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.

sergnic - what part of Italy are you living in? Are you in the city or out in a rural area? I see mentioned in, "your page" that you are a botanist. I am very interested in more input from you concerning the types of figs grown in different parts of Italy. I have been there quite a few times. Many in the spring of the year when the figs where not ready to eat. I had to fill up on the Nespoli. My family has a farm in the Cilento, Campania area just south of Palinuro a sea coast town called Marina di Camerota, Italy. There are many different type of figs and other fruit growing there. This year we are planning a September trip. I should be able to get my fill of ripe figs during this seasion. I plan to ask what the names of the trees are take photos of them and also have a notebook to write down what my relatives tell me about the figs and other type fruit trees they are growing. My one uncle even has some sort of banana tree growing in his yard. How I wish I could take along home with me just small rooted trees of all sorts. Living in northeastern Pennsylvania Zone 5 makes it a bit rough but I still would like to try other trees I have seen growing there. I know other people using this forum would feel that way as welI. I have seen what some people have told me was a grape vine that they called a, "strawberry grape". Are you familiar with that type of fruit? I will be looking forward to whatever you can contribute concerning the questions I posed to you. Regards and thank you Tanti saluti Lou NE., PA

I'm sorry sweet, I appreciate the article but you took the wrong information from it and came to incorrect conclusions. Sealer 101.. The pigmentation itself is not fading it is being dispersed over greater area. The carrier (alkyd/oil base) takes a long time to come to final cure therefore it continues to "spread" the pigmentation deeper and deeper into the wood fibers. This happens not just with TWP but with any oil based product. How deep it dives is dependant upon the type of driers and resins used. This is what makes TWP a good quality product. It has the ability to carry deep into the wood and condition it with mositurizing oil. This is why I tout oil based products over water borne products. There is, of course, a point of diminishing return. The wood will only absorb so much oil and so much pigment before the product starts "layering". Applied as directed by the manufacturer the finish remains as an enhancement to the wood. It will expand and contract in harmony with the wood and allow mositure evaporation. When you pile on coats, every subsequent coat becomes not a part of the wood but a top coating. There may be some bonding of the resins that intially creates what seems like a desirable finish (John describes it as a sheen) but this is merely a top finish that is now susceptible to craking, flaking and peeling. Again, TWP by its very nature has parrafins that never really cure 100% so John has been lucky thus far and the finish has remained semi-pliable. At some point, this chemistry is going to break down. Not if...when. Perhaps it won't happens if the product is applied on regular maintenance schedule but waiting just a bit too long and it will start peeling. Once it does, the finish is ruined. Understanding stauration points, Sweet, you can easily understand how layering pigmentation will cause darkening. Take a crayon and shade in a box on a piece of paper. The first layer of wax will bond to the paper and the color will be as labeled. Go over that color again and the color will darken a bit. Go over that same box again and again and what happens? Not only is the color significantly darker, the top coats of wax are flaking and if you pick up the paper and shake it or cause stress to it, some of that wax will come right off. Understanding the science of why the Hyatt Method works and why it is destined for failure is what scares me. Now as nature erodes some of that oil and the top bond is broken (evidenced by readily apparent and dramatic color shift) the wood after a full year will be ready to accept more oil. This is when R-A-D comes in. It helps to make the wood readily accept the finish by actually breaking the bond of the former finish and removing some of it. Have you ever heard of "the moisture test" which is basically placing five or six drops of water onto a finish and seeing if it beads? Any oil/based sealer manufacturer will tell you, if the water beads at the surface, you cannot apply another coat of sealer. You either have to perform stripping or wait longer fro Mother Nature to do her thing. Hope this helps clarify things. One final note.. You have to understand the millions of dolars thrown at R&D by these sealer manufacturers yet stil they come out with crap that does not hold up for more than 12-18 months at best. If the technique to superior longevity was as simple as piling on layers with no increasing odds for premature finish failure, wouldn't it stand to reason that they would suggest it?

I teach college level classes and I always have to do a session on "evaluating information." I am always dumbfounded when most of my students can't figure out how to click on the "About" tab of a Web site to find out who sponsors it, or read a URL, or find the author of an article, the staff of a political news site or non-profit, etc. Often the sponsors of the Web site are listed right up at the top of the page and yet many of my students don't even bother to look at that part or read it. let alone figure out what it all means. The first question to ask is "Who is writing this and what are their qualifications and editorial policies." For starters, if it is not abundantly clear on the Web site the answers to these questions, then it is not a "good" source. Then, take a few minutes to ponder the answers and that will help you immensely in understanding what you are reading. Then check the DATE. I have had friends posting their outrage about incidents they think just happened and they happened six years ago! I can't be credibly impressed by your outrage if it totally passed you by on your care meter when it actually happened. I have found though, that it is a little more difficult to spot "news" sources that have heavily edited quotes or pasted them together to give them a different meaning than the person speaking them did. If something sounds a little skewed to me I seek out the whole transcript of what the person said, and that takes a little more sophisticated Internet searching skill, which is not taught in schools either. For example, and article like, "The Pope Endorses Donald Trump" or "The Pope Criticizes Donald Trump" are usually high on speculation and low on actual information from the Pope. But I have been impressed when I have actually sought out the entire speech that the Pope made. It is usually quite nuanced, addressing matters of Catholic spirituality, and what the other articles are quoting are random snippets of words pieced together. This trend really pisses me off, very unethical and to my way of thinking, a result of very poor schooling on ethical standards for presenting information.