On the Bulletin Board
(Page 2 of 2)
Then again, though FACTS may be the most accessible
computer bulletin board, it's certainly not the only source
of electronic information for farmers and gardeners.
Nebraska has AGNET, a membership system with a $50 annual
fee and connect and computer-use charges that can amount to
an average of $30 an hour during business hours. Of course,
a computer can do a lot of work in an hour ...and charges
are lower during off-hours. AGNET offers such consumer
programs as Beefbuy (which compares alternative methods of
buying beef ) ...Carcost (which calculates the cost of
owning and operating a car or light truck) ...Firewood (an
economic analysis of alternatives available with wood heat)
...and Foodpreserve (which calculates the cost of
preserving foods at home, both by canning and freezing).
Information about the system is available from AGNET,
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0713, or by
calling 402/472-1892.
RELATED CONTENT
Up in Michigan, you'll find TelPlan, a membership system
operated by the Michigan State Cooperative Extension
Service. Information is available from TelPlan,
Agricultural Economics, Agriculture Hall, East Lansing, MI
48824.
And in Virginia, you can join CMN—Computer Market
Network—a subscriber setup sponsored by the
Cooperative Extension at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. To
contact CMN, write to Virginia Tech, Attn: CMN, Plaza I,
Building D, Blacksburg, VA 24067. The cost of computerizing
isn't all that great these days, either. If you purchase a
less-than$750 Atari or Commodore 64 setup, for example, you
can access the bulletin boards ...store the information you
download ...and print it out at your convenience.
THE GARDENER'SBOOKSHELF
Western gardeners may already be aware of two paperbacks
from H.P. Books that recently came my way; both are worth a
long look. Ken Smith's Western Home Landscaping
($7.95) covers landscape design, garden structures, and
plant materials in HP's typically exhaustive manner ...and
with an equally characteristic profusion of color photos.
And Western Fruit, Berries, & Nuts: How to Select,
Grow and Enjoy (by Lance Walheim and Robert L.
Stebbins, $7.95) applies the same formula to the incredible
variety of fruit crops available to gardeners in the Golden
West. If anything could make a New Englander envious, it's
the color photo that illustrates the 11 cultivars of sweet
oranges, 3 sour oranges, 3 blood oranges, 12 mandarins, 3
tangelos, 3 lemons, 4 limes, and 2 grapefruits that can
grow in western gardens ...not to mention such exotica as
pomelos, tangors, and kumquat hybrids with names like
"citrangequat," "limequat," and "orangequat." Both HP
volumes are warmly recommended.
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