Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management (Paperback)

~ Maurice G. Kains (Author), J. E. Oldfield (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Classic of the back-to-the-land movement is packed with solid, timeless information and will teach new converts how to make their land self-sufficient. Appendices. 95 figures.

Product Details

• Paperback: 397 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications; Revised edition (January 1, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486209741
• ISBN-13: 978-0486209746
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,505 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

163 of 167 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'd love to see a new edition, October 18, 2001

By	BearMaster "bearmaster" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This book was one of my father's favorites, even though he never took up farming. For those considering a rural lifestyle, perhapse even self-suffiency, this has to be the starting point. However, it is the pre-war, 1940 edition. I literally cringed when I read about lining the cistern with sheet lead, or using mercuric chloride to sterilize wounds on fruit trees (it's a wonder our ancestors lived long enough to have children). I'm sure this book has a lot of good advice, but if this city boy ever moves to the farm my father never had I'll try to check all facts with a second or third source. Is there anyone who's qualified to write the 21st Century edition?

147 of 151 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to the realities of a small farm., August 26, 1999

By A Customer

I have a 1946 edition of this book which my father used as a reference in supplying our family all of our food from 1948 until 1962 and a large portion of our food thereafter. I have referred to it on a regular basis since 1972. While the precise numbers for costs and quantity of production are dated, the basic principles for successful small farming are clearly elucidated. You can update the costs and quantities yourself. Some of the information on animal breeds should be updated by additional research. But the priciples are all here. The chapters on "City vs. Country Life" and "Tried and True Ways to Fail" are essential reading if you have never been involved in agriculture previously. I have many reference books, and this is one of the best...with a tattered cover and yellowed pages!

71 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good guide if the date of writing is taken into consideratio, May 16, 1999

By A Customer

I found the info on cropping and farming to be excellent. It was very in depth and accurate, and pretty easy for a novice to follow along. I have some problems with some of the author's advice regarding livestock, however. For instance, he recommends Belgian Hares for raising for meat. This is quite possibly the WORST rabbit for food production, being strictly a show breed notorious for it's nervous disposition that inhibits weight gain, breeding, and quite often leads to the rabbit breaking it's own legs within it's cage from panic attacks. His section on chickens is pretty good though. The production figures he offers are evidence of the time period in which it was written, however, being nearly half what is often attainable by homesteaders of today. Overall this was a good book, especially with regards to raising fruit trees, veggies, and pasture crops, but I would recommend that other books were purchased in addition to it if one needs help learning about livestock.