A Reason Not To Buy Semi-Moist Food

Monday, Kathy, the Extension Office Librarian, stopped by Elwood's Office. Handing him a thick book, she said -

This book, Storey's Basic Country Skills - A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance, contains articles by 150 experts on topics ranging from controlling ants, to making sausage and building fences. I bet this book has answers to 90% of the questions we get asked. I think this book is going to make my job a lot easier. The next time somebody calls with a question, you don't have to call me and ask if we have a book on the subject - you can just tell them to buy Storey's Basic Country Skills and suggest they look on page such and such.

Last month when the guy called about making maple syrup you could have told him to buy the book and turn to "A Beginner's Guide to Maple Syruping" on page 454 where they explain tapping the trees, boiling the sap and even filtering and hot-packing the syrup.

After Kathy left, Elwood decided to put Storey's Basic Country Skills to a test. Last week Bard Holmsted had called and asked for some information on putting in a well on some property he planned to develop. When Elwood turned to the index of Storey's Basic Country Skills, under the listing "Wells for Water" there were several references to Chapter 3, "The Water System." Turning to the chapter, Elwood found some basic definitions of terms such as silicock, head and drawdown. After a discussion of dowsing, there was an explanation of the "five kinds of wells." The discussion of wells was followed by a section on pumps, and information about planning a water distribution system. Elwood was very pleased with Storey's Basic Country Skills; there was more than enough information to satisfy Bard's question about wells, and there was information to answer what would probably be his next few questions about pumps and pipes.

Since Elwood had recently received a call from Meg Fulton, who was thinking of raising chickens, he next turned to Part Four of Storey's Basic Country Skills, "Your Barn, Stable & Field." Starting on page 464, he found a section on "Chickens." The section started with a discussion of "Fowl Fundamentals." Since Meg had been particularly concerned about when to fed her flock, Elwood turned to "Feeding Your Chickens" and read about the rations needed for chicks up to about four weeks of age, by breeding hens, broilers and layers. Again Elwood was pleased with the answers he had found in Storey's Basic Country Skills.

Before turning to the paperwork on his desk, Elwood looked at some of the other sections in Part Four. He decided if he had a cat he wouldn't buy semi-soft cat food when he read, on page 519, that the "high levels of sugar, increasing cat's risk for diabetes; lots of artificial colorings, some of which are carcinogenic."

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