January 2002

 HAPPILY INDOORS WITH CATALOGS AND HOUSEPLANTS

Plus new books, places to go, plans to make and news for gardeners

A gloriously late fall refused to desert us in south-central Ontario until almost Christmas. Even a week the holidays began, Toronto’s one snowfall disappeared almost as quickly as did the diminutive Mayor Mel Lastman. Not so to the south of Lake Ontario, where upstate New York shuddered under an incredible seven feet and more of snow. As our American friends were digging their way out, the cold swept down to greet Torontonians celebrating the New Year. As usual, gardeners have been left in the lurch, as lack of snow cover should be compensated for by good mulch. .  . A bit late now, even if such was available. We have preached about the advantages of such winter mulches for rather more years than we care to think about. Ah well, there’s always another year.

It is easier to turn to plans for spring, assisted as always at this time by the arrival of a steady supply of gardening catalogues. True, in this day and age, with fears of anthrax-laced mail drifting insidiously up from the south, websites offer faster and, perhaps, more reliable service. Certainly it would seem that almost every consumer conscious supplier, for better or worse, is “on the web.” It remains to the individual to keep checking as to whether the individual new catalogs are up and ready for browsing.  Grimo Nut Nursery is one such at www.grimonut.com, which features Canadian hardy nut trees in astounding varieties. There is also information on how to join SONG or, for the uninitiated, the Society of Ontario Nut Growers whose treasurer is by strange coincidence one Ernie Grimo. Alas, such modern communications may spell the end of Grimo’s wonderful telephone number: 1-905-YEH-NUTS. Also coming our way is the ever-popular Richters Herb Catalogue at www.richters.com. Seventy-five pages of solid information on herbs available as seeds, plants and in some preparations, along with books and other supplies make this catalog one that has for years placed Canada firmly on the map as one of the world’s great herbal suppliers. Over the years we have been happy to feature Richters herbal courses under the Horticultural Happenings feature of City Gardening and will continue to do so.

Another occupation for winter-bound gardeners is the comfort and care of indoor plants. As always, immediately the furnace kicks on and the air becomes drier, that ubiquitous parasite, the wretched spider mite makes its appearance. While discouraged by a daily spray of room-temperature water, some plant such as palms seem particularly favoured by this pest. The only real answer is weekly applications of insecticidal soap without which no gardening closet is complete. Even more effective is placing the plants in the bath tub, applying the insecticidal soap, then pulling closed the shower curtain and leave the beasties to marinate in the stuff for a few hours. It will be of benefit to remember to clean the tub thoroughly before your spouse returns home from work.

Spraying with water also benefits plants be removing dust build up from foliage and so increasing photosynthesis. Cleaning the windows at least on the inside can have a similar desirable effect. Don’t underestimate the importance of these measures in maintaining healthy plants: Regularly cleaning windows alone can increase light by some 30 per cent. Avoid encouraging lush, spindly growth by holding off on the fertilizer unless the plant is in bud or bloom And although it may be difficult to locate, we still highly recommend Wilsons Lakefish blends of natural fertilizer, a Canadian product.

Finally, no doubt you would not appreciate having cold water dumped on you and neither do your houseplants. Always water with room temperature water, if possible left standing overnight. Despite alarm stories from those specializing in junk science, we have used Toronto city water for four decades on houseplants, at home and commercially. They may have died but neither chlorine nor fluoride was to blame. The truth is that most people want to blame anything but their own carelessness. These two chemicals, important to our own health, are innocent. Use municipal tap water in confidence. It is considerably less poisonous than the misinformation supplied by far too many non-government organizations.

The Gardeners Bookshelf

City Water Gardening

As the wild winds of winter sweep down deserted city streets, what better way to refresh the garden than by planning a modest water feature? Philip Swindells’ Quick and Easy Container Water Gardens (Fitzhenry & Whiteside) is exactly that? As the subtitle has it, “designs, plans and instructions for water gardening on a small scale.” Writers of water gardening volumes invariably imagine, it seems, that their readers live on the kind of vast estates that require a ‘Capability’ Brown to satisfactorily landscape.

The majority of Canada’s population is urban dwelling and so by definition, city gardeners. This is why Swindells’ book is so welcome an addition to the gardeners bookshelf. There are bowls for balconies, pots for patios, dishes for decks and much more on a modest scale. There are even instructions for making and maintaining indoor models. The author has some four decades as a professional horticulturist specializing in water gardening, with this his sixteenth book on the subject.

