The Winter 2007-2008 issue of Organic Gardening (a ghost of what it
used to be, unfortunately) has a blurb titled "Soil Makes You Happy":

Quote
Proof that dirty fingers lead to clean minds.
Findings: A common soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, is an
effective vaccine for leprosy. Researches began to evaluate its value
in treating asthma, tuberculosis, and cancer. When cancer patients
treated with M. vaccae reported feeling inexplicably happier,
neuroscientist Christopher Lowry, PhD., of the U.K.'s University of
Bristol injected mice with the bacterium, then examined their brains.
The mice's immune systems were stimulated, causing brain cells to
release serotonin, a mood-altering, pleasure-inducing hormone. Our
Advice: Dig in! Be happy!
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

Ann

Most text books treat soil as if it is dead. Defined as silt, loam and clay
and rocks. Where have you seen it defined as having an enormous amount of
living organisms? I only know of one source. Its great that you pointed
out that soil is alive as well as daed. A duality of living and dead both.
Just as wood is alive and dead.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.

"Ann" wrote in message
...
The Winter 2007-2008 issue of Organic Gardening (a ghost of what it
used to be, unfortunately) has a blurb titled "Soil Makes You Happy":

Quote
Proof that dirty fingers lead to clean minds.
Findings: A common soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, is an
effective vaccine for leprosy. Researches began to evaluate its value
in treating asthma, tuberculosis, and cancer. When cancer patients
treated with M. vaccae reported feeling inexplicably happier,
neuroscientist Christopher Lowry, PhD., of the U.K.'s University of
Bristol injected mice with the bacterium, then examined their brains.
The mice's immune systems were stimulated, causing brain cells to
release serotonin, a mood-altering, pleasure-inducing hormone. Our
Advice: Dig in! Be happy!
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

In article ,
"symplastless" wrote:

Most text books treat soil as if it is dead. Defined as silt, loam and clay
and rocks. Where have you seen it defined as having an enormous amount of
living organisms? I only know of one source. Its great that you pointed
out that soil is alive as well as daed. A duality of living and dead both.
Just as wood is alive and dead.

It is flowering,
The cut duckweed at the roadside,
In the evening rain.
- Buson (1716-1784)
--

Billy

Bush & Cheney, Behind Bars

"symplastless" expounded:

Most text books treat soil as if it is dead. Defined as silt, loam and clay
and rocks. Where have you seen it defined as having an enormous amount of
living organisms? I only know of one source. Its great that you pointed
out that soil is alive as well as daed. A duality of living and dead both.
Just as wood is alive and dead.

You must read the wrong books, I've never, ever read that soil is
dead! Try Teaming with Microbes, to start, or any good book on
composting, etc. .
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

Webster online
1: firm land : earth2 a: the upper layer of earth that may be dug or plowed
and in which plants grow b: the superficial unconsolidated and usually
weathered part of the mantle of a planet and especially of the earth3:
country, land our native soil4: the agricultural life or calling5: a
medium in which something takes hold and develops

Nothing about living organisms. BTW, soil is dead and alive both. A
duality just as trees are alive and dead both. We have no word for a
substance that is both living and dead - wood, soil.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.



"Ann" wrote in message
...
"symplastless" expounded:

Most text books treat soil as if it is dead. Defined as silt, loam and
clay
and rocks. Where have you seen it defined as having an enormous amount of
living organisms? I only know of one source. Its great that you pointed
out that soil is alive as well as daed. A duality of living and dead
both.
Just as wood is alive and dead.

You must read the wrong books, I've never, ever read that soil is
dead! Try Teaming with Microbes, to start, or any good book on
composting, etc. .
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

In article ,
"symplastless" wrote:

Webster online
1: firm land : earth2 a: the upper layer of earth that may be dug or plowed
and in which plants grow b: the superficial unconsolidated and usually
weathered part of the mantle of a planet and especially of the earth3:
country, land our native soil4: the agricultural life or calling5: a
medium in which something takes hold and develops

Nothing about living organisms. BTW, soil is dead and alive both. A
duality just as trees are alive and dead both. We have no word for a
substance that is both living and dead - wood, soil.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.



