,living;,self-reliance;,gardening;,farming;,ranching country living,self-reliance,gardening,farming,ranching No home, whether in the country, the city, or somewhere in between, should be without this one-of-a-kind encyclopedia — the most complete source of information available about growing, processing, cooking, and preserving homegrown foods from the garden, orchard, field, or barnyard. For more than 30 years, people have relied on its practical, step-by-step advice on basic self-sufficiency skills such as how to cultivate a garden, buy land, bake bread, raise farm animals, make sausage, milk a goat, grow herbs, churn butter, build a chicken coop, cook on a wood stove, and much, much more. First written at the height of the 1960s back-to-the-land movement, the book has been continually revised, updated, and expanded, and has grown from a self-published, mimeographed document to an exhaustive reference of more than one million words, 2,000+ recipes, and over 1,500 mail order sources. Emery’s personal advice, reflections, and anecdotes ensure that this incredibly detailed, diverse reference is as enjoyable as it is useful. Initially self-published 20 years ago, The Encyclopedia of Country Living has become the trusted guidebook to sustainable, self-sufficient living. Filled with memorable anecdotes, crucial advice, and a generous helping of good humor, this compendium provides detailed information about food production — growing, processing, cooking, and preserving — together with hundreds of illustrations and recipes. With updates of over 1,100 mail order sources, including websites and email addresses, this revised edition is the definitive classic text for living off the land.