On Wed, 25 Aug 2004 13:13:47 GMT, Salty Thumb
wrote:

Frogleg wrote in
:

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. What I meant was that when there is a
lively exchange of anecdotal material and folklore remedies for a
problem, it is pretty much a given that the "solutions" proposed are
wishful thinking. For every "I sprinkled human hair around and no
longer have a problem," there are a dozen "I tried the hair thing and
it didn't make a bit of difference." If any of these myths worked
reliably, there would be no discussion. Someone would ask how to
prevent deer (or rabbits) from eating domestic greenery, the reply
would be "Avon Skin-So-Soft on cotton balls", with 2 "yes, this works"
follow-ons.

I agree except I don't think having a discussion indicates the useful /
uselessness of a folk remedy any more than having a discussion about a
manufactured herbicide (use full strength, use 2x concentration, 2x
doesn't work as well, RTFL, use a paint brush to apply, doesn't work at
all XYZ plants, etc) indicates that herbicide is a folk remedy.

What I mean by "discussion" is an ongoing thread that includes "my
uncle always..." and "the pieplates worked/didn't work for me..."
introducing all the mythological fixes we've read dozens of times.

Obviously, "discussion" doesn't mean folklore, or there'd be
rec.gardens.folklore and rec.gardens.RTFL.

How would *you* distinguish between passing along the 'fact' that soap
on a rope will keep deer away from your azaleas, and the information
that RoundUp *doesn't* work on plants with thick, waxy leaves like ivy
and Vinca?

While this discussion turned out to be as lively as a bottle fish
emulsion, does the fact that we are talking about it affect the validity
of your assertion (while not a folk remedy per se, but could be
considered as folk wisdom)?

Well, at least we're not discussing the many and varied ways to get
around the serious business of putting up a deer fence. :-)

For what it's worth, soap is also recommended as possibly effective for
"minor deer damage problems" on p.11 of Rodale's _All-New Encyclopedia of
Organic Gardening_, 1997. If it doesn't work, you can take a cold
shower afterwards.

"Minor deer damage"? Fawns nibbling daintily at just the *tips* of the
asparagus? :-) *I* think it means "not very hungry deer."