North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[david.maxwell@dal.ca]

This raises a larger issue.  There are government-sponsored germplasm 
repositories in most 
countries, (some better than others), whose mission is precisely this.  Where 
does support 
from the public purse end and the responsibility of private afficionados take 
up?  (Just 
parethetically, I don't think there is any risk of Ben Davis, Gravenstein, or 
Fameuse (Snow) 
being lost, and they would hardly rate as either "rarest" or "most valuable" 
apple varieties, in 
my opinion.  But then I am getting to be an old curmudgeon.)  I am much more 
concerned by 
what might happen to the collections maintained by people like Nick Bottner, 
which truly are 
unique and valuable.



 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Diane at Seed Savers Exchange <membership@seedsavers.org>
> Date: December 28, 2011 11:59:37 AM PST
> Subject: Please Help Us Preserve Historic Apple Varieties
> Reply-To: Diane at Seed Savers Exchange <membership@seedsavers.org>
> 
> Help us protect 350 of our country's rarest and most valuable apple 
> varieties.
> Have you considered Seed Savers Exchange for your year-end donations? We 
> thank you for your membership and continued support!
> 
> In October, Seed Savers Exchange broke ground on an expansion of our
> Historic Apple Orchard that will help us protect over 350 of our
> country's rarest and most valuableapple varieties. Like all of our
> preservation efforts here at Heritage Farm, we are depending on your
> generous support to make this project a reality. 
>