Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 21:55:22 -0700 From: starbird@sj.bigger.net To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3250$foo@default> Subject: Scale Attack...remedy...Thanks
Dear Tom and Richard:
Thank you for the advice on a liquid systemic. I believe I will
use Orthene. I've used Orthene on roses as a liquid systemic, and
it has worked very well. I didn't know you could use it on orchids.
Now that I know, I'm going to treat the infested plants. I don't
want to use Malathion as it is highly toxic and carcinogenic (what
isn't, right?). The last time I used it, on melon plants some
twenty years ago, I burned up most of their leaves. That experience
turned me into an organic vegetable gardener. As I recall, Orthene
has an extremely unpleasant smell and it's one of those "do not
let it touch your skin" compounds. But, so far, nothing I've tried
has rid me of the scale. I successfully drove off an ant invasion
from my orchid pots using diluted liquid diazinon. Ants absolutely
hate that stuff. However, I was careful not to get any on the CPs.
Made the mistake, a year and a half ago, of spraying black flag on
an infestation on the other side of the greenhouse, where there were
no CPs. It ended up toasting a very beautiful Nepenthes plant I had.
I discovered they are very sensitive to chemicals, airborne or otherwise.
Well, Fall is here in Northern California. We're getting that warm/cool
kind of feeling in the air. Now that we're done with El Nino (El Ninny),
we're likely to have 5-7 years of drought from here on. Things are so
congested, and built-up, and smoggy here in the bay area, that I think
the weather has changed. It wasn't like this when I was a kid. The
summers are hot and sticky now, and the winters are wet with ceaseless
rain. Again, much different weather than 30 years ago. The false
Spring we usually get, for a week or two, in late January and early Feb
is not visiting us any more. And, there are no more honey bees here.
Rather disheartening for a place that was once a great area to live in.
Well, it does relate to CPs, as I'm sure their habitats are being
affected by similar world changes. Seems like the planet is getting
more extreme weather patterns. Switching to hydrogen fuel would certainly
help. And, the invention of a perfect storage battery with unlimited
recharges would also change things for the better. A reminder, Aluminum
was one of the rarest and most valuable substances on earth 120 years
ago...then they found a way to manufacture it cheaply and in quantity.
Until then, making aluminum was nearly impossible and too expensive.
But what we really need is artificial meat. Meat that grows on plants,
like inside coconuts, that you can cook and tastes good. Being made
of protein and vegetable fiber, it has no fat and is healthy for your
digestive tract. Some genetic manipulation of plants and animals could
do this. It would be called "meatfruit" or some such thing, and would
be grown as an annual crop in temperate regions. Kind of a reverse on
carnivorous plants. That way, we wouldn't have to deal with ecoli or
slaughtering all those poor farm animals. You could freeze this stuff
for storage, too. Okay, Ray Bradbury, I'm not. But it is coming.
---Steve
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