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Ur
you take a look at some of the
recipes in this little book, you just
might be ready to bid them adieu.
Reference is made to "winners" like
carrot pie, birch beer, noodles 'n
prunes, bear fat pastry, and Mrs.
Wardall's Prison Fare (mix two
cups of coarse graham flour with
two cups of cold water, stir
quickly, drop spoonsful in hot pan
and bake in hot oven). OK ....
  But wait a minute folks-that's
just a pinch of local color to spice
things up a bit. Before you go too
far with your farewells, check out
such tasties as German vegetable
soup, Finnish herring salad, baked
eggs, blackberry dumplings, Gram
Gusta's butter cookies, and several
"remedies for health and
happiness."
  Good things here from the
kitchens of the cutover country,
and they are yours by purchase of
the book through your County
Extension Office, or by mail order
to Cookbook Reader, P.O. Box
695, Rhinelander, Wi. 54501. The
people at that address are also
looking for other family recipes in
case they decide to do something
along the lines of Son of The
Northern Wisconsin Bicentennial
Cookbook Reader. Anyone for
Hodag stew?
SOILS OF WISCONSIN by Francis
D. Hole; University of Wisconsin
Press, Madison, Wisconsin, 1976.
223 pp. $15.
  Although of special appeal to
the soil scientists and their kin in
agricultural and environmental
fields of study, this book should be
of considerable interest also to the
concerned or curious layperson. As
the author explains, "A basic
understanding of the soils of
Wisconsin helps the observer to
'read' each landscape for practical
purposes or simply for the pleasure
of it."And elsewhere: 'The people
of this state have the power to
control the land-use pattern and to
adapt it to the capabilities of the
hundreds of different kinds of
soils. We in Wisconsin have long
been concerned with good
stewardship of the land. The
purpose of this publication is to
provide a tool for the effective
discharge of this responsibility."
  A finely-honed tool it is, too,
billed, in fact, as the first modern
comprehensive treatment of the
properties, origins, and
classifications of the soils of
Wisconsin. The book is divided
into three parts, each part
containing several chapters:
"Introduction to Genesis and
Classification of Wisconsin Soils,"
"Characteristics of Wisconsin Soil
Associations," and "Properties and
Occurrence of Major Soil Series in
Wisconsin Landscapes." Maps
(including several in full color),
tables and illustrations are
abundant throughout and include a
circular key to the new USDA soil
classification for Wisconsin, coded
in color.
  Soils of Wisconsin was published
by the University of Wisconsin
Press for the Geological and
Natural History Survey, UW-
Extension. In addition to Professor
Hole's work, there are
contributions by Marvin T. Beatty
and Gerhard B. Lee.
A SEASON OF BIRDS by Dion
Henderson; illustrated by Chuck
Ripper; Tamarack Press, Madison,
Wisconsin, 1976. 87 pp. $5.95.
  The trailmark of Aldo Leopold's
life has been left upon many men
and women. Clearly, Dion
Henderson, an early student of
Leopold and chief of the
Milwaukee bureau of the
Associated Press since 1967, is one
of them.
  Where some might only look,
Henderson sees. In thirty-six, one-
page segments, each nicely
accompanied by the sensitive
sketches of Chuck Ripper, the
author serves up a blend of
technical information and personal
perceptions that is food for both
mind and heart.
  Lest you be misled by the book
title, let it be noted that
Henderson's observations run the
course of the four seasons, that in
addition to the two dozen or so
different bird species commented
upon there are equally appealing
vignettes on a mouse that found its
way into a bird feeder; rains of
spring; summer fullness; the grass
hopper, spider, and rabbit;
mischances of nature; the life and
demise of a peach log; and a
"song" to the constellation of
Orion-all fitted between essays of
introduction and conclusion.
  A Season of Birds is a book for
all seasons. It is a book of life.
THE HERITAGE OF DUBUQUE:
AN ARCHITECTURAL VIEW by
Lawrence J. Sommer; illustrated
by Carl H. Johnson, Jr.; Tel
Graphics, East Dubuque, Illinois,
sponsored by First National Bank
of Dubuque, 1975. 172 pp. $12.50.
  Who was it, Harold Ross or E.
B. White, who said that the New
Yorker magazine would not be
edited for the little old lady in
Dubuque? It doesn't matter, just
let it be noted that Dubuque has
taken some unfair shots. In reality,
Dubuque has a proud cultural
heritage, the architectural portion
of which is magnificently captured
in this book through text, art work
(including full color), and
photography.
  The Heritage of Dubuque is a
bicentennial project of the First
National Bank of Dubuque, with
proceeds going to the restoration
of the city's Orpheum Theater,
which will become the Five Flags
Civic Center. Book orders can be
placed with the Five Flags Office,
Room 622, Dubuque Building,
Dubuque, Iowa 52001.
  Dubuque is situated along the
Mississippi River, tucked among
the bluffs right across the channel
from Wisconsin and Illinois. As
Iowa's oldest city, it provides vivid
evidence of its past in the
architecture of its neighborhoods,
its businesses and industries. This
book is a fitting salute to and a
record of that which is no more, as
well as that which has been
preserved.
December, 1976/Wisconsin Academy Review/31