Here's what Brent Dickerson says: "It was, at some time evidently roughly around the year 1800 or 1810, the custom of the inhabitants of the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, then called the Ile Bourbon, to mark off their land with hedges comprised of, as Monsieur Breon, a botanist of the time, put it, "one row of the Common China Rose [presumably "Old Blush"--that is, 'Parsons' Pink China'], the other of the Red Four-Seasons [presumably the red 'Tous-les-Mois' Damask Perpetual, which was common then]." One Monsieur Edouard Perichon found, when planting one of these hedges, a plant which appeared to be a hybrid of the two, and which was subsequently called, after him, 'Rose Edouard'. Here is a description of 'Rose Edouard' written in 1828, translated from Prevost fils' French: "This was the first one brought to France, and can be considered the Type of the species. Canes long and divergent, armed with much-hooked thorns, which are glandular at their base. Leaflets oval, large, cordiform at their base. Ovary oboid-oblong, glabrous and glaucous at the tip. Corolla medium-sized, hypocrateriform [i.e., "like an antique cup"], double or lightly double, intense and bright deep pink." Evidently in 1819, Monsieur Breon sent to Antoine Jacques, gardener of the Duc d'Orleans at Neuily, near Paris, seed from 'Rose Edouard'. Five of these seeds sprouted in Spring of 1820, and two of these five "bloomed and rebloomed" in 1821. One of these two seedlings was illustrated by Redoute, who, as was his habit, gave it two names, a scholarly-sounding Latinate one ('Burboniana'), and another in the vernacular ('Rosier de l'Isle de Bourbon' [sic]). Here is how Redoute and his collaborator Thory described it in 1824: "Shrub, tall, vigorous, branched, bushy. Prickles large, hooked, wide, reddish. Leaflets 5 or 7, base rounded, acute at the tip, glabrous on both surfaces, simply dentate, glossy green above, paler beneath; petioles villose, with small sessile glands and tiny prickles; stipules decurrent, acute, denticulate. Flowers sweetly scented, many together at the ends of the laterals; pedicels finely glandulose; bracts elongate, ciliate, glandulose; receptacles ovoid, glabrous; sepals pinnatifid with subsetaceous prickles; petals 3-4 seriate, cordately notched, bright pink. Hips somewhat rounded, ovoid, red. According to the Duc d'Orleans, this rose [meaning by "this rose," confusingly, the *parent* of the rose they illustrate, as close reading will show] grows in waste places on Reunion Island. Seeds brought from there some years ago produced the plants in the Neuilly gardens from which our painting was made. It has a good habit, and the abundance of its blooms, sometimes almost single but mostly semi-double, and their fine color and perfume, make it a worthwhile adornment for landscape gardens." Meantime, Breon also sent, in 1821, cuttings of the original 'Rose Edouard' to the gardener in charge of the hothouses at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris--Monsieur Neumann." Supposedly they did have cuttings in 1821. However, Josephine had sent for the tea rose years previously, though she was dead in 1814. Cafres (it's spelled with one f) translates to"African person taken to Reunion Island to be a slave", according to Wikipedia. I got the impression it may be an insult. So the Plaine des Cafres means Plain of Slaves, maybe? Down the road is the Plaine des Palmistes, or Plain of Palms. It's beautiful. Up the road is the volcano. All the pictures I found show what looks like a cow pasture on a hill running down to a valley. I saw one bush that looks like it had red hips, maybe. Leafless. I found another garden in Hellbourg with defoliated hybrid teas with a couple roses on top. Blackspot? Now, If I had a bunch of slaves working a field, I suppose it could occur to me that edging these fields with thorny roses would keep them in. Of course, Parson's Pink China is thornless, and scentless. Its value is the repeat blooming gene. I couldn't tell from what pictures I found what sort of crops grow there, and its hilly edges looked difficult to hedge. Yep, there's a hole in this story you can drive a truck through. You can find the very interesting botanical articles of Jean Jacques Segalen by typing his name and Reunion Island into Google.

Here in the PNW is 18 degrees today, with more snow coming. We got about 6 inches last night-- which is good and will protect the roots of some tender plants. I went ahead and took a lot of fig cuttings for my trades, just in case we get some 'die back'. Have them safely in the front porch wrapped in damp newspapers. With so much snow and ice, I'll have more time to read the posts and look out the window.

