Vintage Fruit Trees / Squirrel Killin'

[Miss Crisplock]

When did we get county extension agents for fruit tree problems?

Squirrel killin'. I know that squirrel coats were a golden era staple; has anyone snuffed out some of these furry rats that are eating from vintage orchards and made a coat out of them?

Anybody want to? Seems a very retro pastime!

 

[Undertow]

Well, I can say that my grandparents had to take a few squirrels when they were in a pinch for food, back in the early '50's, although it was certainly not a habit.

I have a feeling this thread my get deep 6'd like the other one.

 

[dhermann1]

I have NEVER heard of a squirrel coat, except on a squirrel. I have heard of lots of people expending a 22 round on a squirrel for dinner, however. I can't see how shooting squirrels could be disqualified as a legitimate vintage activity. But you'd have to show me a squirrel coat to convince me they exist. I suppose they're not that much smalller than a mink or a muskrat, but still . . .

 

[Miss Crisplock]

I can't show you, the last one I had disintegrated eons ago. Do you think this may be a rural thing? A fur piece / collar and cuffs rather than coat thing?

Who's our resident fur expert?

Perhaps there just wasn't a lot of identification of lower end fur?

 

[Paisley]

When did we get county extension agents for fruit tree problems?

I don't know when they came about, but county extension offices help with things like gardening, soil, canning, and pests. So do some state universities--Colorado State, Iowa State and Texas A&M come to mind. The last two have (or maybe had) rose breeding programs. Winter-hardy Buck roses were bred at Iowa State University.

 

[Foofoogal]

Goodness, we have gardens, I just figured we could chat about trees. I maybe should of added it to the garden section. Don't we have a rose one or is this in the garden one? :eusa_doh:

Squirrel eating is very vintage.

BTW: I actually belong to an extension agency organization and just went to the world and state conventions.
I just like chatting with my FL people about stuff.

http://www.backwoodsbound.com/zsquir.html

who knew.

 

[Foofoogal]

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/history.html

Speaking of Agriculture.
Being from Texas maybe we could expand into the History of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_A&M_University

what else is there in Texas?
---------
What do they call an Aggie?

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BOSS

 

[Big Man]

I don't know about each state, but in NC the county extension offices came into being following an act of Congress passed in 1914. So, they have been around for a while. In NC, many of the conservation programs had their beginnings during the Great Depression.

As to squirrels: They may be "cute", but the little devils can be very destructive. Squirrel hunting has been a local pastime around here forever (both for food and for sport). Squirrel dumplings, fried squirrel, and brains and eggs are all good eating. On a "vintage note" about squirrels, my grandmother (who was born in 1882) said her mother would cook squirrels but would not eat them. She said they looked too much like rats.