HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: bobw@csg.uwaterloo.ca (Bob Wildfong)
Subject: Re: gardening ethics? (was: Domestication of Poison Ivy)
Organization: Computer Systems Group, University of Waterloo
Distribution: bionet
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 17:13:36 GMT

In article <BxqLJq.Dvv@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> delwiche@sunflower.bio.indiana.edu (Charles Delwiche) writes:
>
> [Sad story about a feud between deer-people and tree-people, in which
>  both sides suffered losses and each thought that their loss was more
>  significant than the other's]
>
>Now, I can't even begin to express how silly I think this is.  It is
>hard for me to even comprehend this sort of thought.  It brings to
>mind images of a sort of a holy war between herbivores and the herbs.
>You can't go set up birth control clinics for deer, and there are a
>LOT of deer, so the cost of managing the herds is a significant
>concern.  I can't get away from the thought that it is hard to make a
>go of it in this world if you don't have big brown eyes.

The most frustrating thing for those of us who identify with plants is that
people DO have big brown eyes and so do animals.  Plants don't.
The public will always identify much more strongly with animals than they
will with plants because a plant can't look at you while you injure/kill it.
That's also the reason why there are no centipede, toadstool or jellyfish
rights activists.

We are all animals, and we naturally sympathize with our own kind (or at least
our own taxonomic family), so a common, ordinary deer is always more important
in the public eye than a rare tree.

Can you detect my bias in the tone of my typing?


Bob Wildfong                                       bobw@csg.uwaterloo.ca
Waterloo, Ontario                                  bobw@csg.waterloo.edu

Xref: sparky bionet.plants:638 rec.gardens:8104 soc.culture.british:16085
From: lindsay@sesame.lbl.gov (Lindsay Schachinger)
Newsgroups: bionet.plants,rec.gardens,soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Domestication of poison ivy
Date: 18 Nov 92 23:07:17 GMT
Reply-To: lindsay@sesame.lbl.gov (Lindsay Schachinger)
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.254.22

In article <1992Nov18.191227.16639@news.Hawaii.Edu> gerard@caliban.soest.hawaii.edu (Gerard Fryer) writes:

>them with defoliants (which is appropriate: rhododendron leaves are
>packed with toxins which poison the ground for other plants; did you

Is this true? Should I yank out my sick Rhododendron, the one I
just planted some lovely California natives under? I thought I'd
try and revive the thing, but if it's going to harm other plants,
I'll just kill it.

Lindsay

-- 

   Lindsay Schachinger			lindsay@sesame.lbl.gov
   Exploratory Studies Group		ucbvax!sesame.lbl.gov!lindsay
   Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory		(510) 486-5009
Newsgroups: bionet.plants,rec.gardens
From: yee@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Jonathan Yee)
Subject: Growing fodder..
Organization: The Mad Engineer's Institute
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 09:03:59 GMT

	Anybody have any experience growing fodder for farm animals?
Lately, for my newly established duck & goose enterprise I have decided to
try to grow my own feed -- at least as a supplement.  I've so far sown
clover, alfalfa, & buckwheat seeds purchased at a health food store.
Anybody care to comment on their methodologies in growing and harvesting
these crops?  I guess, out of curiosity, you may ask, "what do you do with
your ducks & geese?".. Well, here in Hawaii, salted duck eggs are rather a
delicacy (salted in water for ~month, then boiled).  And with them roaming
around in pens in my farm, they enrich the soil for gardening once it's
their turn to rotate to another vacant pen. Further digressing here, it
seems to me that an ideal garden/farm is one that's self-sufficent, and
animals help provide a necessary balance...
From: UGG00005@VM.UOGUELPH.CA (Nanfei Xu)
Newsgroups: bionet.plants
Subject: Cotyledon number
Date: 14 Nov 92 23:51:45 GMT
Distribution: bionet


Hi, Everyone:

    I'm interested in the variation of the number (more or less than two) of
cotyledons in the embryos of dicotyledonous plants.  Do you know any reference
concerning this?  Any information would be greatly appreciated.


