‘Today is National Strawberry Day. Who doesn’t like strawberries-especially combined with rum or tequila! Every year, I pick about 20 to 30 pounds of strawberries at a local farm, so my wife can make her yearly strawberry jam supply.
I have another Orange Judd farming book, a very old one, “A Complete Manual for the Cultivation of the Strawberry” by R.G. Pardee, published 1865. Imagine a farming book published the year that the Civil War ended. This book is in wonderful condition. The author says: “Ripe, blushing strawberries eaten from the plant, or served with sugar and cream, are certainly Arcadian dainties with a true paradisiacal flavor, and, fortunately, they are so easily grown that the poorest owner of a few feet of ground can have them in abundance.”
The book goes into everything needed to grow strawberries, to the ground, the manure, the mulch, to the type of strawberry (even illustrations and descriptions of strawberry varieties). Gave examples of how many bushels of fruit per acre costs and expected revenue. He said “fruit of high flavor, measuring from three to four inches in circumference, will command fifty cents per quart in New York or any other good market, as readily as small fruit will ten cents; while the labor of picking such large fruit is very small, and the product much larger.” Picking the right variety was everything. This was in 1865. Not only did you get to read everything involved with farming strawberries, but there were chapters on raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, currents, gooseberries, and grapes. This was all decades before California growing; focusing on Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin (and suggestions of plants for each state.) This is an interesting look at farming almost 160 years ago-there were a lot of details to ensure success.
Today is also National Cigar Day. I am showcasing yet again, another Orange Judd farm book “Tobacco Leaf, Its Culture and Cure, Marketing and Manufacture.” by J.B. Killebrew, published in 1914. This is a large volume book that explained most everything one would need to grow, process, cure, and distribute tobacco products. There are several chapters on cigars, both on filler tobacco, and outer wrap tobacco. There is over 500 pages of tobacco knowledge for one to spend time on the topic of tobacco. Imagine all of this information at the fingertips of farmers.
In the spirit of tracking down unusual books on tobacco, I found “Tobacco in South Africa” from 1927. It differs in several ways from the previous book. First, it explains growing issues (climate, soil, etc) for South Africa, but then also with details of many fold out pages describing different buildings for drying, sorting and storing tobacco. (some pages over two feet square. There are also many black and white photographs. It was a great ‘how to’ book. I continued my detour in collecting, by finding several other books: “Cotton in South Africa” 1924, and “The Culture of the Orange and Allied Fruits of South Africa” 1930. The Cotton Book has lots of beautiful fold-out maps, some colorised. All three books were published by Central News Agency in South Africa. (It is also the same publisher of “Huberta Goes South” , 1931, that I wrote about on February 15.)
Back to Cigars. Swisher Sweets. Is there strawberry flavoring in them? I use to smoke those cigars back in the day not because I liked cigars, but because I liked to light fireworks. It was easier than continuously striking matches or flicking lighters. Thanks to an unbreakably strong bond of friendship with a friend from high school, I have lit off firecrackers (that exploded inside) in his old Jeep; bottle rockets outside the window of his then new Trans Am (traveling shotgun at 110 miles an hour); and had another rocket explode under his then new Conversion Van (one with Budweiser horses mural on side). Seemed he was always driving nice vehicles when we were roguishly rebellious. However, I did notice that when we met again for a 40 year High School reunion, he quietly put himself between me and his car, when I lit a Swisher Sweet cigar. No vehicles were harmed that night.
Rest assured that I am not just “blowing smoke” about fireworks, I, am just lit-eraly writing an explosive expose, not a fizzling dud….I hope. At least I’m trying. Keep reading.
Librarytomes 