"Ann" wrote in message
...
"symplastless" expounded:

Most text books treat soil as if it is dead. Defined as silt, loam and
clay
and rocks. Where have you seen it defined as having an enormous amount of
living organisms? I only know of one source. Its great that you pointed
out that soil is alive as well as daed. A duality of living and dead
both.
Just as wood is alive and dead.

You must read the wrong books, I've never, ever read that soil is
dead! Try Teaming with Microbes, to start, or any good book on
composting, etc. .
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

John, I know that you are just responding to an attack. Don't fall into
the same hole as Clinton when he used the dictionary to define sex
(legally I agreed with him on this but condemn him for his stance on
East Timore and Bosnia). Following the same logic we are just a couple
of dollars worth of inanimate chemicals, whose form, matrix if you will,
conjures up the phenomenon of life. As much as it grieves me to agree
with the Bush supporting witch from Massachusetts, read "Teaming with
Microbes". Some of it is a little lame but by and large it is a good
book. This news group isn't rec.hydroponics. Gardening implies fecund
soil, that can nurture phototrophic creatures. Life begets life.

Peace
--

Billy

Bush & Cheney, Behind Bars

Billy expounded:

John, I know that you are just responding to an attack.

WTF are you talking about? I am not attacking anyone. But, as usual,
you are. Troll.

Don't fall into
the same hole as Clinton when he used the dictionary to define sex
(legally I agreed with him on this but condemn him for his stance on
East Timore and Bosnia). Following the same logic we are just a couple
of dollars worth of inanimate chemicals, whose form, matrix if you will,
conjures up the phenomenon of life.

Obsessed troll.


As much as it grieves me to agree
with the Bush supporting witch from Massachusetts,

You are so off the mark it isn't funny, but that's your agenda isn't
it, troll?

read "Teaming with
Microbes". Some of it is a little lame but by and large it is a good
book. This news group isn't rec.hydroponics. Gardening implies fecund
soil, that can nurture phototrophic creatures. Life begets life.

Which is all I was saying to him in the first place, without the
vitriolic attacks and political bullshit. Really, troll, people can
and do thing of things other than what you think of.

What a sad little man you are.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

"symplastless" expounded:

Webster online
1: firm land : earth2 a: the upper layer of earth that may be dug or plowed
and in which plants grow b: the superficial unconsolidated and usually
weathered part of the mantle of a planet and especially of the earth3:
country, land our native soil4: the agricultural life or calling5: a
medium in which something takes hold and develops

Nothing about living organisms. BTW, soil is dead and alive both. A
duality just as trees are alive and dead both. We have no word for a
substance that is both living and dead - wood, soil.

John, nothing is as cut and dry as you seem to see it. Soil is a
community consisting of what you've definied above and the organisms
that live in it. Without the organisms that live within the soil
nothing will grow. I don't care what a piece of paper says; nailing
down a dry definition isn't going to help our plants grow. Feed your
soil with organic matter and your plants will grow (my definition of
plants: anything that photosynthesizes, so that includes your beloved
trees). )
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

"symplastless" wrote in message
. ..
Webster online
1: firm land : earth2 a: the upper layer of earth that may be dug or
plowed and in which plants grow b: the superficial unconsolidated and
usually weathered part of the mantle of a planet and especially of the
earth3: country, land our native soil4: the agricultural life or
calling5: a medium in which something takes hold and develops

Nothing about living organisms. BTW, soil is dead and alive both. A
duality just as trees are alive and dead both. We have no word for a
substance that is both living and dead - wood, soil.



Beware of so-called tree experts who think Webster was a gardener.