******************************************************************************

  XUXUXUXUXUXUXUXUXUXU                NA              FEIFE
          UX        U/        NANNANNANNANNANNA          FE       /E
       X  XUXUXUXUXU                 NA                  FE      /E
     /X/  UX                 NANNANNANNANNANNANN         FE    /E/
   /U/ \XUXUXUXUXUXUX        NA   \\     //   NA         FE  /E/
  XU                         AN    \N   N/    AN         FE FE
     XUXUXUXUXUXUXUXU        NN      \ /      NN         FE  FE\
     UX            UX        NA  ANNANNANNAN  NA          FE  \F\
     XUXUXUXUXUXU  XU        AN       N       AN           FE   \E\
     UX            UX        NN NANNANNANNANN NN            FE    \FEI
     XUXUXUXUXUXU  XU        NA       N       NA             \E\
     UX           \UX        AN       N      \AN               \E\     /E
     XU            X/        NN       N       N/                 \FEIFEI

Nanfei Xu                                 Phone: 519-824-4120 Ext. 8347
Department of Botany
University of Guelph                      E-mail: UGG00005@VM.UOGUELPH.CA
Guelph, Ontario, Canada                                    or
N1G 2W1                                           BOTXU@VM.UOGUELPH.CA
******************************************************************************
From: MEK104@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: bionet.plants
Subject: Re: super-optimal stomatal conductance
Date: 16 Nov 92 17:25:39 GMT
Organization: Penn State University

ajt@uk.ac.sari.rri (Tony Travis) wrote:

>I agree with you about 'sacrificing' water for mineral uptake - we tend to
>dwell on water use efficiency as if water is *allways* in short supply.
>One thing people tend to forget about is winter drought though (when the
>available water is frozen).

>It isn't in short supply here, today, in Scotland ;-)

I for one certainly don't tend to consider the effect of winter drought,
mostly because I usually work with deciduous species.  But I have done some
Douglas-fir water relations work, a species which is known to transpire
during winter, at least on the West Coast of the US.  I don't know if thats
the case with conifers here in the east, or in the inter-mountain region.
You're suggesting, perhaps, that 'self stressing' may be a means of drought
hardening?

Its been suggested that low leaf water content or potential does not always
indicate a 'stress', but may simply reflect high photosynthetic rate (via
open stomata).  The argument is that stomata would close if the leaf were
stressed.


Mark Kubiske                < MEK104@PSUVM.PSU.EDU >
School of Forest Resources
Penn State University
From: ajt@rri.sari.ac.uk (Tony Travis)
Newsgroups: bionet.plants
Subject: Re: super-optimal stomatal conductance
Date: 17 Nov 92 00:22:50 GMT
Reply-To: ajt@rri.sari.ac.uk
Distribution: bionet
Organization: Rowett Research Institute
Original-To: plantbio@uk.ac.daresbury

In article <921116185833.MIN-LXADa00255.bionet-news@uk.ac.daresbury> you wrote:
: [...]
: You're suggesting, perhaps, that 'self stressing' may be a means of drought
: hardening?

Yes, but I was speculating about the selective advantage that losing
more water than was necessary for CO2 uptake may have.  A high rate of
transpiration does not, of course, imply water stress unless the supply
of water to the leaf is restricted.

I did some work (unpublished) in the early 80's where I grew plants at
high humidity then measured the sensitivity of stomata on isolated
epidermal strips.  Interestingly, the stomata on high humidity plants
opened wider, and appeared to be more sensitive to light and CO2.

There was speculation at the time that endogenous IAA levels were
higher in plants grown without water stress.  The role of IAA in
stomatal movements is not precisely understood, but the work of Marre
(1979) with the fungal toxin fusicoccin suggests that IAA may be
involved in the regulation of membrane bound ATPases involved in active
ion transport into guard cell vacuoles during stomatal movements.

: Its been suggested that low leaf water content or potential does not always
: indicate a 'stress', but may simply reflect high photosynthetic rate (via
: open stomata).  The argument is that stomata would close if the leaf were
: stressed.

Well, water only moves if a lower water potential exists in the leaf so
some degree of water stress is required as a basic component of the
solute transport mechanism.

However, as I said in a previous message there is evidence that a
feedback mechanism alone is not sufficient to explain the behaviour of
stomata (Cowan and Farquar, 1980).  Their evidence suggests that
stomata close _before_ the leaf becomes stressed (ie. feed-forward
control).

