I am going by the peach bible, Peaches of New York, for the origin of Indian Free. Here is what it states: Indian Blood Freestone. 3. Am. Pom. Soc, Cat. 28. 1873. 4. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 25. 1876. Blood Free was probably raised by John M. Ives, Salem, Massachusetts, and is distinct from Blood Cling in having its stone free. The American Pomological Society placed the variety in its list of fruits in 1873 as Indian Blood Freestone but in 1897 shortened the name to Blood Free. Tree vigorous, hardy; fruit of medium size, compressed; apex roundish; skin greenish-white overspread with splashes and stripes of dark red; flesh blood-red throughout, juicy, coarse, tough and meaty; quality fair; stone free; season very late. This description (besides the fair rating) seems accurate, in particular the "very late". This description is also quoted in the ARS system which likely has the Indian Free that nurseries are propagating today. I looked at that Texas bulletin and it stated mid August which seems too early. So, I think the Indian Free of today is this same peach with reasonably high probability. There were many red-fleshed peaches floating around the US so there always could have been a mix-up somewhere over the years. Scott

I really don't think this is Pyrus calleryana. We see a lot of escaped callery pear around here, and in my experience the escaped trees always look pretty much like the variety 'Bradford.' This shrub looks quite different. You can't tell from the photo, but the shrub's leaves are somewhat hairy, whereas Pyrus calleryana leaves are hairless. Pyrus calleryana leaves are also glossy, somewhat leathery, and toothed. The mystery shrub leaves, in contrast, aren't glossy or leathery, and they are completely untoothed. I would believe that an escaped Pyrus calleryana could revert to being thorny, but I've very doubtful it would change all those leaf characteristics.

Political correctness is fine. Foolish purchasing decisions are not fine. There's nothing wrong in deciding not to buy furniture made in China, especially so-called high-end furniture, since it's crystal clear that the Chinese furniture manufacturers can't hold a candle to American craftspeople. I speak from experience --- We bought a PA House Hallmark Cherry Hutch in about 1983; I presume it was made in PA, or at least in the US, it's lasted wonderfully. In 1999 we moved into a house and finally had room for a dining set. Since PA House was still making the same collection, we bought a matching table, 6 side chairs, 2 arm chairs and a mobile server. I wish we had known La-Z-Boy had outsourced this wonderful product to China. It took almost 3/4 of a year for delivery. Within 3 weeks, the woods in the table swelled so that with leaves in the table, there are very noticeable gaps on the table surface. Within two months, every chair had mild to severe splits in the wood backs. And the surface of the mobile server (which open up like a book to provide a large serving surface) warped so that one "leaf" stands up at the back while the other stands up at the front. Charming crap, they make in China. My months of complaints to PA House/La-Z-Boy went unanswered. I had to file a complaint with the North Carolina Attorney General's Office - only then did the company respond, and then only to the AG's Office. The letter signed by Yvette Nixon of PA House, was dated 9/27/06. Ms. Nixon said PA House would repair the furniture and would contact me. It's now 10/5/06. I still haven't heard from Ms. Nixon, have you? STAY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM THE PURE UNADULTERATED CRAP, CRAP, CRAP MARKETED BY LA-Z-BOY UNDER THE PA HOUSE LABEL, BUT MADE BY UNDERPAID DRONES IN CHINA!!!! BUY AMERICAN !!!! FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS INFORMATION !!!! DON'T LET ANYONE ELSE BUY FROM PA HOUSE !!!!

Well, Disney obviously had a big stake in this year's show, but the principal sponsors were still PNC Bank and Subaru. . .and, no, there were practically no references to classic movies, save in a few of the individual competitions, i.e. such as Beach Blanket Bingo in the seaside gardens contest. After a short while, we just sort of ignored the thematic concept and thoroughly enjoyed some of the great exhibits. Good news for next year's show: the theme will be National Parks & Forests, and will be co-sponsored by the National Parks Service. Carl