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Homestead books
Here are some books that we use fairly often. If the
book is already on the list, then this is just a vote
for the books usefulness.
The Owner-Build Homestead
Ken Kern
Owner Builder Publications, 1975
The Farmer's Dog
John Holmes
Popular Dogs Publishing, 1984
The Four-Season Harvest
Eliot Coleman
R. R. Donneley & Sons, 1992
The Bread machine Cookbook IV
(Whole grains & natural sugars)
Donna German
Bristol Publishing, 1992
How to Survive Without a Salary
Charles Long
Horizon Publishing, 1981
The Handbook for Fruit Explorers
Ram Fishman
North American Fruit Explorers, 1986
NAFEX is an organization of people who experiment with fruit
trees. It has a periodic newsletter which is consists
of articles and letter submitted by members. I recommend
it for anyone interested in fruit trees. The handbook
above is part of the membership fees. I don't have the
current address, if anyone wants it I will post it when
the next newsletter arrives.
I read somewhere that Eliot Coleman bought land from the
Nearings and somewhat follows in their foot steps. His
book seems to be practical data from someone who is serious
about food production.
Ken Kern's book is a little out of date, but fun reading.
It has the feel of someone who has had hands on experience.
Jeff (vote with your lifestyle)
Article 645 of alt.sustainable.agriculture:
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture
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From: aj498@yfn.ysu.edu (Jonathon D. Haskett)
Subject: New list of Historical Sources on Sustainable Agriculture
Message-ID: <1993Feb21.061823.29629@news.ysu.edu>
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Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1993 06:18:23 GMT
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REFERENCES AND HISTORICAL SOURCES ON
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
This is the a partial list of the responses I got to my request
for historical sources dealing with sustainable agriculture. I have
left out those which I felt were more currently descriptive or
philosophical, to focus more on historical materials. I have not
personally reviewed these sources, the comments are those which
came with them. I included them to provide further information,
but I cannot comment on their accuracy. Where the reference is
incomplete, it reflects all the information which was provided
to me and all the information obtained via 3 library
Gopher search. I have also included some none print resources
which might provide more access to these types of materials,
these are listed at the end of the file.
------------------------------------------------
Jonathan Haskett
jhaskett@asrr.arsusda.gov
------------------------------------------------
Special thanks to those who contributed sources and references:
Ray Newman, Paul Foster, Preston Hardison, Doug Evans,
JR Joshi, Rick Boyce, Dan Binkley, Dan Freidus, Grover Partee,
Orin G. Gelderloos, Nancy Y Sterngold, Fred Heutte, Tom Chester
(if I missed anyone I apologize).
* Artzy, M. and Hillel, D. (1988). A defense of the theory of progressive
soil salinization in ancient Southern Mesopotamia. Geoarchaeology
(3): 235-238.
* Butzer, Karl W.,1976. Early hydraulic civilization in Egypt : a study
in cultural ecology. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1976.
Series: Prehistoric archeology and ecology Bibliography:
p. 113-134. ISBN: 0-226-08634-8 : ISBN: 0-226-08635-6 pbk.
RE: Butzer wrote some of the best early works about climate,
society and the evolution of agriculture in the Middle East in the
1960s.
* Carter, Vernon Gill and Dalle, Tom 1974(revision of 1955 edition).
Topsoil and Civilization.
* Diamond, J.M. 1988. The golden age that never was. Discover
December 1988: 71-79.
Re: Popular article.
* Eckholm, Erik P .1976. .Losing ground : environmental stress
and world food prospects .1st ed. New York : Norton, 223 p. ;
Bibliography: p. [203]-219. Includes index. ISBN: 0-393-06410-7.
ISBN: 0-393-09167-8 pbk.
Re: Has reference to many of the agents of sustainable/"non-
sustainable" agriculture.
* Hillel, D.J. (1991). Out of the Earth: Civilization and the Life of the
Soil. The Free Press, New York.
* Hughes, J.D. (1975). Ecology in Ancient Civilizations. University of
New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
* Hyam, E. (may not be the right spelling). Soil and Civilization
Re: He argues that decline of ancient civilizations was
often due to failure of agriculture, bad management of soil, etc.
* Jackson, W., Berry, W.,& Colman, B.(eds) 1984. meetings the
expectations of the land.
* Paarlberg, Don, 1984. Farmers of five continents / Don Paarlberg.
Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, ISBN: 0-8032-3670-0
Re: Very anecdotal, interesting though it doesn't have much in the
way of good references or historical information.
* Perlin, John. 1989. A forest journey : the role of wood in the
development of civilization / 1st ed. New York : W.W. Norton,
445 p. : ill., maps ; Includes bibliographical references and
index. ISBN: 0-393-02667-1
Re: It has an entire chapter devoted to Mesopotamia, as well
as a good discussion of the history trees and deforestation has
played in all of ancient history. (It does seem a little
"arborpocentric" at times, and attributes nearly all causes
of war, famine, and disease to deforestation.
* Ponting, Clive, 1992.A green history of the world : the environment
and the collapse of great civilizations / 1st U.S. ed. New York : St.
Martin's Press, 1992. 432 p. : ill., maps ;"First published in Great
Britain by Sinclair-Stevenson Limited"-- T.p. verso.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [408]-412) and index. ISBN: 0-
312-06987-1 :
* Reader, John. 1988. Man on earth. with photographs by the author.
1st University of Texas Press ed., Imprint: Austin : University of
Texas Press.
Re: It is about places on earth where people have managed to exist
in more or less stable relationship with their environment. It
covers more than agricultural systems, and its focus is primarily
on the social systems that have evolved. Interesting chapters
about Swiss farmers and Balian rice farmers.
* Sheets, Payson.1992. The Ceren Site : a prehistoric village buried
by volcanic ash in Central America. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
College Publishers, 1992. Series: Case studies in archaeology series.
ISBN: 0-03-078856-0
Archeology and volcanism in Central America : the Zapotitan
Valley of El Salvador. edited by Payson D. Sheets.Austin :
University of Texas Press, 1983. 307 p. : ill., maps., charts ;
SERIES: The Texas Pan American series.
RE: Payson Sheets of the University of Colorado has been working
on a climatological/cultural theory of the Mayan collapse for over
two decades. These are the only books references by him I could
find, but I don't know if they pertain directly to the Mayan
collapse.
* Turner, B.L. II, Clark, W.C., Kates, R.W., Richards, J.F., Mathews, J.T.,
and Meyer, W.B. (eds.)(1991). The Earth as Transformed by Human
Action. Cambridge University Press.
Re: It also has older insights too.
* Worster, Donald, 1985. Rivers of empire : water, aridity, and
the growth of the American West. 1st ed. New York : Pantheon
Books, Bibliography: p. 339-388.Includes index.
ISBN: 0-394-51680-X :
RE: Discusses reasons behind the failure of early agricultural
societies due to salinization. Comes highly recommended.
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Electronic resources on the broader issue of Sustainable
Development:
CONSLINK is "a Bitnet based electronic conference and bulletin
board on all topics of biological conservation" (their description)
operated by the Smithsonian.
Send subscribe conslink <name>
to listserv@sivm.si.edu
Most of what you find here will, of course, focus more on the
conservation side. However, the Smithsonian's international
programs HAVE to find ways to deal with local needs and
desires including the need to raise food crops.
Somewhat more to the point is SANET-L, the Sustainable
Agriculture Network List operated by the Extension Service
at Oregon State University.
Send subscribe sanet-l <name>
to almanac@oes.orst.edu
The OSU ES also maintains the Showcase bibliographic database.
send extension showcase catalog
to almanac@oes.orst.edu
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