The advantage to those considering such a feature is that the precise instructions, magnificently illustrated with both colour photographs and drawings, allow the complete nice to create a unique addition to their lebensraum. There are also a complete section of possible plants, both for growing in and around water. In addition, there is also advice on pumps and fountains, fish and snails, keeping the water clean and similar concerns.

New Clematis

Last year, we had much pleasure in reviewing John Feltwell’s Clematis for all Seasons (Firefly, $19.95), highly recommending it as an addition to the basic bookshelf of horticultural volumes. The problem with such books as this lies not with the basic advice but in lists of varieties available.  In such plants as clematis, whose popularity is growing by leaps and bounds, these lists cannot mention the newest offerings of hybridizer’s expertise. Recently, the professional magazine Landscape Trades offered a huge list of new plant offerings, amongst which we found the following to add to Feltwell’s excellent existing lists. Note that the sources listed are commercial growers.

Clematis 'Marmori'

A hardy member of the jackmanii x lanuginosa group, Clematis 'Marmori' has lovely pink flowers with pink stamens. The average diameter of these large blooms is 16 cm. 'Marmori' reaches a mature height of 1.8 to 2 m and should be pruned back to 15 cm above ground level in spring. Hardy to Zone 3. Pride of Place Plants Inc.; 250-656-7963; e-mail: rsorenson.@pacificcoast.net

Clematis 'Reiman'

The goal of Roogoja Farms' clematis breeding program is to develop cultivars with compact growth habit and numerous rich blossoms that develop on the current season's growth and last throughout the spring and summer. The latest introduction from this Estonia-based breeder is 'Reiman,' a cross between the jackmanii group and the lanuginosa clematis. It has a mature height of 2 m and should be pruned back to 15 cm each spring. Flowers have six sepals and are red with a pink bar. The average diameter of the flowers is 15 to 20 cm. This clematis is hardy to Zone 2. Roogoja Farm, owned and operated by the Kivistick family is recognized as the northernmost breeding nursery for Clematis cultivars in the world. Pride of Place Plants Inc.; 250-656-7963; e-mail: rsorenson.@pacificcoast.net

Clematis 'Rosa Konigskind'

'Rosa Konigskind' (pink child of a king), a new clematis from F.M. Westphal Clematiiskulturen in Germany, has pink petals with the same outstanding anthers as the parent (C. 'Konigskind'). Ordinarily, when the anthers in the centre of a Clematis bloom shed their pollen they start to fade into insignificance. In the cultivars 'Konigskind' and 'Rosa Konigskind' they begin to darken, but turn even darker as they grow to maturity, ringing the eye of the blossom like eyelashes. This newly selected clematis is unique in its ability to flower from early to late summer (June to September). Another unique quality is that 'Rosa Konigskind' can be kept indoors all the time it is flowering. The mature height does not exceed 1.2 to 1.5 m. It likes fertile soil and a sunny spot. Prune back to 30 cm in March. Zone 3. Pride of Place Plants Inc.; 250-656-7963; e-mail: rsorenson.@pacificcoast.net

Clematis 'Semu'

'Semu', a new clematis introduction form Roogoja Farm, is a member of the jackmanii group of clematis and reaches a mature height of up to 2.5 m. The flowers are bluish violet with brown stamens and average 14 cm in diameter. It should be pruned back to 15 cm each spring. This clematis is hardy to Zone 2. Roogoja Farm, owned and operated by the Kivistick family is recognized as the northernmost breeding nursery for Clematis cultivars in the world. Pride of Place Plants Inc.; 250-656-7963; e-mail: rsorenson.@pacificcoast.net

Gardener's Horoscope for 2002

Everybody else seems to be publishing them, so City Gardening decided why should gardeners be left out? So, with tongue in cheek and trowel in hand, here is our offering to guide you through the coming year . . .

Capricorn (22 December - 19 January)

Weather will get your goat; plan to make space for perennial Aruncus, goat's beard, also claimed by some authorities to be an aphrodisiac.

