North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Hector Black" <hblack1925@fastmail.fm>]

Hi Alan, Hank, John and Rob,

      Seems to me we're not particularly far apart in this.  Point well taken about reading posts carefully.  One of the things about email (speaking personally) is that the durn thing is gone before I've had time to really consider that this is what I want to say.  Written letters are different for me somehow.  I've wished some emails back when it was too late.

      Hank, What a bummer that they ploughed up the whole experiment at Beltsville and didn't save one cultivar!  I tend to be one of those who sees the usefulness of government, but this is one of those crass examples of waste.  Very discouraging.  New head of department and everything that went before is destroyed.  It may also have to do with the USDA declaring Autumn olive a pest, a foreign invader.  I thought it was kind of funny that they were eradicating them with one hand and researching them with the other, but apparently the eradicators got the upper hand.

     We've done a little planting of seeds and selecting, but old age keeps me from doing serious work there.  I hope some of you can keep at it.  Seems to me this is a most valuable plant.  Food, fertilizer, honey, forage, fragrance - what more could we want?

     The price of Nitrogen fert. is way up, and the production of chemical N is very polluting and uses fossil fuels.  GO! autumn olives.!

   Hector Black, zone 6 middle TN

----- Original Message -----

From: Alan Haigh

To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 4:49 AM

Subject: [NAFEX] autumn olive

It really is refreshing to have something to argue about that doesn't involve politics right now.  Where else could one experience passionate debate about an obscure fruit most Americans have never even heard about?

 

I have noticed that some of the arguments we have are the result of not carefully reading the postings or giving another member the benefit of the doubt when they haven't been absolutely precise with wording.  For me I like the fact that I don't have to be as careful here with every statement as would be necessary in a professional consultation.  

 

While talking about my experience with autumn olive I mistakenly referred to the pecan shell quality of my autumn olives as being the result of alum but I also referred to pecan shells which should have been enough to convey my meaning, I think.  I also said that the reason for the astringency was very possibly the result of my more northern location than Hector's.  Some of the subsequent postings seem to have missed these 2 important (well, not actually important) points.

 

I have seen statements made by others similarly misinterpreted such as the idea that anyone would consider pealing autumn olives before eating them as an intelligent way to make use of their fruit.

 

What I'm trying to say is that before arguing a point made by another member, it would be useful if we all read the posting very carefully to make sure we understand what that member is actually saying.    

 

---

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