SUCCESSFUL SWAPS

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In issue 37, Bill Wodraska shared some of his thoughts regarding one of humankind's better ideas — barter — and offered up an interesting suggestion: "I'd like to see a continuing feature on barter and skill-and-labor exchanges," said Bill. "Maybe MOTHER could even swap subscriptions for contributions to the department." "You're on!" we replied ... and announced our still-standing offer. Anyone who sends us a short account, of an actual barter, that gets printed in this column (write Successful Swaps, THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS ® 105 Stoney Mountain Road, Hendersonville, North Carolina 28791) will receive a 12-month subscription (new or extended) to MOTHER.

My wife and I are, exceedingly fond of perennials—the iris is our special favorite—and we used to spend many hours in the early spring, poring over seed catalogs and wishing we could afford to purchase the many beautiful varieties available. Unfortunately, it would have cost a small fortune to buy all of our choices in one season, so we resigned ourselves to dreaming. This year however, we were able to make those fantasies come true—and triple our perennial bed—through bartering.

The farm on which we live, at one time a country squire's estate, has thousands of daffodils arranged in formal and naturalized beds. Years of neglect had led to overcrowding, though, and the plants had to be thinned if they were to bloom. After digging the beds, replanting, and giving away bulbs to a local park and various friends, my wife realized that we still had more than enough for the property. So she took out an ad in the county newspaper proposing a "perennial swap".

Surprisingly, many of the responses were from people who invited us to thin their perennial beds in exchange for all the bulbs we wanted. We were delighted to oblige, and everything worked out beautifully: Overcrowded gardens were restored health, while we reaped a supply of irises, grape hyacinths, and lilies in exchange for only a few hours of digging. In short, barter turned a garden chore into a plant bonanza for us!

M.M.
New Jersey

I've found swapping to be a natural way of doing business, and I remember—with pleasure—such trades as a peacock for a canary . . . a milking doe for a heifer calf ... and a runt pig that was given to me as a kind of "thank you" for friendship.

This past summer, however, I arranged my first ongoing swap. When my lawn mower broke down, I discovered that it would be less expensive to hire a helper to cut the grass than to overhaul (or replace) the aging trimmer. Initially, I assumed I'd have to pay a worker by the hour ... however, while chatting with my prospective employee, I found out that he had a hankering to take his son camping but couldn't afford to buyor rent—the necessary equipment.