Aquarius (20 January - 18 February)

Good time to price in-ground irrigation systems or buy a new watering can; spritz indoor plants

Pisces (19 February - 20 March)

Feed indoor plants with liquid fish fertilizer; consider purchasing a fishtail palm

Aries (21 March - 19 April)

Select leaves of sheep laurel, Kalmia angustifolia, for visiting politicians

Taurus (20 April - 20 May)

Don't be afraid to spread cattle manure; search for old-fashioned hoof and horn fertilizer

Gemini (21 May - 20 June)

Check for plants bearing blooms that are botanically known as geminiflorus; plant twinflower, Linnaea borealis

Cancer (21 June - 22 July)

Weeds and pests are no excuse to get crabby; consider planting a crabapple tree

Leo (23 July - 22 August)

Scrutinize lawn for dandelions

Virgo (23 August - 22 September)

Plant virgin's bower, Clematis virginiana, to conceal neighbour's dilapidated garage

Libra (23 September - 22 October)

Purchase a good gardening book, such as Green Side Up

Scorpio (23 October - 21 November)

Plant water forget-me-not, Myosotis scorpioides

Sagittarius (22 November - 21 December)

Order Sagitarria, Arrowhead, for next season's water garden

Horoscope Bouquets

If not the foregoing, would you then believe in horoscope bouquets? There really are such things, reports the Netherlands Bulb Information Centre, a professional promotion organization that we have come to rely upon for the new and unusual. According to them, it was the German born astrologer, Ruth Zucker, who is credited with matching a colour, or colours, to each astrological sign. Since a gift of flowers is a classic and always appreciated gesture, this might offer an easy way out when it comes to deciding on that perfect present. Availability and cost may influence your choices, but your local friendly florist will be happy to assist.

Colours of the Zodiac

Capricorn (December 22 to January 19)

Dark blue, white and red

Use: amaryllis in various shades of red with white, in a blue vase.  

Aquarius (January 20 to February 18)

Violet or blue with yellow, orange or pink.

Use: tulips, daffodils, iris and anthurium.  

Pisces (February 19 to March 20)

Combinations of soft colours i.e. lilac, blue and pink

Use: tulips, hyacinths, roses, lilac and pussy willow  

Aries (March 21 to April 19)

Thorny branches, warm reds and yellows

Use: gloriosa lilies, calla lilies, cockscomb and forsythia  

Taurus (April 20 to May 20)

Bright summer bouquets

Use: lilies, glads, allium and birds of paradise with an underpinning of cascading mimosa  

Gemini (May 21 to June 21)

Bleu and yellow, with a green dividing accent

Use: agapanthus, foxtail lilies and interesting grassers  

Cancer (June 22 to July 22)

Pink, dark blue, white, turquoise and cream

Use: ornithogalium, allium and peonies  

Leo (July 23 to August 22)

Yellow and orange

Use: lilies, gerberas, roses and nerine  

Virgo  (August 23 to September 22)

White, with greens

Use: with such a wide group of white blossoms from which to choose, we can only suggest that you use contrasting shapes and textures of flowers and greens  

Libra (September 23 to October 23)

Yellow, blue and white

Use: callas, dahlias and orchids  

Scorpio (October 24 to November 21)

Strong blues, reds and purples

Use: birds of paradise, ginger, banana flowers for contrasting textures  

Sagittarius (November 22 to December 21)

Red, rust and yellow gold

Use: a mixture of roses, amaryllis and dahlias for contrasting textures

Horticultural Happenings  

Toronto Field Naturalist Outings

Free guided walks; children welcome but please no pets; all are TTC accessible; dress according to weather, bring beverage, camera, notebook and binoculars.

9 Jan. Earl Bales Park Nature Walk: meet 10:30 a.m. at the community cnetre at the nroth end of the park, east side of Bathurst St, just south of Sheppard Ave. E.; bring lunch

13 Jan. Mimico Creek Nature Walk: meet 11 a.m. at nw corner Martin Grove Rd. and Rathburn Rd; bring a snack.

16 Jan. Crothers Woods Nature Walk: meet 10:30 a.m. west side Millwood Rd. opposite Overlea Blvd.; bring a snack.

20 Jan. Lamton Creek and Mills Heritage Walk: meet 2 p.m. at Lambton House, 4066 Old Dundas St. just south of Dundas St W. and east of the Humber River.

