Wit and Wisdom

[Buffalo]

I was looking through my bookshelves this weekend, trying to find a reference book and stumbled across this old copy of The Mother Earth News Almanac. Now, regardless of the political bent of the publication now, I find those old issues chocked full of valuable tips, and having collected several of their books, along with those from Backwoods Home, The Backwoodsman, Grit and a plethora of others, I thought it would be really interesting to share some of these with each other. My intent with this thread is for those that wish to participate to share the tidbits of information that you come across in publications with each other.

There will only be one hard and fast rule on this thread. That rule is the tip or trick that you share MUST come from a magazine or reference book AND you need to site where it came from. So no personal antidotes on this thread.

 

[Buffalo]

I will start this thread off by sharing an article from the aforementioned Mother Earth News Almanac.

Wild Foods:
It's a real puzzlement that so many modern mothers refuse to allow their children to eat mulberries. Sure, the fruit is messy when dead ripe (mulberry eaters always have dark-purple lips and tongues) and more than one kid has fallen out of a tree while gorging himself on these "aerial raspberries". That's still a small price to pay for the sheer delight of cramming handful after handful of the natural sweets into a stained mouth.
There's no real lack of the trees in this country. The red mulberry is native to the whole eastern half of the United States and has been planted as far west as the Oregon coast. The white mulberry, imported from Asia over a hundred years ago when various promoters were trying to establish a silk industry on this continent, has since found its way into most parts of the United States also.
The quality of both red and white mulberries (and what seems to be a cross between the two) can vary tremendously and ranges from "good enough to eat" to "darn hard to resist". In general, most folks prefer the red variety (which is really purple in its eating stage) because the white(which can be somewhat purple in its eating stage) is- believe it or not- just too dang sweet for many palates.
The easiest way to harvest the fruit is by spreading a blanket, sheet or newspapers on the ground under a tree and then giving it a good shake. The best way to eat the berries is as rapidly as you can stuff them into your moth.
Folks with a little more composure sometimes like to mash the fruit and use the juice for a summer drink. Euell Gibbons recommends filling a glass one third full of the fluid, squeezing in the juice of one half lemon, adding two teaspoons of sugar and some ice and then filling the container with plain soda. Mulberries also make fine jelly (if pectin is added) and pie.

 

[haulitdragit]

we have mulberry trees and there's a few mature enough to have loads of berries...
we will be harvesting them next summer...saving enough for the birds ..squirrels..coons...
the leaves are edible too

 

[Bacpacker]

We've got one that gives maybe a 4 week harvest. The taste is very good

 

[Magus]

no personal antidotes on this thread.

You tube don't count huh?

 

[Buffalo]

You tube don't count huh?

Let's stick to written media for this thread.

 

[Magus]

Magazines are cool then? I could probably quote Euel Gibbons and Bradford Angier by heart, but truthfully, I got more out of American Survival guide, Survive, and a little bit of Soldier of fortune. A bit of Mother earth and such.

 

[Buffalo]

Today's Wisdom of the Day:
From Backwoods Home Magazine November/December 1991

For Battling ants or growing earthworms, try coffee grounds
by: Anne Westbrook Dominick

Ant hills, the expansive type that sink a good eight inches, when stepped into, riddled our homestead when we moved in a few years ago. As we cleaned up the slash left from "selective lumbering, we encountered yet more of these subterranean metropolises. Adding to our helpless dismay, a procession of ants trooped into our solar greenhouse as soon as they recognized its potential...

 

[joel]

I have a mulberry tree.

 

[Buffalo]

Today's wisdom for the day:

To peel a turnip or other tough skinned vegetable, score the rind in bands all the way around (like the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer on the globe) and cut the strips off one at a time.

From the Mother Earth News Almanac.

 

[Magus]

Boiling egg shells in coffee take the bite out of the cheap stuff.

 

[Magus]

Putting a clear jar of clouded water (a few drops of milk) in front of your flashlight diffuses the light into the whole area.

 

[SLADE]

Half starving as a child can inspire you to hunt and grow food as an adult.

 

[Magus]

He who has the most toys sinks fastest when the ice breaks.

 

[joel]

He who has the most toys sinks fastest when the ice breaks.

The really smart people are going to MARS, no ice & lots of open land.

 

[Magus]

LOL