Issue #67 January/February, 2001

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DEPARTMENTS

6  Publisher’s Note 7  Editorial: Goodbye TV, hello constructive time 23  Ask Jackie: Canning, castrating calves and more.        64  Energy Works 70  Think of it this way... The coming American dictatorship Part II 48  Irreverent joke page 92    BHM books 36  Ayoob on Firearms: Taurus plinking rifle: a blast from the past 12  Poem: Mary M. Durel 80  Letters 88   Advertiser Index 89  The last word: Outplayed & outbluffed 84  Classified ads (pdf) 84  Classified ad form 91  Subscription Info Order form or call Toll Free 1-800-835-2418

ABOUT THE COVER     Michael Hackleman shot this photo of a newly installed waterwheel at the EcoVillage outside Henderson, NC, while conducting workshops with the staff of the original Mother Earth News magazine in 1978-80. The site hosted campgrounds and solar heated showers for workshop attendees, a variety of projects, and a bookstore all curled up around a big lake with the waterwheel, whose power had not yet been harnessed, just below the dam. To turn the photo into the cover, we scanned it and put it through the “paint daubs” and “rough pastels” features of Photoshop, the program we use to process photos for the magazine.

FEATURES

Energy Works 64  Do-it-yourself hydro survey   By Michael Hackleman       Are you a candidate for hydropower as your independent energy source? Michael Hackleman tells you how to survey your land to see if it’s suitable for hydro and he hints you may even get financial help, through local wildlife and erosion control programs, to help defer your costs. Farm and Garden 8  Tomatoes! What would we do without them?   By Alice B. Yeager       Alice Yeager provides a brief history of the tomato and discusses several sinfully delicious varieties you won’t find at your local market but which you can begin growing in your garden this spring. 29  The homestead greenhouse   By Charles Sanders       By building a simple and inexpensive greenhouse, Charles Sanders gets a head start on his spring garden by starting his plants inside, where it’s still warm. And, when next winter rolls around, he’ll still be picking succulent tomatoes Christmas Eve. 32  Garden seeds — a great winter pastime   By Jackie Clay       Jackie Clay gives you tips for starting your garden while the snow is still on the ground. 38  Know your goat   By Jan Palmer       Goats can be a great asset to the homestead, but each has its own characteristics and Jan Palmer tells you how to choose among them to meet your needs. Self-sufficiency 14  Cutting dangerous trees   By Don Fallick       What you don’t know about cutting down trees can kill you. Don Fallick tells you how to take them down safely. 57  Get out of debt — stay out of debt   By Darlene Campbell       Darlene Campbell offers some common sense and easy-to-follow advice that will get you out of debt and keep you out of debt. Recipes 44  Dairy treats are easy to make with these low-tech recipes   By Rev. J.D. Hooker       Yogurt, butter, cheese, and ice cream. Reverend J.D. Hooker tells you how to make each of these treats, simply and inexpensively, and provides plans so you can make a simple butter churn and a low-tech ice cream maker. 49  Make hard cider   By Richard Blunt       Roaming the New England countryside Richard Blunt tells how he finds varieties of apples you’re not going to find in your supermarket and fresh sweet cider from which he makes that all-American brew — hard cider. Country living 43  Death of a farm   By Hugo De Santo