	Tony.
--
Dr. A.J.Travis,                       |  Tony Travis
Rowett Research Institute,            |  JANET: <ajt@uk.ac.sari.rri>
Greenburn Road, Bucksburn,            |  other: <ajt@rri.sari.ac.uk>
Aberdeen, AB2 9SB. UK.                |  phone: 0224-712751
Newsgroups: bionet.plants
From: Thomas Bjorkman <Thomas_Bjorkman@cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: gardening ethics
X-Xxdate: Thu, 19 Nov 92 17: 10:39 GMT
Nntp-Posting-User: tnb1@cornell.edu
Organization: Cornell University
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d7
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 22:06:30 GMT

In article <1992Nov18.174905.1@ducvax.auburn.edu> , dr@ducvax.auburn.edu
writes:
>I think the following were mistakes:
>
>1) The clearing of the great southeastern forests for the
mega-cultivation 
>   of cotton, resulting in a number of eco-disasters (Charasmatic
example: 
>   the extinction of the carolina parakeet.  Related disaster: The
massive 
>   soil erosion in the 20s-30s, caused in large part by the continued 
>   clearing of woodlands from marginal areas.
>2) The over-grazing of the american west with cattle.
>3) The introduction of the european rabbit into Australia.
>4) The introduction of kudzu. (as a high-yield crop)

I believe that the main motivation of introducing kudzu was as a
conservation crop to prevent the soil erosion of your item 1.  The
conservation folks were right about it being a good cover crop!  

Clearly introduction of exotic plants is sonething that must be done with
great care.  But it can also be useful.  We would have a rather bland
diet if we used only plants native to the US--corn is from Mexico, wheat,
rice and soybeans from Asia, Potatoes from South America.  Crustless
pumpkin pie would be a big item, but I think I might still be hungry.
From: tyersome@toxic (Randall Tyers)
Newsgroups: bionet.plants
Subject: Re: opines, Agrobacterium tumifaciens, and heterophyllic aquatic plants
Date: 21 Nov 1992 04:49:28 GMT
Organization: Plant Biology
NNTP-Posting-Host: toxic.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Nov19.164629.19126@pellns.alleg.edu> keefers@carn19.alleg.edu (Scott Keefer) writes:
>
>	I am currently doing a research project in which I introduce  
>Agrobacterium tumefacicens into a heterophyllic aquatic plant.  In order  
>to confirm that a DNA transfer has occurred, I must measure if opine  
>synthesis is present.  If anyone has any methods in how to measure this  
>compound, our can suggest any literature about opines, it would be greatly  
>appreciated.
>
>Thank You.
>Scott Keefer
>Allegheny College
>11/19/92  

My understanding is that most people use a modified Agro plasmid
(acutually a binary plasmid system is used) that has the opine
synthase gene replaced with an antibiotic resistance (eg. Kan^R)
gene.  Is there any reason not to use this in your system?
Incidentaly, Agro only introduces a part of the Ti plasmid (the
T-DNA) into the host plant.  In the wild the bacterium stays outside 
and feeds off the opines that are produced by the transformed plant.
Hope this helps.

Randall Tyers        tyersome@insect.berkeley.edu
From: keefers@carn19.alleg.edu (Scott Keefer)
Newsgroups: bionet.plants
Subject: opines, Agrobacterium tumifaciens, and heterophyllic aquatic plants
Date: 19 Nov 92 16:46:29 GMT
Organization: Allegheny College


	I am currently doing a research project in which I introduce  
Agrobacterium tumefacicens into a heterophyllic aquatic plant.  In order  
to confirm that a DNA transfer has occurred, I must measure if opine  
synthesis is present.  If anyone has any methods in how to measure this  
compound, our can suggest any literature about opines, it would be greatly  
appreciated.

Thank You.
Scott Keefer
Allegheny College
11/19/92  
Newsgroups: bionet.plants,rec.gardens,soc.culture.british
From: claird@NeoSoft.com (Cameron Laird)
Subject: Re: Giant Hogweed
Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 13:33:32 GMT
Followup-To: bionet.plants,rec.gardens

In article <1992Nov16.165411.25115@aber.ac.uk> per@aber.ac.uk (Peter David Roberts) writes:
			.
			.
			.
>Several years ago there was a caseof alleged child abuse in the UK where two
>chilren were found with marks similar to cigarette burns over their bodies.
>It then transpired that they had been using the stems of an Umbellifera as
>pea shooters. Was this also G.H. or are other members of this family toxic
>to varying degrees?
Some are savory (carrots, angelica, and many others),
some toxic.  It's a family that has a high profile in
human affairs.
>
>For a semi-humurous account of the species and its history listen to the Return
>of the Giant Hogweed by Genesis (on either Foxtrot or Nursery Cryme) it was
>written at about the time the extent of the problem was realised in the UK
Neat reference.

