To clear up some misconceptions: First, comfrey does not have proven efficacy against tooth decay, either as a preventative or to reverse decay that's already underway. Safety as a mouth rinse is probably not a major concern apart from possible local irritation, if one is careful not to swallow any. Many responsible herbalists recommend against any internal use of comfrey because of the risk of pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicity, implicated in some cases of acute liver failure and a concern for possible carcinogenicity. Oral formulations are banned in most countries for this reason. Young children are especially susceptible to toxicity from comfrey (even a few days of taking comfrey internally can be fatal). Contrary to what's been stated, acute liver failure is not a significant consideration when it comes to use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Tylenol (acetominophen, which can be hepatotoxic) is not an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) like aspirin or Motrin. Tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory agent - it works by a different mechanism than NSAIDS to reduce pain and fever. Used in proper dosage and not combined with other things that can damage the liver (i.e alcohol) it is a generally safe as well as effective drug. The real problem is when people take too much, which may happen when they combine or otherwise overdose on over-the-counter cold meds. The big difference between Tylenol and comfrey is that Tylenol is a proven effective drug. Comfrey may have limited value in topical pain control (when applied for limited periods on unbroken skin), but in general the claims made for it have not been backed by quality studies (something to consider when weighing a decision whether to ingest it). You cannot count on drying to significantly reduce the harmful alkaloids. Unfortunately, you also can't count on comfrey sellers to be knowledgeable and upfront about the composition of their products in our current, largely unregulated supplement market. I rarely take acetominophen, but feel a lot more confident about its safety than I do comfrey. And based on what we've seen already, if Americans began to ingest comfrey as commonly as they do acetominophen, it's extremely likely that comfrey would quickly pass acetominophen as the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S.

Too bad we can't look at my picture of the "Downy Mildew" Climbing Iceberg rose now while we're talking about this. I don't know whether the purple ended with the veins or not, but the third picture that Paul posted rings a kind of vague bell here. I do clearly remember reading The Old Rosarian's diagnosis and then comparing my picture with some other pictures of the disease online, and seeing some correspondence at the time. As best I can recall, only two leaflets showed yellow, but additional leaflets showed the dark purplish areas. But for sure the plant didn't succumb shortly - nothing of the sort. Perhaps Wilt-Pruf slowed things down? Anyway, it succumbed when I threw it out due to RRD about a month or so later. The plant as a whole wasn't doing well, though I think the Downy area, if that's what it was, covered just a few leaves near the bottom of the plant. Areas above that were the real reason I posted, as I couldn't be sure what the problem was there. She may have said anything about that - I just can't recall, but I think she said something that I should have been able to identify myself, like blackspot or powdery mildew. I suppose the extra areas that came at the lower level were probably what confused me. I was probably looking for just one disease when it was more like two. I do recall that I wasn't sure what it was, and I vaguely recall asking whether anyone was familiar with Sudden Oak Death (which, by chance, I had just read about on a camellia or rhododendron forum), since, also by chance, I had recently gotten some camellias from California that were by chance coming from an affected area that had only recently had its sale ban lifted. Camellias and rhododendrons are some of the host plants for that disease that otherwise I don't think had been seen around here. And alternatively I was also wondering whether the sickly rose might have been suffering from something like Chilli Thrips, since I had some roses from SC - from a place where I had seen a map showing the Chilli Thrips getting close to. Sometimes it doesn't pay to read up too much! I'll just note that I have one other memory. I assume that it's unconnected, but I just made a theoretical connection in tossing around the idea of a sudden demise of any plant contacting Downy Mildew... Right around the very same time, I was worried about RRD spreading through the bunch of newly arrived potted roses sitting close together with the rose that The Old Rosarian said looked as if it had a touch of Downy Mildew. I thought it would be worth a try to spray all those roses with Wilt Pruf in attempting to ward off RRD. I'd done that with the roses at the end of May, but ran out of product and didn't do a really thorough job of it then. So about a month later, I did a thorough job of spraying Wilt Pruf again. The two roses most directly downwind of the Climbing Iceberg happened to be the two General Gallienis that had arrived looking beautiful from Vintage and had done well after repotting. Anyway, the day after the spraying, one of the Gen. Gallienis was suddenly dying and the other came very close to dying but eventually recovered. I _think_ (theory #1) that they both became ill and one died because of that individual variety's response to the Wilt Pruf spray, but forty some nearby roses didn't show such strong effects. But both of those of that particular variety had leaves that turned purplish black and dried up totally. The one that died lost all its leaves and the other one lost most of them, but recovered. I do recall that entire canes turned purple-black and that it started at the tips. The one that recovered looks fairly good now, though I had to end up cutting out an entire cane - at least half of the small rose - to get rid of an RRD-affected cane. I was going to plant it with some totally isolated plants in a different, sunny section of the yard... but if it might have actually had a bout with Downy Mildew (alt theory #2), then I don't suppose that's a good idea. On the other hand, I don't know where else I might put the General Gallieni, since it's not that shade tolerant, as roses go. Where it's sitting in a pot right now is approximately where it has been sitting all this time - in the sunniest area we have that's not the precious almost full-sun spot near the street. I am planning on a bunch of roses now for the general area where the Downy Mildew occurred, if it occurred, and wondering what to do with a rose that might/might not still be harboring the residuals of a Downy Mildew problem. [i]Question:[/i] If General Gallieni stays in its pot sitting out in the heat of July, will that automatically take care of killing whatever pathogens might still be hanging around the plant, or are they so internalized within the plant systems by now that outdoor temperature makes no difference at that point? That, of course, assumes that theory #2 about the sudden death/illness of the General Gallienis applies - that the problem was Downy Mildew, not the Wilt Pruf spray (theory #1). Theory #2 implies that the spray job just happened to coincide with the sudden death/illness due to other reasons (Downy Mildew). I guess I haven't quite figured out how to get a Downy Mildew Experienced rose safely past spring and into the safe heat times of July, if and assuming the July heat will take care of the disease residuals within the plant. Please feel free to shoot down either or both theories and offer your alternative ideas! Gosh, I wish I had that picture now. If Peter Beales' makes the posts available again here, I'll direct you to the post & picture. Thanks again for all your comments! Best wishes, Mary, totally uncertain but theorizing anyway...

