The Nearly Good Life

In a garden I know, one of a group of four trees has died. It was a willow and had been allowed to grow naturally whilst the others had been coppiced regularly. Why did the unpruned tree die and the others remain vigourous?
We may suppose that the increasing surface compared with the volume of living tissue and increased difficulties of transport with increase of size may play their part in the process of senility and that coppiced trees, assuming the cuts do not bring about fungal infection, will have increased life spans. In the same way a Lavender hedge trimmed anually will long outlive a single specimen left unpruned.
With trees as with other perennials, it is only a small proportion that remains alive, and it is the persistance of the older non-living parts which enable the superficial living parts to remain joined together so that we speak of the entire structure, living and dead as an old tree. In one sense a long established variety of potatoe may also be termed an ancient plant, because the tubers we plant today are the youngest surviving parts of an individual that we can trace back to the day that the variety originated; the material connections having perished and the living parts separated in space.
Actually, the willow died of honey fungus, which is rampant in the garden and has killed a number of large trees. So far the fate has not befallen a hard pruned specimen so perhaps the
reason that pruned plants outlive the unpruned is that regular pruning innoculates against honey fungus with the airborne spores entering the cut living tissue.
Just a thought.

Posted by Tony at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Much talk yesterday about Blair's semi apology for slavery.
I, and Penny, spent a week in Malta recently and on a visit to the Church of St Lawrence to view the famous painting of the eponymous martyr being barbecued, we met a local historian who gave us a new insight into slavery. He pointed out the small chapels within the church, each of which was endowed by local guilds or artisans, such as stonemasons and carpenters. Each guild member had to subscribe to a fund for the ransom of any guild member who was captured into slavery by muslim marauders or corsairs.
In the 16th century there were acredited agents who sailed about the Mediterranean arranging such ransoms; a habit which ensured that kidnapping remained a lucrative business even if a plentiful supply was not required for the Sultan's galleys, which it was.
Later I read that these corsairs had even raided the east coast of Britain for slaves, and in the 17th century totally depopulated an offshore island of Iceland, dragging those unfortunates off to a short but desperate life at the oars.
Now what I want to know is, who's apologising for all this? And the ongoing slavery being practiced in parts of Africa to this day? Perhaps Blair will apologise for it as well, after all, he has the same responsibility as he had for Britain's part in the trade - absolutely none.
Incidentally, the Maltese historian remarked that there was no known case of a female slave being ransomed; spoiled goods he opined. Now that really is shameful.
It's a bit wet on the allotment, but the Broad Beans are well up and the purple Broccoli has begun to sprout. The digging is completed, but at these temperatures the weeds are still growing and there are even a few strawberries to be seen.

Posted by Tony at 7:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)