Follow-ups away from s.c.b.
			.
			.
			.
-- 

Cameron Laird
claird@Neosoft.com (claird%Neosoft.com@uunet.uu.net)	+1 713 267 7966
claird@litwin.com (claird%litwin.com@uunet.uu.net)  	+1 713 996 8546
From: lns@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu
Newsgroups: bionet.plants
Subject: 573
Date: 17 Nov 92 18:15:45 GMT

Information regarding amber snails, Succinea sp., requested.  What is
the diet of this critter? Thanks.
From: scarr@kean.ucs.mun.ca
Newsgroups: bionet.women-in-bio
Subject: Re: husband/wife scientist team
Date: 17 Nov 92 15:00:52 GMT
Distribution: bionet
Organization: Memorial University. St.John's Nfld, Canada

In article <9211162144.AA09003@net.bio.net>, N052FG@TAMVM1.TAMU.EDU (Marivonne Rodriguez) writes:
> I have a general question concerning husband/wife teams obtaining individual
> tenure-track positions at a given dept.
> 
> I know of a case where the husband had a tenure track position, and to this
> day the wife has yet to be offered such a position in that dept. even though
> openings have come and gone for which she would have been perfectly suited.
> Their rationale is that they have one of the 2 in the couple, so the other one
> is undoubtedly going to be present as well (she has had a non-tenure, research
> scientist position for quite a while there) so theyd rather invest their
> resources in a new aquisition (quote, unquote, I cant do quotes on this keyboar
> d!!) to their dept. Ironically enough, it has often been her who gets her
> grants renewed or new ones approved, instead of her husband...
> 
> How typical/exceptional a case is this??? Any experiences on this subject you
> all out there might want to share??
> 
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Marivonne Rodriguez

Marivonne -

	Two thoughts on this. (1) I think it's true that TAMU is pretty 
unique with respect to a lot of things, including hiring practices. One
major problem (which I assume is still the same as when I left almost six
years ago) is the lack of a faculty union, and the pretty open hostility
of the higher administration towards any move to create one. There is (was)
also no ombudsman to hear cases of this sort. So there's no real protection
in the system for people who find themselves in the situation you describe.
Add to this an extremely paternalistic to chauvinstic 'good ole boy'
mentality that persists from the all-male AMC days, and you've got a really
bad environment for hiring/retaining women faculty (I could tell you 
stories - don't get me started!). The problem is not unique to women at 
TAMU - the clear message in many cases is, we've got you at the minimum
rank and salary we can get away with: if you don't like it, leave. I left.
(2) Hiring should be competitive, with internal candidates on the same
footing as externals. It's not reasonable to assume that an internal 
candidate should have first crack at an available slot. Also, perceptions
of what constitutes the "perfect" candidate in terms of expertise may
vary between the hiring committe & individual faculty (trying being on
both: it creates an intersting internal schizophrenia). Unfortunately,
that perception may also include notions about gender. In other 
circumstances, being an internal candidate may be an advantage - the 
quality of work and compatibility factor are known. Certainly in 
departments with proactive affirmative action policies an underemployed 
women partner will receive a very attentive hearing.

Steve Carr
From: N052FG@TAMVM1.TAMU.EDU (Marivonne Rodriguez)
Newsgroups: bionet.women-in-bio
Subject: husband/wife scientist team
Date: 16 Nov 92 21:33:58 GMT
Distribution: bionet

I have a general question concerning husband/wife teams obtaining individual
tenure-track positions at a given dept.

I know of a case where the husband had a tenure track position, and to this
day the wife has yet to be offered such a position in that dept. even though
openings have come and gone for which she would have been perfectly suited.
Their rationale is that they have one of the 2 in the couple, so the other one
is undoubtedly going to be present as well (she has had a non-tenure, research
scientist position for quite a while there) so theyd rather invest their
resources in a new aquisition (quote, unquote, I cant do quotes on this keyboar
d!!) to their dept. Ironically enough, it has often been her who gets her
grants renewed or new ones approved, instead of her husband...

How typical/exceptional a case is this??? Any experiences on this subject you
all out there might want to share??


Thanks in advance,

Marivonne Rodriguez
From: 6500rana@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Allan Hollander)
Newsgroups: bionet.agroforestry
Subject: Munsell Plant Tissue Color Chart
Date: 22 Nov 92 21:20:53 GMT
Distribution: bionet

Hi, I'm posting this for Rich Walker, so if anyone has any
information on the following product, please reply to him,
not me. - Allan Hollander
---------


Does anyone have any knowledge of or experience with the "Munsell
Plant Tissue Color Chart"?  The description in the Forestry Supplies, Inc.
catalog reads the following:

"A highly accurate method for determining and recording color resulting
from nutrient deficiency in plant tissues.  Contains 320 matte chips
permanently mounted on charts for 17 hues. 1977 edition. ($117.50)"

No one here has ever heard of such a kit for plant tissue, much less
used one.  I'd be interested in the comments of anyone who has used
(or attempted to use) said product.

