North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Diane Whitehead <voltaire@islandnet.com>]

> When I compare the wealth of information that I gleaned from the 
> first few years' issues to those of more recent publication, it 
> appears to me that the overall quality of submissions has declined

A beginner is overwhelmed and overjoyed on first reading a 
horticultural journal.  Later, when he has assimilated all that 
information, and put it into practice, thereby adding knowledge from 
personal experience, he needs a much higher level of information to 
satisfy him. Where is this going to come from?

It is a problem with all groups: how can you satisfy the different 
levels of expertise among the members?  Those at the top must grow 
weary of constantly meeting the needs of beginners and intermediates. 
Where do they nourish their own curiosity?

I had a neigbour once that I found odd, but maybe he had found a way 
to avoid the problem.  He would become an expert in something - at 
the time I met him it was photographing mushrooms.  As soon as he 
knew everything he could about that subject, he would drop it 
completely and take up woodworking, or something else entirely 
different.

                Diane Whitehead