As one of the "collect with collectors" authors for this issue, and an ABS
member, I feel I should respond a bit.

My article on collecting wild hackberrys and winged elms in Tulsa , Ok. with
Pat Coen/Mikle Finnigan was from personal experience this earely spring.
They found ( observed) these trees growing on a farmers cattle range and
approached him about collecting. He was glad to get rid of them and they
enjoy a great relationship with him which includes gifts of tasty food
items as thanks. The holes are immediately filled upon collecting. At the
speed which they can be collected they will be there MMMAANNNYYY years just
collecting off one tiny area of this ranchers personal property.

As for collecting with Jim Doyle, the collecting is done on HIS OWN PROPERTY
at his nursery! from stock amongst overgrown old fields. I guess I don't
need to defend that any more!

I can't speak for the others collectors arrangements.

If this raffle works out well I thought of joining in the next time with a
collecting trip locally for Taxus from one of my favorite sites. I simply
pay the land owner to hand dig some of his trees.

As with most rants....this one wasn't thought out well. ( believe me....I
recognize one not thought out well! :)

The comment about "cleaned out areas" was a bit out of context with the rest
of the statement. What "was" is past,..... what is "now" is important.
Regards,
Dale Cochoy
Wild Things Bonsai Studio
Yakimono no Kokoro Bonsai Pottery
ABS Board of Directors



..----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lewis"
Subject: [IBC] Bonsai Journal - Summer (Mostly a RANT)


Nice Potentilla article in the summer ABS Bonsai Journal, but as
for the bulk of the issue, I think we need to re-name ABS to
American Bonsai Collector's Society (ABC).

One of the collecting articles includes a telling paragraph (near
the end) about post-war Japanese collectors in the American west:

" . . . . some areas are totally cleaned out, and one can find an
area where there should be trees but the pockets are empty. . .
."

I have seen the effects of over collecting in other rocky
areas -- including protected areas -- out west and in the North
Carolina mountains. Trees simply do NOT grow back in these
environmentally stressed areas, but collectors don't give a damn.
It is, I think, a terrible indictment of bonsai collectors, and
ABS is promoting collecting in these wild areas more and more --
to the point where they're raffling off trips with collectors at
their meeting this year -- the rape, pillage, and plunder raffle.
:-(

Oh well, nothing _I_ can do about it but rant.
Sigh . . .

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - who did not
renew his ABS membership this year, but who keeps getting the
magazine so probably shouldn't knock a freebie?????

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