Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance Book

Part 1: YOUR PLACE IN THE COUNTRY
1. Your Country Home
2. Outdoor Spaces
3. The Water Supply
4. Plumbing
5. Heating Your Home
6. Electricity
7. Basic Home Improvements
8. The Home Interior

Part 2: YOUR GARDEN YARD & ORCHARD
9. The Vegetable Garden
10. The Herb Garden
11. The Flower Garden
12. Water and Rock Gardens
13. Improving Your Soil
14. Garden Pests and Diseases
15. Birds and Butterflies
16. Lawn Care
17. Berries and Fruits
18. Arbors and Trellises
19. Greenhouses
20. Sheds and More

Part 3: COUNTRY COOKING & STOCKING UP
21. Classic Country Recipes
22. Fresh From the Dairy
23. Meat Fish And Game
24. Preserving the Harvest
25. The Country Pantry

Part 4: YOUR BARN STABLE & FIELDS
26. Farm and Ranch Animals
27. Barns and Fences
28. Country Pets
29. Small-Scale Farming
30. Tools and Techniques
Hardiness Zone Map

Excerpt from the back cover and page viii, ix & x
Rediscover the Basic Skills of Country Life!
   Whether it's making ice cream or sharpening an ax, cleaning a chimney or growing raspberries, you'll learn how to do it in this treasury of time-honored country wisdom. Illustrated step-by-step instructions will show you how to milk a cow, tap a maple tree, clean a fish, lead a horse, and build the best chicken coop. You'll find out how to heat your house with wood or by the sun and how to de-skunk a country dog. You'll learn the proper way to put in a water system, rewire and old house, stack a cord of wood, and grow fruits, vegetables and herbs.
   Yearning for a more self-reliant life? You'll find the answers in Storey's Basic Country Skills.

Dear Reader
   Martha and I hope that you enjoy this book and that it helps you in some small way in your journey toward greater self-sufficiency.
   Ours has been a gradual journey, under way since the 1950's when Martha's folks, cotton farmers from West Texas, found themselves in New Jersey, a few houses up the street from my parents' home.
   Suburban life at that time was pleasant, to be sure, but only a few people like Martha's parents, Aulton and Elizabeth Mullendore were "the real McCoys." While most of our neighbors still had modest "victory gardens," the Mullendores had a small-scale farm! They knew how to provide everything for themselves -- building their own home, raising meat, and growing crops for sale and for the table.

Meet the Real Stars
   The real stars in Basic Country Skills are the authors. The true joy of our journey has been in meeting and providing a forum for nearly two hundred authors from all over the United States Canada and around the world all dedicated to bringing helpful, practical, step-by-step information to those who yearn to do more for themselves.
   You'll meet many of these folks in this book. We've gathered together the best of their advice providing a lifetime of country wisdom in one volume. We're proud that Louise Riotte's breakthrough ideas on companion planting, first published in Carrots Love Tomatoes, will find new life in Basic Country Skills. And that Dick Raymond who pioneered both raised bed and wide row gardening techniques, will be able to share his ideas with new generations of gardeners.
   Also in this book, Lewis Hill shares thoughts on pruning; Monte Burch offers an approach to barns, shelters and outbuildings; Stu Campbell gives information on country water systems; Dr. John Mettler (our James Harriott!) tells when to call the veterinarian; and Phyllis Shaudys contributes ideas about herbs. Dozens of other "country pros" offer advice on fruit orchards and apple pies, grapevine wreaths and country curtains woodlot management and eternal wood supplies.
   You'll find the knowledge our authors supply motivating and inspiring which can only serve to hasten your skill development. No matter where you live, whether you're still dreaming of life in the country or actually doing something about it, the skills shared in this book will serve you for a lifetime.
Copyright Storey Books