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Old gardeners
avoided
'feast or famine' route
by Delbert Trew |
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You
can tell by reading my columns that I am fascinated by how people
got by before the invention of electricity, refrigeration and all
the other modern conveniences we take for granted today. Through research,
I find they somehow managed quite well.
My personal gardening experiences always seemed to take "the feast
or famine" route where I suffered failure or had to give the surplus
away before it ruined. The old-timers were smarter than I, and planted
at intervals about two weeks apart, so that produce continued to grow
and ripen on a regular basis.
Not only did they plant at intervals, but they double-cropped things
like turnips, which filled their root cellars just before frost. Some
crops like corn furnished early roasting ears for eating then made
hard grain later for grinding. Turnips furnished delicious top greens
and hardy below-ground vegetables later in the fall. The better and
more detailed the planting, the more produce provided and preserved.
Few rural families went hungry unless the ravages of weather destroyed
their gardens.
During the early days of frontier settlement, most meat was derived
from hunting wild game. If you needed meat, go hunting. Since most
game was small pounds in edible meat, the carcass was consumed before
spoilage occurred. Wild turkeys and geese filled in the lean times.
After the wild game dwindled, domestic livestock were slaughtered
for meat. Usually, this meant larger carcass weights and if not used
quickly, part of it might be wasted. Large families or a large number
of employees had no trouble consuming the product. Small families
and a small number of employees had problems with meat spoilage, especially
during the hot months. If a surplus occurred, the meat was trimmed
into thin strips and smoked over a fire to preserve. Winter supplies
of meat were no problem as cool nights and cold weather prevented
spoilage. Merely hang it above the varmints' reach.
One interesting solution, uncovered in interviews with old-time settlers
in Montana, told of two neighboring ranchers joining together to prevent
meat spoilage. In the book "The Ranchers" by Stan Steiner, we learn
that often two ranchers joined forces during the hot months whereby
one butchered a small beef one week, sharing half with his neighbor.
The next week, the neighbor butchered a small beef sharing one half
in return.
I imagine on a certain day like a Saturday, the rancher not butchering,
sent a wagon over to the neighbor to pick up his share. The next week
the opposite occurred. If garden produce was available, this was also
shared. Careful planning and scheduling took care of transportation
and sharing. Probably, each spring the original planning was agreed
on and written on a calendar and carried out to perfection. This planning
also provided a guide to having the proper size livestock on hand
for slaughter.
I am amazed at the math involved maintaining the quality and amounts
of beeves needed to carry out the plan. This plan would require 24
small beeves over a five- or six-month period. The trust and honesty
required in such an agreement would probably be impossible in our
modern world.
© Delbert Trew
"It's All Trew" >
December 1, 2006 Column
E-mail: trewblue@centramedia.net. |
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