It's 1350. The Bubonic Plague is raging. People are dropping left and right.
The clever scientists at Rutgers University have the solution.
Don't bother finding a cure. Breed up a heartier human.
The new human breed is sterile, but that's ok. Mother will LOVE "BetterBaby Rutdan." No more worries about plague. Baby's face has less character? You can't have everything.
Rutgers can be proud that it saved the world. Until the human race quickly dies out.
My friend, Richard, just passed away at an early age.
He was a brilliant thinker, and was always helpful in the workplace.
I wish that I were capable of writing a diary that could reflect his own sophisticated nature, but can only do what I can.
Richard was also a friend to wildlife, and his passion was helping save wildlife habitat.
We planted a Dogwood in his honor (we thought). We knew Richard would like the Dogwood because in the fall it bears fruit that birds and small animals relish. We also like the legend of the blossoms, even though we are not Christian. http://www.the4cs.com/...
After the planting, I read the small print of the label that came with the Dogwood.
It was in a cute poem that I read the bad news:
"...this Dogwood is a vigorous grower,
and a heavy bloomer to boot!
It offers you excellent fall color,
but doesn't produce any fruit!"
No fruit?
Research on the web showed that around 1998, a serious disease, Anthractnose, was killing off Dogwoods.
Rutgers University engineered Cornus x 'Rutdan,' a hybrid Dogwood that is resistant to disease. http://www.pennsylvaniapride.com/...
The engineered Dogwood bears no fruit. This is because it is sterile.
Other signs that nature does not like this Dogwood is that it does not bloom at the first of the season, like real Dogwoods. It's petals lack the character of the real dogwood.
This synthetic Dogwood has taken over in Garden Centers. It is marketed as "Celestial White Flowering Dogwood." Nothing on the label tells the consumer that this is a sterile engineered tree.
I cannot find a nursery in the NY area selling a real Dogwood.
No fall fruit for the birds to ingest, and deposit in the woods propitiating the species.
But garden centers happily make their sales to unwitting customers.
As the old Dogwoods start to die off what will become of the species?
Looking out at this tree as I type, I wonder whether to axe it down and replace it with a small, baby Dogwood - the only kind that I can find on the web. It will be years before a mail-order will look nice in the yard.
Whatever, but this "Celestial White Flowering Dogwood" does not honor the memory of our friend. And I wonder if other plant species may be vanishing because of bio consumer fraud.