Patchouli and Black Walnut Trees ** Was: Patch and Other EO Price Increases

[Guest guest]

Howdy Dave,

 

>

> > I can't keep up with the price changes on Patchouli .. they

> > are moving too quickly.

>

> [Dave]: I have read - and I do not know how true this is - that patchouli

> has been severely overharvested, to the extent that it is simply

> vanishing,

> similar to the large walnut trees of North America.

 

 

Might be true .. but I'm not aware of it being in any type of danger.

Maybe this is a rumor .. from time to time folks who want to appear to be

authorities on this or that throw out garbage and pretty soon it becomes

widespread misinformation. If it is true (and I think it is not) then we

can expect prices to continue to climb because demand will not decline.

Patch is a common ingredient in pricey perfumes, and its used in the

products industry to scent soaps, air fragrances and some paper towels .. it

is even one of the ingredients used by the two major companies in the world

that produce " secret " ingredients to enhance the flavor of cigarettes. Of

course, folks who toke a weed now and then like it cause it can mask the

odor of marijuana.

 

Patch is a very prolific plant .. its hard to harm it. It can

withstand very hot weather and can survive in drought conditions and spring

back when watered .. but weather conditions during the 2007 crop year were

pretty extreme. Over harvesting means to me destruction of the plants ..

but the leaves of Patch are harvested many times during the year so its not

a norm to destroy the plant. Also, though the lion's share of Patch is wild

grown .. there is a lot of cultivated Patch .. its easy to grow from the

seeds and (like Damask Roses) it can even be grown from cuttings .. no need

for seeds or root stocks. So .. I am not inclined to believe it is in

danger .. but if it is .. then the danger can be easily corrected.

 

As for Walnut Trees .. I think you are referring to the Black Walnut

(Juglans nigra). Though there were many more of them when I was a yonker

they are still pretty thick all along the wilderness areas of the East Coast

and all throughout the Southeast. Many were cut down (some were even

rustled) because the wood is very valuable for making fine furniture. But

farmers and small land owners cut down many of them because they are toxic

to other plant life. Tomatoes, potatoes and many other veggies, flowers

and other plant forms die quickly when planted within the root zone of a

Black Walnut .. and because they grow slowly and grow large, that toxic zone

can sometimes be even 70-80 feet away from the trunk .. not good for someone

who owns a small lot and wants to grow other plants. Finally, the pollen

from Black Walnut trees can produce allergies in both two laig and four laig

critters.

 

Not to say they don't have their place in the Big Circle .. they just don't

fit well into the circle humans exist in. I grew up picking the nuts off

the ground .. spreading them on the road so cars would crush the outer

shells, then collecting them in a pile and pounding them with an ax handle

to separate the dried outer shells from the inner rock hard shells. When

the meat in the nut dried we used hammers to break them open and Mama would

make the finest desserts mankind ever done et .. but we didn't allow them to

grow in our yards. I can look out from my land here in Tennessee and see

dozens of them in the edge of tree lines on all sides .. probably many more

inside those patches of woods.

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch .. http://www.AV-AT.com

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

> Might be true .. but I'm not aware of it being in any type of danger.

> Maybe this is a rumor .. from time to time folks who want to

> appear to be authorities on this or that throw out garbage

> and pretty soon it becomes

> widespread misinformation.

 

[Dave]: Agreed. I threw it out there for what it's worth, which could

easily be zip. I can vouch for the fact that the natural foods and

supplements industry is guilty of as much spin through omission and

misinformation as any other. Doesn't mean they're all bad, because they

aren't. It does mean caveat emptor as always.

 

 

 

Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.15.3/1082 - Release 10/20/2007

2:59 PM

[Guest guest]

> As for Walnut Trees .. I think you are referring to the Black Walnut

> (Juglans nigra). Though there were many more of them when

> I was a yonker

> they are still pretty thick all along the wilderness areas of

> the East Coast

> and all throughout the Southeast. Many were cut down (some were even

> rustled) because the wood is very valuable for making fine

> furniture. But

> farmers and small land owners cut down many of them because

> they are toxic

> to other plant life.

 

[Dave]: All corect; you know your history. In the early days of this

country, there were forests of huge, ancient walnut trees which promptly

began to disappear for all the reasons you mentioned. Vintage furniture and

even buildings are often made from massive pieces of black walnut. Today,

such wood is rare and prized. Modern walnut furniture is nearly always

veneered.

 

An ex brother-in-law of mine was a salvage artist and general scrounger who

had the knack of finding incredible deals. He contracted to knock down a

house which turned out to be built with massive black walnut timbers, some

more than twenty feet long. He dismantled the structure board by board, and

in addition to his demolition fee he earned enough from those old beams to

build three modern houses (not that that's what he did with the money, but

that's another tale and very OT).

 

 

 

Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.15.3/1082 - Release 10/20/2007

2:59 PM