[podkane]

Sounds like a hippy commie group to me...

[kalee]

"They scattered herbs on the floor which released scent when trodden on - this drove out flies and other insects,"

Ms. Goodman....two words....FLEAS PLAGUE

[elli1]

Very interesting.

[LauraleeBraswell]

11- Dying early means you won't have to worry about retirement or social security. Have as many children as possible...that is if your wife doesn't die in childbirth. That way, labor is spread evenly among the surviving children since the infant mortality rate is staggering. Who needs abortion or birth control when you have childhood diseases?

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[CrazyIvan]

Take a walk through a graveyard from these wonderful years gone by and you'll find a different story. People died younger and plagues and famines are easy to spot chronologically. Just a few miles or so from my house, near the Mississippi river, is a graveyard that goes back to well before the Civil War. One plot is especially sobering: a young mother and twins, all died during childbirth.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

Good post!


Ping

[Kevin OMalley]

read later bump

[Professional Engineer]

ping

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

...and not just fruit and veg. Mutton, for instance, was in abundance in spring, soon after shearing time. This was because a sheep's wool quality plunges after eight years - thus animals of that age were killed after their final fleece was removed.

Where is the logic? Mutton is available all year around. They chose to shear and eat it in the Spring. What a bunch of dumb collectivists.

[Clock King]

A. I wonder how long they really did it, and how fast did they run back to "civilization" when the project ended? B. How many times did they cheat and get a little assistance from the outside.

Anyone who's seen the PBS series, Frontier House, knows that life was very hard back then. The people on the series learned very quickly that life consisted of constant work from before-sun-up till sun down. Like washing clothes take 3 days, bathing is rare, clean water is rare, etc. Yeah, this group sounds like an agenda-pushing unit.

[Veto!]

Or, why the ancestors left. Flogging slaves on Nevis was easier.

[VeniVidiVici]

Tales from the Green Valley will be broadcast weekly on BBC Two from Friday, 19 August, at 1930BST.

Hey, I used to watch that show. A couple from NYC move out to the country and have all sorts of run-ins with country bumpkins.

Lisa and Oliver Douglas. Funny show.

[danmar]

For a year five experts ditched theory for practice, running a Welsh farm using 17th Century methods. What lessons for modern living did they learn?

I thought we are nuts, but it looks like the Brits are surpassing us. I wonder who is sponsoring this nonsense!

[TAdams8591]

Interesting. Thank you for the post.

[Skybird]

Keep thy trusty musket neareth to you as there are no constabularies to safeguard your person...

[Free Vulcan]

Most of these rules held true on the farm till around the 1920's or so.

[CDHart]

Interesting post -- thanks!

Carolyn

[ClearCase_guy]

Bump for later

[JCEccles]

Know thy neighbours. Today it's possible to live alone, without knowing anyone within a 20-mile radius (the same goes for townies). That was simply not possible in the past - not only did the neighbours provide social contact, people shared labour, specialist skills and produce.

Literally, "neigh" (or "nigh") = near. "Bour" (or "boor") = peasant, farmer.