- Rich Walker


____________________________________________________________
Richard E. Walker  Biogeography Lab, Department of Geography
University of California, Santa Barbara, California    93106
(805) 893-7044               walker@geog.geog.ucsb.edu
************************************************************
From: kristoff@NET.BIO.NET (Dave Kristofferson)
Newsgroups: bionet.sci-resources
Subject: NSF - Summary of new documents on STIS - 22 November 1992
Date: 23 Nov 92 17:53:36 GMT
Distribution: bionet


                     ** NEW DOCUMENTS ON STIS **

Document Type: Bulletin

   Title: NSF Bulletin Volume 20, No. 4 December 1992
               File size (bytes):       30400
               STIS Filename:           bul9212   

Document Type: Program Guideline

   Title: NSF 92-116 - NSF Young Investigator Awards
               File size (bytes):       53433
               STIS Filename:           nsf92116   

   Title: Research Initiation Awards (RIA) Brochure NSF 92-122
               File size (bytes):       25657
               STIS Filename:           nsf92122   

Document Type: Recruit

   Title: EX93-3 OPEN
               File size (bytes):       3450
               STIS Filename:           vex933p   

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       ** FOR YOUR REFERENCE **
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO OBTAIN DOCUMENTS

The above files can be retrieved in electronic form using the STIS
system.  If you don't know how to use STIS, send an E-mail message to
stisinfo@nsf.gov (Internet) or stisinfo@NSF (BITNET).  You will receive
a copy of the STIS flyer via E-mail.

If you are already using STIS, you can use the information above to retrieve
these files:

Documents via E-mail:

     Send a message to stisserv@nsf.gov (Internet) or stisserv@NSF
     (BITNET).  Use the "STIS Filename" shown above in the "get" command.
     For example, to retrieve vex933p, the text of your message should be 
     as follows:
                       get vex933p

Anonymous FTP:

     FTP to stis.nsf.gov.  Use the "STIS Filename" shown above to
     retrieve a file.  For example, to retrieve vex933p, you would
     enter:
                       ftp> get vex933p

WAIS or Gopher:

     Do a word search on the filename as shown in the summary.

If you want a *printed* copy of a document:

     Send your name and postal mailing address, and the document title
     and number to "pubs@nsf.gov" (Internet) or "pubs@nsf" (BITNET).

If you have problems with the above procedures:

     Send a message to "stis@nsf.gov" (Internet) or "stis@NSF"
     (BITNET).
From: kristoff@NET.BIO.NET (Dave Kristofferson)
Newsgroups: bionet.sci-resources
Subject: NSF - Summary of new documents on STIS - 15 November 1992
Date: 16 Nov 92 18:23:27 GMT
Distribution: bionet


                     ** NEW DOCUMENTS ON STIS **

Document Type: General Publication

   Title: NSF 92-123 - Directorate for Engineering, Program
          Descriptions
               File size (bytes):       117557
               STIS Filename:           nsf92123   

Document Type: Program Guideline

   Title: NSF 90-20 - Earth Sciences Research at the National Science
          Foundation
               File size (bytes):       41941
               STIS Filename:           nsf9020   

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       ** FOR YOUR REFERENCE **
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO OBTAIN DOCUMENTS

The above files can be retrieved in electronic form using the STIS
system.  If you don't know how to use STIS, send an E-mail message to
stisinfo@nsf.gov (Internet) or stisinfo@NSF (BITNET).  You will receive
a copy of the STIS flyer via E-mail.

If you are already using STIS, you can use the information above to retrieve
these files:

Documents via E-mail:

     Send a message to stisserv@nsf.gov (Internet) or stisserv@NSF
     (BITNET).  Use the "STIS Filename" shown above in the "get" command.
     For example, to retrieve nsf9020, the text of your message should be 
     as follows:
                       get nsf9020

Anonymous FTP:

     FTP to stis.nsf.gov.  Use the "STIS Filename" shown above to
     retrieve a file.  For example, to retrieve nsf9020, you would
     enter:
                       ftp> get nsf9020

WAIS or Gopher:

     Do a word search on the filename as shown in the summary.

If you want a *printed* copy of a document:

     Send your name and postal mailing address, and the document title
     and number to "pubs@nsf.gov" (Internet) or "pubs@nsf" (BITNET).

If you have problems with the above procedures:

     Send a message to "stis@nsf.gov" (Internet) or "stis@NSF"
     (BITNET).