A treasured moment in my life was the chance to sit down and talk with Adelma Simmons shortly before her death. The conversation was wide ranging and, of course, included the phenomenon of gardening as a hobby in the 80's. As Mrs. Simmons is undoubtedly the author who brought herbs out of the closet and into the mainstream, her comments suprised me. Though she encouraged anyone with a pen to give it a shot, her concern was that the garden book world would be overrun with "fluff" and little substance. This prophecy seems to have come full circle. There are just so many "how to design a border" books that one can read and gain from. Publishers took full advantage of the surge in interest and flooded the market for a quick buck. I really think that this is why there is a decline. Those of us who are serious gardeners (serious enough to "talk" about it on a daily basis with webfriends) will always buy anything that's there of interest. But the backyard hobbiest only wants one or two coffee table books, not anything of substance. So, while book sales may be declining, it could be that there's not a lot out there to buy that hasn't been rehashed many times before. You're right, Ginny, everyone wants to see their name in print and publishers take full advantage to make a quick buck despite the quality. I admit that I have stopped buying gardening books en masse. I don't have the room, nor the time, to read 10 or 15 new books at a clip. Substance seems to be what's missing. "How To's" have given way to "look how lovely this is." The "lovely" books rarely mention the financial part of designing and implementing a full-blown garden worthy of publication. So, IMHO, while I feel for the writers whose rights are contracted away, and I feel for those of us with this plant passion who can't get enough, I give Amy all the credit in the world for doing an ad hoc "market survey" and not putting out pages for the sake of putting out pages. And, I truly still believe, that the masses sway the market. The decline in sales is a perfect example of this. People still have money, people still have interest, and now the publishers need to catch up. Martie

Nope - I don't think I have that information on error codes - but just to make sure - when I get back home again late this week I'll look at what I've got and see. I'll post and let you know. Mine is still chugging along, my wife tells me we are going to need to replace it (the lower oven craps out every once in a while and I have to reset it) and every once in a while it says weather data unavailable but then it has always come back - its working today. I should name it, it has so much character and idiosyncrasies I think I consider it my personal challenge to keep it running now. I do think that the screen problems people describe are because the ribbon cable flakes out and you have to re-seat it. We did use the refrigerator a couple of weeks back and heaven help me - it worked just fine. Loud, but fine.