23 Jan. Rowntree Mills Park Nature Walk: meet 10:30 a.m. nw corner Finch W and Islington Ave.; bring lunch and binoculars

26 Jan. Morningside Park Nature Photography: meet 10:30 a.m. at park entrance west side Morningside Ave. n. of Lawrence; bring a snack.

31 Jan. Ernest Thompson Seton Park Winter Birds: meet 10 a.m. south side Eglinton Ave. oppisite Leslie St.; bring lunch, walk will end about 3 p.m.

High Park Sunday Walks

13 and 27 Jan. commencing 1:15 p.m.; for more information, call 416-392-1748

Toronto Entomologists's Association

26 Jan. Sex, Suicide and Starvation: mating behavior of the Australian redback spider; 1 p.m. in room 119, Northrop Frye Hall, 73 Queen's Park Cres E.

Ian Wheal Heritage Walks

5 Jan. Lower Spadina Ave.: meet 1 p.m. se corner Queen Street West. and Spadina Ave.

26 Jan. Chaplin and Oriole Estates and Gardens: meet 1:30 p.m. se corner Eglinton Avenue West and Oriole Parkway.

Smithsonian Study Tours

13 January - 2 February: Exploring Antartica, Falkland Islands, South Georgia: discover the awesome and extraordinary wildlife of the seventh continent from aboard the state-of-the-art expedition ship Hanseatic.

20 January - 2 February: Patagonia: Crown Jewel of Chile: travel to Santiago and see the stunning wilds of the southern cone of South America.

2 - 10 February: Amazon: The Greatest Adventure in Natural History: aboard the 27-passenger La Turmaline, explore the secluded headwaters of the Amazon

For more information, 1-877-338-8687 or visit www.smithsonianstudytours.org

National Rhubarb Day

14 Jan. National Rhubarb Day in Britain: "organized by the National Farmer's Union to celebrate that splendid plant's versatility and high vitamin content."

Gardening in the Headlines

A round-up of the past few weeks news of interest to gardeners

Landscaping

*The Insurance Information Network of California says that more claims are being paid out for landscapes destroyed by police since 1996, when state legislation permitting raising of marijuana for medical use with a doctor's certificate came into effect.

Trees

*Prince Charles sports a bandaged eye after apparently being injured "while sawing a tree in his garden." Dead wood, no doubt.

*Toronto City Hall drafts a bylaw to permit the removal of crab apple trees planted on city property three decades ago, now deemed to attract wasps, use by children as projectiles and a hazard on sidewalks. "We take progress in steps," quothe Councillor Joanne Flint, sponsoring the decree.

*Beetles make it to Report on Business, as the B.C. forestry industry bemoans epidemic of mountain pine beetles boring into lodgepole pines

*Deforestation in Mexico is proceeding at twice the originally estimated rate, research by satellite reveals, giving Mexico the dubious second highest lost of forest following Brazil

*African bees are capable of saving the Amazon rainforest by pollinating the blooms of isolated trees left standing when the forest is turned into pasture, reports Christopher Dick of Harvard University.

Shrubs

*Bailey Nurseries announce the release of their new dwarf lilac 'Fairy Dust' developed in North Dakota with very fragrant pink flowers. More at www.baileynursery.com or 1-800-829-8898

Flowers

*Interested in prolonging the life of those cut flowers? according to New Scientist correspondent John Crofts who himself suggests a “very effective solution that lasts a long time is 25 parts per million silver nitrate plus a buffer of 75 parts per million citric acid.”

*Horst Fantazzini, an Italian bank bandit who sent roses to a terrified teller, dies of natural causes while in prison.

Down in the Vegetables

"300 crates of tomatoes spilled in a Montreal trucking accident, are salvaged by the police, who deliver them in cruisers to homeless shelters.

Fruit & Nuts

*"Virgin oil is from olives that have never before been pressed. Extra virgin oil is from olives that never even thought about being pressed," explains Torontonian David Pell in The Globe and Mail

*Chiquita Brands International files for bankruptcy protection in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a plan to reduce its debt by US$770-million, not exactly a 'little one' as chiquita means in Latin America.

*Walnuts produced from trees grafted on to genetically modified rootstock may soon raise fresh headaches for GM luddites, thank to researchers at the University of California at Davis.

Herbs

*Japanese company Arvel has released an aromatherapy receptacle that, inserted into a computer USB port, wafts various vapours such as lavender to make you more compatible with your PC, in a clear case of using common scents.

