RURAL HERITAGE is a bimonthly journal in support of farming and logging with draft horses, mules, and oxen. The Spring issue was mailed to subscribers on May 25, 2009. Below is this issue's annotated Table of Contents, with links to a few samples of the good reading delivered to your door every other month when you subscribe to Rural Heritage. If in your reading you run across a drafty word you don't recognize, consult our online Draft Dictionary.

Table of Contents

~ Departments ~

Reader Profile: John Waller
Front porch regular John Waller, farmer, teacher, and nurse, shares his wisdom with visitors to the front porch forum.

A Reader Asks about..A Walk-Behind 3-hole Seeder
A question to Sam Moore about an antique seeder sparks a look into the history of the Rude Brothers Maufacturing Company of Liberty, Indiana in the mid-late 1800's.

Farm Fresh: Royal Remembrances
Fond memories of an active horse name Royal inspires Alina Rice's column this month.

Reflections: My Farm, My Way
"I walk my fields and find opportunities for improvement and lots of little successes. I am part of this place and it is part of me. I have no desire to be anywhere else. " Ralph J. Rice describes his way of farming.

Do It Yourself: Trunnels - A Square Peg in a Round Hole Pete Cecil instucts us on making trunnels (tree nails or wooden pegs) for use in barn flooring, floor framing and more.

Jim Hoover of Delavan, Wisconsin, seeds wheat at Old World Wisconsin, a living history museum near Eagle, Wisconsin, with the museum's 1880-era drop seeder. He is driving his team of Brabant Belgian crosses, 17-year-old Babe and 16-year-old Blue. Photo by Bob Mischka

Teamster Tips
Pasture rotation and the working broodmare are just two of the tips shared by teamsters in the past.

Reader's Bookshelf
The Mountain Canary Company Packer's Guidebook about packing with horses and mules in the back country is reviewed.

Let's Talk Rusty Iron: Oxen vs. Horse Power
Sam Moore supports President James Madison's assertion that "oxen are too little used in place of horses" by countering common myths about the ox.

Grandma's Kitchen: Spring Cooking - Green with Envy
Sue Blocker shares vegetable recipes with lots of spinach from a favorite cookbook.

Associations
(contacts for breed registries and regional draft clubs)

Calendar of Events
(frequently updated online)

Advertisers in this issue (with links)
(please tell 'em you saw it in Rural Heritage)

~ Features ~

A Day at the Beach...Muleskinner Style
A day-by-day recount of the muleskinner's trek from Raeford, NC to Sunset Beach, NC. The carrot at the end of the trek: crossing the last free-floating drawbridge on the east coast.

Trout Fishing at Milking Time
Philip Odden shares his boyhood enthusiasm for fishing, especially his preparations for opening day of trout season.

Gullies, Ditches and Erosino Control
The use of contour trenches and plantings in reducing the erosion of an over grazed field is explained by Bethany Caskey

NAIS update: USDA Looks to Start Final Push on NAIS
Karen Bergener gives us an update on recent NAIS activities along with other federal bills reagarding food safety.

Starting a Team VI: Putting on the Harness
Dave Feltenberger goes over the steps to take when harnessing your draft animal for the first time.

The Wisdom of Cattle: What's That Smell
Earning the trust and respect of those you lead, in this case Bill and Bob the oxen, will earn you success in any of your endeavors. Enjoy the wisdom and philosophies of Philip H. Henderson.

Twin Percheron Foals
Read about Butch Miner's search for "a nice, safe horse to mate with Buck" and bring his daughter a foal for driving. The result - twin foals - surprises everyone. by Ann Egan

A One-of-a-Kind Bull
Deborah Baldwin shares her memories of Sparkle Wondrous Jester aka Wondy. She adopted this yearling Jersey bull as her special project on a farm she worked as a young girl in 1954 Vermont.

More than Saving the Family Farm
Karen Kirsch introduces us to the successful Green Field Farms, "a 100% Amish-owned nonprofit cooperative dedicated to producing organic products" in Fredricksburg, Ohio.

Fly Control
Charles Edwards' dislike for flies inspires him to educate us on prevention and natural treatments for fly infestations.

Elin Pendleton - a Legacy of Sharing
Bethany Caskey introduces us to oil and acrylic artist Elin Pendleton of Temecula, California.

Letters from Dogpatch
Loss of animals and an inablity to grow crops on her Oregon property leads Barb Lee to her soil. Find out what she discovers about soil fertility.

Equine Vaccinations
Jerald Rice, DVM gives us the essentionals on equine vaccinations.

Index of Past Issues of Rural Heritage

This Reading Room is updated with each new issue. If you wish to be notified by email when new contents are posted, please Contact Us. If you wish to receive Rural Heritage in your mailbox every other month, please Subscribe.