Getting Rid of Alders: 100 Seasons of Farm and Country Living

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

A real Maritimer would never confuse a broken plough with a lawn
ornament and is disgusted by those who would turn an abandoned wagon
wheel into a coffee table.

To save discarded farm implements from such a despicable fate, a
newsletter, Rural Delivery, was started in 1976. It was intended to be a
listing of classified ads aimed at finding appropriate uses for old
tools and machines. But there weren’t many ads, and a bit of editorial
content was added as filler. While the ads continued to trickle in, the
editorial blossomed in the form of information-exchange letters from
readers. How do you sex chickens, germinate seeds, tap a maple tree,
keep crows out of the corn, make butter, dry applies, split wood … or
get rid of alders?

Answers to these and other questions flowed in from across the
Maritimes. This compilation of the best from 25 years of advice is rich
in personality and down-home creativity and credibility. Most of the
writers are stylists, proud users of the English language; their
polished submissions include both humor and poetry.

For readers who dream of returning that plough on the front lawn to its
rightful place of productive dignity, here are hours of pleasurable
dream-spinning. And perhaps even some helpful advise for gardeners and
rural property owners.