[Following the same logic we are just a couple
of dollars worth of inanimate chemicals, whose form, matrix if you will,
conjures up the phenomenon of life. ]

By weight we are made up of 98% of the same chemicals as trees. What makes
us different is the way the chemicals are connected.
(carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus)
Life is a journey powered by the sun. We are made up of chemicals borrowed
from the earth. In death, those chemicals are returned. The theme of life
appears to be buildup and breakdown.

--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.

In article ,
"symplastless" wrote:

[Following the same logic we are just a couple
of dollars worth of inanimate chemicals, whose form, matrix if you will,
conjures up the phenomenon of life. ]

By weight we are made up of 98% of the same chemicals as trees. What makes
us different is the way the chemicals are connected.
(carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus)
Life is a journey powered by the sun. We are made up of chemicals borrowed
from the earth. In death, those chemicals are returned. The theme of life
appears to be buildup and breakdown.

All analogies breakdown at some point, but I prefer to think of it as a
relay race for survival with the baton of life being passed on to the
next participant.

The evidence that comes from rocks is that life was once very simple, by
modern standards, but the struggle to survive gave rise to new forms of
life that adapted to local conditions for survival. From mass one cell
reproduction, to exploiting dry land, to sexual reproduction, to sheer
mass in size, to conceptual thinking, it is all about survival, not of
the individual or even the species, but life itself.

Reminds me, I need breakfast:-)
--

Billy

Bush & Cheney, Behind Bars

Billy wrote:
In article ,
"symplastless" wrote:

[Following the same logic we are just a couple
of dollars worth of inanimate chemicals, whose form, matrix if you
will, conjures up the phenomenon of life. ]

By weight we are made up of 98% of the same chemicals as trees.
What makes us different is the way the chemicals are connected.
(carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus)
Life is a journey powered by the sun. We are made up of chemicals
borrowed from the earth. In death, those chemicals are returned.
The theme of life appears to be buildup and breakdown.

All analogies breakdown at some point, but I prefer to think of it
as
a relay race for survival with the baton of life being passed on to
the next participant.

The evidence that comes from rocks is that life was once very
simple,
by modern standards, but the struggle to survive gave rise to new
forms of life that adapted to local conditions for survival. From
mass one cell reproduction, to exploiting dry land, to sexual
reproduction, to sheer mass in size, to conceptual thinking, it is
all about survival, not of the individual or even the species, but
life itself.

Reminds me, I need breakfast:-)

And I think I'll go out and turn over a spade of dirt next to the
compost pile and see how the fishing worms are doing!! Afraid of the
import fish anymore, so maybe I'll try fresh caught this week!

Tom J

In article ,
Ann wrote:

Billy expounded:

John, I know that you are just responding to an attack.

WTF are you talking about? I am not attacking anyone. But, as usual,
you are. Troll.

Don't fall into
the same hole as Clinton when he used the dictionary to define sex
(legally I agreed with him on this but condemn him for his stance on
East Timore and Bosnia). Following the same logic we are just a couple
of dollars worth of inanimate chemicals, whose form, matrix if you will,
conjures up the phenomenon of life.

Obsessed troll.


As much as it grieves me to agree
with the Bush supporting witch from Massachusetts,

You are so off the mark it isn't funny, but that's your agenda isn't
it, troll?

read "Teaming with
Microbes". Some of it is a little lame but by and large it is a good
book. This news group isn't rec.hydroponics. Gardening implies fecund
soil, that can nurture phototrophic creatures. Life begets life.

Which is all I was saying to him in the first place, without the
vitriolic attacks and political bullshit. Really, troll, people can
and do thing of things other than what you think of.

What a sad little man you are.

Get a grip lady before you come off the tracks. John is always being
attacked by Don Staples and it was to Don I was referring. Anything
else, is in what is left of your mind.

And you wonder why we don't have these little chats more often?

I'll be sad tomorrow, when I return to work:-( but today I have off:-)

See ya in the funny pages.

Oh, you never denied that you are a Bushy.

