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.

As far as the rest of the issue goes, I truly enjoyed the article
and pictures about the Pacific Rim's "Artful Environments"
exhibit and wish others would do the same. Otherwise, there were
the usual plethora of typos and typesetting mistakes, and a final
picture that is NOT an alligator juniper, but is a repeat of the
previous pic (but larger) of a plant that was never mentioned in
the article.

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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