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there are more of them, of course. a map of the reservoir with depths and power lines hangs over a desk in a bedroom with bunkbeds and altimeters. the reservoir is so long
this means that from time to time we stop at flea markets and antique stores to leaf through their books. the sweetie is a fool for science books- space, weather, geology. who isn't, really? i will snatch up anything with a map or chart or graph. anything with a visual representation of something large. anything with step by step instructions. this weekend we grabbed a few little books, including the farmer's year book, a gift of the national bank and trust company of norwich, new york, with offices in chenango and delaware counties. 1963.
i like books like this because they are full of information. not necessarily information i can use, but things i like being able to know, just in case. the first page of the book promises me i can use it for reference, for records, for information. and i am in love. in smaller type it goes on to say "there are several pages which contain special information of value and ofttimes of immediate need". and i know that if i do not take this book home with me and make its valuable information my own i will surely die. immediate need indeed.
there is information on land measure, times to cut hay and how to measure a haystack.
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i now know the most common paint failures by name and my favorite is alligatoring. i can tell you that you can get 400 square feet per gallon covered if you paint hard brick with a single coat of gloss finish oil paint. 350 square feet if you paint soft brick. there are weights and measures and information on crop pests, when they show up and what to do. i know now for a fact that my lemon tree, which is currently in fruit, had better watch out for 31 degree temperatures because they are injurious to a tree in that state. when in bud the tree can withstand a whole degree more and when there's no reproduction going on at all, my tree is brave to 28 degrees. i know that strong tea was used as an antidote to most poisons at the time except those treated with milk or raw eggs. i am glad it is not 1963.
but here is what just ripped my heart right out of me. "quantity of silage required
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body could have about belts and pulleys, including, but not limited to, finding the horsepower that any given belt will economically transmit.
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nobody needs this. nobody has to figure out any of this stuff without help anymore. paint comes in every shade imaginable and the person behind the paint counter will tell you exactly how much coverage you can get if the paint can itself won't. you can wade through 4 million interweb sites on the standards for grading of corn, but you can't get those standards opposite 18 rules for safe tractor operation and a page away from images of eight useful knots just the way they are right here.
there's a nice ruler on the back with the numbers 1 through 6 in thick red lettering and the edge of the book ruled off in sixteenths of an inch in a dreamy blue. a two year calendar. so maybe this is the interweb in 1963, the resources of the world, a farmer's world at least, all complete and immediate. day or night. right in your pocket.
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