Adding my 2 cents re: Acres. They call themselves a "voice for "ecological", not organic, agriculture. They are strong advocates for re-mineralization and biologically active soils. Extremely, and refreshingly, political, they strenuously oppose industrial agriculture and most attempts to regulate "the little guy". They look back, perhaps too fondly, to the writings of Albrecht and some of his contemporaries, who were the pioneers of agricultural investigation and education, before the chemical industry took over these fields. I read my monthly Acres newspaper enthusiastically AND critically. I'd prefer less "snake oil". They overly enthuse about certain new types of inputs-- albiet organic ones-- and they don't look at farms in the holistic, system-oriented way that most organic growers do. I agree that Rodale has gone downhill since the 70s. I have a small stash of old OG mags that I picked up at the second hand book store-- they're an absolute gold mine.

My analyst told me "Just 'cause you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." Seriously, my apologies...no slight intended to you inkognito or you sammie. I wrote a reply a couple nights ago while in the middle of moving and with family visiting--got interrupted before I hit send and one of the GKs closed my windows. I doubt I can totally recapture what I wrote but the A.J. Downing reference is excellent. I saw a list of books owned by Porter now in the possession of a previous owner. He had books on a wide variety of subjects including math,chemistry, history, politics, government, religion, psychology, philosophy and psychology. Porter was a schoolteacher before he became a successful farmer, but he had books on agriculture as well. The very first one on the list is Fruit and Fruit Trees of America, A.J. Downing, 1857--so there you have your apples and pears. He also had Elliott's Fruit Book, F.R. Elliott, 1858; American Dairying, H.B. Gurler, 1894; The Beekeepers Dictionary, J.S. Harbison, 1861; Hooper's Western Fruit Book, E.J. Hooper, 1857. I love gardening but am not knowledgeable about design and designers so read a bit on Downing after your post. His view that architecture should be functional is very much in keeping with the Porter house and what I've learned about Mr. Porter's values and the kind of man he was. The house's design is extremely practical. Even if he never saw a copy of "Cottage Residences" or "Architecture of Country Houses", I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Porter was influenced by Downing in more than choice of fruit trees. The house is designed for good air flow, protection from the wind and other considerations that Downing also valued. It even has rural gothic characteristics. I think they thought enough alike that I could safely use some of Downing's plans from the above books for some direction in capturing the time and making the garden something that David Porter would approve, even as it grew and changed over a century or more. I'm going to look for some of the Downing books that have been reprinted. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Here is the one x 'Country Magazine' (it also calls for 'soda' which I don't see mentioned in the recipes here). Also, I use a heating pad for my old yeast recipe but tried one of those long heating plates/trays w/ a thermostat for this recipe & it works great ... no dipping out cooled water & adding hot, etc.! Was funny to read the original old recipe, old phrases & the way quantities were named; I can just see a woman making this outside her covered wagon or sod hut! DAY 1 Starter: 8 T. cornmeal 'pinch' of salt 'pinch' of 'soda' 1 tsp. sugar Put all in pint screw cap jar (I used a Mason 2 C.jar), mix well & 'fill' (no quantity mentioned here?) with scalding water, stir well, cover & let set overnite in a warm place (I put it in a pan of warm water on the heating tray rather than having to keep dipping out cooled water & adding warm water, etc. as the original old recipe called for). DAY 2: In large bowl, add: 1 qt. milk (or 1/2 milk & 1/2 water) add starter 1/2 tsp. salt white flour to make stiff batter Stir well & cover & I placed it in pan of warm water on the warming tray 3-4 hrs. (if slow to rise,stir again & place back on warmer) when dough rises: add 1 tsp. salt ( again!thus I guess: 'salt bread'!) 3-4 T. shortening (I used bacon grease... probably what the pioneers used also!) flour to make stiff dough, knead 10 mins.,put in greased loaf pans (makes 3 large loaves for me), let rise to double in size. Bake 375 degrees 30-40 mins.; remove from oven & butter crusts well. I hope with repeated use this recipe will be quicker for me to make! I liked the texture but kinda missed my grandmother's bread with the 'yeast' aroma! This made 3 large loaves for me.

same Birthday, different lifestyles & attitudes, yet there is a commonality among the quoters I find interesting, wonder what an Astrologer would make of this. I enjoyed today's reading very much I noticed all have a fodness for cats