Has anyone read the Book of Farm Series and the Foxfire Series?

[Father of four]

Has anyone read those series? Any corrections you would make to what you have read?

I just received them in the mail yesterday. I have alot more reading to do now.

Thanks for your comments.

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[lowly monk]

Yes, Definatly. The only thing to change is the time zone.
The series had me think? what would gramma do.

 

[parallax]

hope this isnt thread jacking,, but many,many years ago, i picked up what appears to be a homemade book called the practical survivalist newsletter (its a book). i think i got it at a garage sale back in the 80's has anyone heard of this book?.. its got alot of old school homestead practical info..kinda a good read..i think its alot like the firefox books.

 

[Father of four]

Takeabreak, I hope so. We spent a lot of money on them.

Book of farm has do do with a lot or even close to all of the different aspects of running a farm in the late 1800's.
Firefox Series are a series of books about the life and ways of the Older Appalachian folk.

Nice parallax. Thread jack away.

 

[Nwcid]

Are either of these available on audio? I drive a lot

 

[gunslinger1911]

i have the complete foxfire set...imho the best pick up for reference, education and learning how to be self sufficient...long live the "old ways"!!! i mean c'mon, its like an encyclopedia for bush craft/cabin living

volume 1 covers:

hog dressing...log cabin building...mountain crafts and foods...planting by the signs...snake lore...hunting tales...faith healing...moon shining...bad a$$!!!!

i omitted volumes 6 & 7...they were mostly about church, faith and fairy tales of the time...imho not too relevant when it comes to survival techniques of the old

 

[gunslinger1911]

Are either of these available on audio? I drive a lot

you dont want these in audio...you gotta see the pics, and analyze the techniques...but i cant recommend them highly enough

 

[RainMan_PNW]

used to have foxfire #s 1 thru 3 ...my primary interest in them as a kid was the section on building a still. Must've read that chapter 1000 times between age 12 and age 21 (also read the rest of it several times). Now I've gotta go dig in the basement and find them again...I'm SURE I still have them somewhere.

 

[Nwcid]

you dont want these in audio...you gotta see the pics, and analyze the techniques...but i cant recommend them highly enough

Ahhh that is the part I meant to ask to and forgot. Thanks.

 

[Redrum]

i have the complete foxfire set...imho the best pick up for reference, education and learning how to be self sufficient...long live the "old ways"!!! i mean c'mon, its like an encyclopedia for bush craft/cabin living

volume 1 covers:

hog dressing...log cabin building...mountain crafts and foods...planting by the signs...snake lore...hunting tales...faith healing...moon shining...bad a$$!!!!

i omitted volumes 6 & 7...they were mostly about church, faith and fairy tales of the time...imho not too relevant when it comes to survival techniques of the old

you can pretty much disregard all the medical advice also...A shot glass of Kerosene doesnt cure anything

 

[lowly monk]

you can pretty much disregard all the medical advice also...A shot glass of Kerosene doesnt cure anything

Haa, Forgot about that one. How about stepping in fresh cow dung for athletes foot.

 

[RockKrawler]

A few years back while spending a weekend on the coast,got a chance to hit some book stores.
While looking through boxes that were stashed in a corner of one,happened across some of the original quarterly mailers that started the Firefox series,they are complete with the hand sketched drawings that are very hard to come by. I was surprised by the excellent condition,and the low price. ( the store owner didn't know what they had ). I also have some of the books in PDF on my lap top.
RK

 

[ArgentineSteel]

Check the used book stores and Good will's book sections. They often have books on hunting, and occasionally a foxfire volume pops up.

 

[gunslinger1911]

you can go over to powells books and get the whole set used for under $50...

you can pretty much disregard all the medical advice also...A shot glass of Kerosene doesnt cure anything

probably cure a hangover!

 

[nubus]

Oh boy that brings back some childhood memories.
My dad had the whole Foxfire set when I was a wee tyke.
I remember looking through them in amazement and wanting to build a cabin.
Course my dad made hundreds of gallons of wine, so I didn't care about the still!

 

[speelyei]

My folks bought the first ten Foxfire books. They are pretty neat, but you need to remember the essays were written by high school students as assignments, and it shows. Some of the entries are worthless as how-to fodder, old ghost stories, etc... but they are interesting historical perspectives.
Some of the craft they show is very specialized, as I recall, a guy hand-hews a water wheel with an axe, and when he's done, it looks like a turbine produced in a fabrication shop.
I tried to follow the instructions to make an adirondack chair when I was about 15, and made a lot of splinters.

If you look on Amazon, you can find used copies of the individual books for as low as $2 + $3 s&h.

Check out this link . Alone in the Wilderness is the title of a DVD that Dick Proenneke shot himself on film in the '60s. He just went up to AK and built himself a cabin, and lived there for years. It's totally awesome, well worth the $20. My whole family (all girls) enjoyed it.

Another book ya'll might dig is The Urban Homestead, available at Powell's. We live in the country on 5 acres, but use this book as a resource all the time.

 

[speelyei]

oh yeah, as far as building a still, check out the documentary they made about Popcorn Sutton, an infamous bootlegger. It's basically a how-to.

 

[gunslinger1911]

Check out this link . Alone in the Wilderness is the title of a DVD that Dick Proenneke shot himself on film in the '60s. He just went up to AK and built himself a cabin, and lived there for years. It's totally awesome, well worth the $20. My whole family (all girls) enjoyed it.

dick is THE MAN!!! i love how he mortises the friggin door locks in...dude is my idol

 

[lunalupis]

some of the foxfire books articles are useful, some not... i would definitely set up a tab-like system to access the needed info in a hurry!