I had a similar problem after rehabbing a 1986 manufactured home. We wanted it to go FHA financing and that required not only the VIN number but also the HUD certification number. This one was also setup on a permanent foundation and the frame was cut away where the vin would have been stamped and the exterior had been resided all interior replaced so I KNEW NOTHING manufacturer/vin/hud # etc. I called the courthouse and they told me their was nothing on record BUT (and here is the important part) I went down MYSELF and searched thru the records I found where a previous owner had borrowed some money using the home a collateral it had most of the info I needed in the deed of trust recorded at the courthouse. After getting the manufacturer and vin I was able to get the HUD cert off a HUD site on the internet. The lesson here for me was that as sweet as the little ole lady is that runs the county recorders office is, she did not have the initiative or will to delve into a detailed search as I did. GO LOOK THRU THE RECORDS YOURSELF cairparavel75

Carol (re: Antique Forum)-- If you go to the top of this page, and click on "Forums" you'll get the list for all the GW forums. I visit the Knitting and Crochet and Sewing forums, too. I've just been reading a lot on the history of quilting, so this is a timely discussion for me. Here's what I've learned: At the time of the Revolutionary war, quilted bedcoverings were just beginning to come into vogue. Quilting itself had been done for centuries prior to this time, but almost exclusively for clothing--it's speculated that it started as padded clothing for wearing under armor. Most of the applique from that period was "broderie perse". This involved purchasing a length of printed chintz, then cutting the individual motifs out and appliqueing them onto a muslin, silk or wool background fabric. This allowed you to buy a relatively small piece of the printed fabric and still get a large quilt out of it. The appliqued top was then quilted, often with trapunto and other elaborate details. An out-growth of broderie perse became popular in Baltimore. Baltimore Album quilts feature very fine applique, but in the form of unique designs formed from many bits of cloth. These were often made by the friends and family members of young women as wedding gifts, especially among the wealthier families. They were also made as parting gifts for families that were leaving the area to homestead on the frontier. In other parts of the country, where this technique wasn't popular, wedding quilts would have been pieced. On the frontier, where fabric was at a premium, quilts were made from the scrap bag, using remnants left-over from clothing construction. It is very unusual to see a pioneer quilt made from just a couple of fabrics that were obviously bought just for that purpose. Some families were very serious about preparing hope chests and a young woman wasn't considered ready for marriage until she had a certain number of quilts finished and stored in her hope chest. I've heard of as many as a dozen being considered necessary by some demanding mamas. The Amish families that I know of have no requirements for quilts or hope chests, nor do their quilts look like those that we traditionally consider "Amish" with solid, bold colors. Amish quilting in the late 21st century underwent a big change as it became a lucrative source of income for families struggling to make ends meet. Modern Amish quilts tend to follow current color trends and are often made for the retail market. Amish women do make quilts for themselves, but the examples I've seen look no different than any other contemporary quilts. I think that we really begin to see quilting as a necessity slowly begin to taper off after WWI. By the late 1800s you could buy ready-made bedding that was of reasonably good quality and inexpensive from at your local department store. Mail-order companies made it possible to buy them even in remote areas. Interestingly, this is the hey-day of the crazy quilt, which is made from silks and velvets and is a silent testimony to the fact that the maker had time to spare for making a completely impractical quilt and could afford to buy expensive fabrics to have her clothing made from. It was a subtle way of showing your friends and neighbors that you were a woman of leisure. During WWI, women began to enter the workforce to fill the gaps left by the soldiers and had less time for time-consuming tasks like quilting. In the 20s, it was definitely less popular because it was seen as old-fashioned at a time when society was rushing head-long into the technological age. Women, who finally had time-saving devices like vacuum cleaners and gas and electric ovens, simply lost interest in quilting. In spite of this, it doesn't die out and a major resurgence of interest occurs during the Depression and the second world war as it was a way to both save money and provide warmth for your family. It contributed to the war effort, freeing up fabric mills to make fabric for the troops. In response, flour, sugar and feed companies made their bags from fabrics that could be used in quilts. However, after WWII, quilts takes another fall in popularity and quilts from the late 40s, 50s and 60s are very uncommon. With the Bi-centennial in 1976, interest again increased and it has been on up-swing ever since, but with major changes in techniques, style and purpose. There is no need to make quilts for your hope chest so now quilting is a labor of love or a means of personal expression. I think the best quilts are both. Annie