John Barleycorn

But you dont say if it jammed the sprocket & actually stalled the saw, like its supposed to.

Something on the radio the other day about it being a problem in the Cheddar Gorge area.

Looks great. See you were using the "Norman" technique. The Anglo-Saxon method of squaring was to use large side axes, not adzes.

Wonder the kid wasnt killed. I know a bloke with a metal plate in his head & nerve damage to his arm after a leaning Ash split & chucked the saw back at him.

Whats your problem, just drill a few holes in the floor.

Yeah, they all come with runing water as standard (and so does mine)

Nick Brown says that he invented "Nikwax" down his Dads garden shed. I have a very strong suspicion that its composition is beeswax, white spirit & linseed oil.

Two points here. Are the apples tip bearing, or spur bearing cultivars ? Obviously if they are tip bearing then any pruning will damage yield. Apples are generally pruned for shape in the summer.

About 30 years ago I remember seeing a display of a massive wooden Victorian "cart" for moving seriously mature trees at Kew. The process was to initialy dig around half the tree, install half a box structure & fill with enriched soil. A year later they would dig out the other half, install the rest of the box. Then bring the open end of the "cart" around the tree & winch the tree to just clear the ground.

There was an enormous ammount of it on the gorse, the colour matching the gorse flowers themselves.

Yellow Brain Fungus (with strands of sheep wool) Growing on Gorse, Dartmoor

Anyone know of diesel powered chainsaws ?

George Osborne with a chainsaw & no PPE just about sums it up. This bloke is a walking disaster

Had my rusty old heating oil tank replaced 2 years ago at vast expense. But the cost of a clean up had it got into ground & pond does not bear thinking about. And of course it is unlikely that insurance would have paid out for having allowed it to leak due to decay.

Quite frankly I dont believe that any of the measures currently being taken will affect the course of the disease. A few years ago I was reading that nurseries were responsible for spreading it. Just look at at the case of Phytophthora Infestans (Potato Blight), you read all this stuff about hygiene, (burning affected plants, NOT composting, NOT putting potato peelings in compost heap etc) BUT the fact is it does not make a wit of difference. Some years when the conditions are right (plants under stress, prolonged wet, warm etc) it breaks out, other years it does not. The spores are everywhere, just waiting for the right conditions !

For a less Stihl biased view of the early history of the chainsaw, there is some interesting stuff in "Barnacle Parp's Chainsaw Guide" by Walter Hall, published 1973 in the US & I dont think it was ever reprinted. Covers Stihl's invention & US manufacturers who copied the early ones. Husqvarna hardly gets a mention. If you PM me I can post you a photocopy, or email a scan.

Not an easy subject. Since Andreas Stihl invented the chainsaw as we know it in 1926 and Husqvarna did not get around to making one until 1959. With all his patents Stihl had the world to himself untill the second world war when other countries cancelled the patents & American manufacturers began churning out copies. Stihl's factories were also destroyed in the war, but by 1948 had rebuilt & again taken the lead Husqvarna seem to have succeded through innovation. 1969 Husqvarna brought out the Model 180, the first chainsaw with an anti-vibration device. 1970s, the company continued to introduce new chainsaws, including models that were lighter and easier to use. 1973 The first chainsaw with an automatic chain break. 1980 that was made with composite materials instead of metal, which resulted in a much lighter saw. Read more: The History of the Husqvarna Chainsaw | eHow.co.uk The History of the Husqvarna Chainsaw | eHow.co.uk

Bag it up & take around the horse people

OK, I am preparing to go out with a torch & collect it before some rabbit or vole trashes it. How should I preserve it ? I am thinking of in a plastic bag in the fridge, hope the wife doesnt mistake it for a cauliflower ! Or what is the best way to preserve it ?

Provisionaly identified as Sparassis Crispa. Although it is growing on my lawn, nowhere near pines. Also it is pure white.

Remember that it is your legal responsibility to ensure that there is a valid felling licence in place before you cut.

And some projects in Forest Research Forest Research - Opportunity mapping for trees and floods

Some of you may have seen it in the news today. A great LandRover mechanic Julian Gardner was found murdered yesterday at his farm near Robertsbridge where he had been run down by thieves. He & Damien did the rebuild of my 90 with the galvanised chassis. A tragic loss for him & his family.

Removed Virginia Creeper from part of my previous house many years ago. Roots had penetrated a damp wall and burst plaster over an area three foot wide. I would hire or borrow a scafolding tower, you may end up leaning out too far with ladders.

Over the years I have bought a few books on fungi. My collection includes :- The New Field Guide to Fungi. Soothill & Fairhurst (1978) Mushrooms. Roger Phillips (1981) The Great Encycopedia of Mushrooms, Losange ? (1998) Mushroom Hunting. Harding. (2006) Are any of them any good ? You will probably laugh at them. What would be the best, most up to date one to buy ?