Weeds

*Strangler figs are being used to naturally control roadside weed trees in Australia such as the camphor laurel by growing up and over the imported immigrants, first throttling then replacing them, a process reportedly taking a mere half-century or so.

Bugs and Gardeners

*Canadian scientists based at Lethbridge, Alberta, are investigating a fungus disease of the notorious Colorado potato beetle to use to control this serious pest.

*Pine beetles expand their attacks on B.C.'s lodgepole pines by 80 per cent this past summer, a survey reports

*London’s lady beetles are suffering from a severe outbreak of venereal disease, thanks to more benign inner city living prolonging their lives, reports Greg Hurst at University College London in Ecological Entomology. .

*The now-familiar natural pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), is commercially prepared in the same manner as could be anthrax bacteria, says a anonymous correspondent of New Scientist, who suggests the FBI check it out.

*The males of one family of earwigs sport two penises to get around the pesky problem of them snapping off while mating, according to a Japanese researcher reporting his findings in the journal Naturwissenschaften

*Elsewhere in Japan, Masatoshi Toyama of Hokkaido University has discovered that juvenile foliage spiders, Chiracanthium japonicum, cannot grow properly unless they feed on their mother, making for yet more interesting entomology.

Gardening in the City

*Eleven per cent of Toronto's area consists of city-operated parks, reports Royson James of The Toronto Star, but if the city grows by up to another million people in the next 30 years, as predicted, far more will be required.

*6 December 1926, the William Neilson Co. donated half a ton of peanuts for the hungry squirrels in Toronto parks, which were blanketed from a snowfall two days earlier. Item in The Globe according to The Globe and Mail's Michael Kesterton

*Toronto councillors, considering banning chemical pesticides, decide it will be permissible to spray areas identified as harbouring mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus.

*Oxymoronic Toronto Works Department distributes three newsletters, Toronto Waste Watch, Toronto Water Watch and City Routes, which will cost almost as much as is saved by the garbage deal for this year, according to Sue-Ann Levy of The Toronto Sun.

*"Being naked and running through meadows and orchards," Bruce Bailey, interviewed by Leah McLaren, The Globe and Mail, on his favourite outfit as a child

*The CEO of Belgian brewery giant Interbrew purchases nine acres of prime Ontario lakefront real estate just west of Oakville and plans a landscaped estate centring on a mansion larger than the White House but smaller than that of Microsoft’s Bill Gates outside Seattle.

Inventions

*The British 'SlugBot,' a slug-eating robot, is hailed by Time magazine as the invention of the year. Unfortunately it is a one-of-a-kind, "a proof of concept machine only," built at a university laboratory to become the world's first fully autonomous robot.

Fertilizer

*A former school bus converted to pesticide and fertilizer storage catches fire near a busy highway intersection in Burlington, Ontario, forcing their temporary closure.

Science and the Gardener

*Contribute to science in Canada by joining the WormWatch program to discover more about earthworms here. Obtain a poster and other materials by sending a large stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Canadian Nature Federation, 606  --  1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa. Ont. K1N 7B7 or call toll-free 1-800-267-4088.

*The Canadian Nature Federation is also appealing for volunteers to become IceWatch observers, whose records offer valuable environmental information. Again, send a large, stamped, self-addressed envelope to IceWatch, Canadian Nature Federation, 606  --  1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa. Ont. K1N 7B7 or call toll-free 1-800-267-4088.

*The first land plants were similar to the modern algae known as stonewort, says botanist Richard McCourt of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, in the journal Science.

*Also, report palaeontologists in Science, there once existed a giant cockroach “which predates the first can of Raid by 300 million years.“

Travel

*20 people were riding on a tractor in eastern China when it swerved into a river, killing 12 of them.

*The Niagara Under Glass Discovery Centre, a 2.6-hectare agri-tourism project in Lincoln, Ontario, goes into receivership four months after it opens with a fanfare -- and $300,000 lost to taxpayers out of the $600,000 assured by the provincial government.

*If the scent of foreign climes bothers you, the Ministry of the Environment in Japan has listed their country’s 100 most fragrant locales including, unsurprisingly, wisteria and lavender as well as varied foods and even old books. Ottawa, please copy, as Canada’s capital is all too well known for its yells, bells and smells.