--
Bush Behind Bars

Billy
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/

On Nov 18, 5:39 am, Ann wrote:
Billy expounded:

John, I know that you are just responding to an attack.

WTF are you talking about? I am not attacking anyone. But, as usual,
you are. Troll.

Don't fall into
the same hole as Clinton when he used the dictionary to define sex
(legally I agreed with him on this but condemn him for his stance on
East Timore and Bosnia). Following the same logic we are just a couple
of dollars worth of inanimate chemicals, whose form, matrix if you will,
conjures up the phenomenon of life.

Obsessed troll.

As much as it grieves me to agree
with the Bush supporting witch from Massachusetts,

You are so off the mark it isn't funny, but that's your agenda isn't
it, troll?

read "Teaming withMicrobes". Some of it is a little lame but by and large it is a good
book. This news group isn't rec.hydroponics. Gardening implies fecund
soil, that can nurture phototrophic creatures. Life begets life.

Which is all I was saying to him in the first place, without the
vitriolic attacks and political bullshit. Really, troll, people can
and do thing of things other than what you think of.

What a sad little man you are.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************
Thanks, Ann, for the mention of Teaming WIth Microbes: A Gardener's
Guide to the Soil Food Web. The reason I wrote it and the reason
Timber Press published it, is because so darn few books every talk
about what make soil soil. Read most composting books, even, and they
dont acknowledge the soil food web. Heck, even most organic gardeners
still talk about fertilizing.....when they are actually feeding the
microbes who in turn feed the plants. The book is now in its third
printing, being translated into French and all essentially within one
year of publication. It isn't the writing that has caused this book to
be a barn burner.....it is the subject matter...so lacking in the
literature....

Thanks again. and may the microbes be with you and your soil where
ever you go!

Jeff Lowenfels

In article
,
wrote:

On Nov 18, 5:39 am, Ann wrote:
Billy expounded:

John, I know that you are just responding to an attack.

WTF are you talking about? I am not attacking anyone. But, as usual,
you are. Troll.

Don't fall into
the same hole as Clinton when he used the dictionary to define sex
(legally I agreed with him on this but condemn him for his stance on
East Timore and Bosnia). Following the same logic we are just a couple
of dollars worth of inanimate chemicals, whose form, matrix if you will,
conjures up the phenomenon of life.

Obsessed troll.

As much as it grieves me to agree
with the Bush supporting witch from Massachusetts,

You are so off the mark it isn't funny, but that's your agenda isn't
it, troll?

read "Teaming withMicrobes". Some of it is a little lame but by and large
it is a good
book. This news group isn't rec.hydroponics. Gardening implies fecund
soil, that can nurture phototrophic creatures. Life begets life.

Which is all I was saying to him in the first place, without the
vitriolic attacks and political bullshit. Really, troll, people can
and do thing of things other than what you think of.

What a sad little man you are.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************
Thanks, Ann, for the mention of Teaming WIth Microbes: A Gardener's
Guide to the Soil Food Web. The reason I wrote it and the reason
Timber Press published it, is because so darn few books every talk
about what make soil soil. Read most composting books, even, and they
dont acknowledge the soil food web. Heck, even most organic gardeners
still talk about fertilizing.....when they are actually feeding the
microbes who in turn feed the plants. The book is now in its third
printing, being translated into French and all essentially within one
year of publication. It isn't the writing that has caused this book to
be a barn burner.....it is the subject matter...so lacking in the
literature....

Thanks again. and may the microbes be with you and your soil where
ever you go!

Jeff Lowenfels

And may everyones intestinal flora prosper too. Now if we can only
give the bovine respect so we can respect ourselves. Health that
elusive word that suggests more not less. Not the absence of complaints
but the joy of life.

Bill Waxing as I cook a tomato and Onion. Gearing up for family and in
one way we don¹t have time but in another extra hands and mind can do
more than dance.

--

S Jersey USA Zone 5 Shade
http://www.ocutech.com/ High tech Vison aid