Public domain, kept here on purpose
The hosted library
Seven US government documents mirrored on this server, because links rot and a library should not depend on someone else's hosting.
Works of the United States government are in the public domain. They can be copied and redistributed freely, which means we do not have to link out and hope.
Everything below is hosted on this server. If the original agency reorganises its site, and that has already happened to two of the links in our own research notes, these copies still work.
| Document | What it covers | Size | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering MaterialUSDA Forest Products Laboratory, FPL-GTR-190, centennial edition | Species strengths, moisture behaviour, fasteners, joints, decay resistance. The reference that answers "will this hold?" | 15 MB | download |
| Wood HandbookEarlier edition, FPL-GTR-113 | Kept because some tables and worked examples differ usefully from the current edition. | 14 MB | download |
| Building with LogsUSDA Forest Service | Notching, corner types, sills, chinking, roof framing, finishing. All drawn rather than described. | 10 MB | download |
| Rammed Earth Walls for BuildingsUSDA Farmers' Bulletin 1500, 1926 | Formwork, tools, foundations, wall sections, openings, roof bearing. Rammed earth, related to cob but not the same technique. | 1.3 MB | download |
| The Use of Logs and Poles in Farm ConstructionUSDA Farmers' Bulletin 1660, rev. 1935 | Building from round timber straight off your own woodlot. | 1.3 MB | download |
| Planning a Subsistence HomesteadUSDA Farmers' Bulletin 1733 | Siting, layout, and what a household can actually produce. Written for exactly this question, a long time ago. | 1.3 MB | download |
| A-Frame CabinsUSDA Miscellaneous Publication 981, plan no. 5964 | A complete small cabin plan: floor plans, cutaway, and section. | 0.5 MB | download |
A-frame cabins, in full
The whole publication is four pages. Here it is.
Plates from USDA Miscellaneous Publication 981. A work of the United States government, in the public domain. Hosted here so the link cannot rot. Click any plate to open it full size.
Planning a subsistence homestead
Written by the USDA in the 1930s for households doing precisely what is under discussion here: choosing land, laying out a homestead, and working out what it can actually feed.
Plates from USDA Farmers' Bulletin 1733. A work of the United States government, in the public domain. Hosted here so the link cannot rot. Click any plate to open it full size.
Where to find more
| Source | What it is | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Online Books Page: Farmers' Bulletin index | The most usable free index to the whole USDA Farmers' Bulletin series | reachable |
| govinfo: list of available Farmers' Bulletins | Official government listing | reachable |
| National Agricultural Library Digital Collections | NAL's own digital archiveReplaces the old pubs.nal.usda.gov index, whose host no longer resolves. | reachable |
| UNT Digital Library: USDA Farmers' Bulletins | Over 1,800 bulletins, 1889–1981Refuses connections from this server; opens normally in a browser. | open in browser |
| archive.org: Building with Logs | The scan we mirrored, with a page-by-page reader | reachable |