Weather

*As south-central Ontario continues to luxuriate in the warmest November ever, heavy snows create havoc around Victoria, B.C., as gold courses stay open in the Toronto area.

*"Whatever we look at, whether it's the five-day, the 3-day or even the 90-day, the computers won't predict anything other than warmer weather than usual," David Phillips, an Environment Canada senior climatologist, admitting bafflement over prolonged balmy weather.

*"It's only because of Jesus. He controls the weather. But today is a good day," Mary Knight, 50, Toronto evangelist, asked, "What do you think about the unusually warm weather?" by MetroToday tabloid

Law and Gardeners

*Certain new plant and animal life forms should be allowed to be patented, the federal Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee recommends, specifying plants, seeds and non-human animals that are "novel, useful," which thus readers will be relieved to learn, certainly precludes politicians.

*If a Montgomery County, Maryland resident objects to the odour from pesticides being applied to neighbouring property, charges may be laid against the perpetrators resulting in fines up to US$750.

*Gary Ridgeway, charged by Seattle-area police with the murder of at least four women, is reported to have been a keen gardener which, nevertheless, does not deter investigators from using a backhoe on it in a search of further evidence.

*The indefatigable Michael Kesterton of The Globe and Mail, reports that hedges are such a frequent cause of legal hassles in Britain that a formula has been established for ascertaining the maximum height. It is, Kesterton says, “H=(d/2)+1, where “H” is the hedge’s height limit and “d” is the distance to the nearby window, in metres.”

*French anti-GM farmer Jose Bove will spend the next six months in the slammer for destroying a field of experimental GM rice in southern France in 1999.

Business

*Family Farm Tribute III, a concert to raise awareness and funds for Canada's struggling family farms, comes to Toronto 12 January.

*U.S. Crompton Corp., manufacturer of pesticide lindane, banned in the U.S. for use on canola seed, demands US$100-million from in Ottawa to compensate for alleged losses due to Canada also banning lindane use on canola, under pressure from Washington.

*British Columbia’s Forest Minister Mike de Jung has his brief case containing softwood trade negotiation documents and his passport stolen from his car while visiting a shopping mall.

Environment

*A new environmental group, Lake Ontario Keeper, uses independent laboratory tests on samples of water from a former dump at King's Mill Park to show, contrary to claims by city officials, poisons strong enough to kill fish are leaking into the Humber River.

*Australia is the fifth-ranking country for clearing land of trees and bush, say certain green groups

*Environment Canada takes a major legal step towards declaring road salt toxic to the environment, to the horror of the salt industry

*Clint Eastwood is appointed California Parks and Recreation Commissioner by state Governor Gray Davis and worries surface that he may be tempted to keep order in the style of Dirty Harry.

*Sick of warmer temperatures? The answer lies in reducing soot emission resulting from diesel fuel use, wood and coal burning, says  Mark Jacobson, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, California.

*Salt Spring Island strippers and other activists have saved a 770 hectares of the B.C. paradise that is theirs from a logging and developing company as the latter concedes the two-year battle that saw funds being raised through a nude calendar (female) and Web site (male).

Health

*Serious doubts continue to be raised from numerous sources on the advisability of pesticide spraying to kill mosquitoes possibly carrying West Nile virus.

*Ontario's Provincial Auditor lets go a blast over the appalling lack of food safety. Amongst other findings: delays in releasing test results of pesticides in fruit and vegetables which indicated in 28 samples out of 800 tested unacceptable chemical levels, in some cases 80 times over the acceptable limit.

*Health Minister Allan Rock is approached by a group of physicians and environmentalists to ban the use of human test results to set pesticide exposure standards, something now permitted by the U.S. The spokeswoman for Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency who answers for this is the ominously named Joan Butcher.

*Herbal teas can dissolve tooth enamel as effortlessly as can cola drinks, states the Journal of Dentistry, reporting on comparisons of a blackcurrant, ginseng and vanilla tea, a commercial black tea, and water made at the University Dental Hospital, Manchester, England.

*Herbal medicines and similar products will come under stringent regulations proposed by Health Canada to allow consumers to purchase such preparations confident that they are what they claim to be, along with recommended dosages, blendings, strength, control numbers and other information required of conventional medications.

*An American survey for a large organic foods business claims that “fear of food” will persuade more people to take up “organic lifestyles.” It’s enough to drive one to apastia - the morbid abstention from food.

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