Re: Peat Moss

**"Peter Loewer" t*@earthlink.net**

Margaret: Sphagnum moss when collected in the natural world is sterile and
was used in WW1 for battlefield dressings because of the amount of blood it
could absorb. It has nothing to do with rose thorn disease, etc. But, the
dust of dried peatmoss is very dangerous, can cause lung infections, is
especially woeful for people with weak lungs as the result of smoking. And
an aside to Brook, sometimes being too nice is one of the diseases of the
American culture. I know of no gardeners in my world here in Asheville who
buy or use peatmoss and I dislike being told I do by somebody who has no
knowledge of the affair. Best, Peter
----- Original Message -----
From: "Margaret Lauterbach" <melauter@earthlink.net>
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2003 5:41 PM
Subject: Re: [GWL] Peat Moss


> At 05:19 PM 9/21/2003 -0400, you wrote:
> >Hampton Gardener: Boy when you are wrong (anhd insulting) you are
> >wrong--and insulting! I, and many American gardeners like me, compost and
> >mix out own soil AND there is no peat anywhere in our collective acres of
> >garden. Also, it was not peat that was used for staunching wounds in WWI
> >and rarely in WW2 (you are mixing the milkweed pods collected to make
> >rescue vests for the navy with the moss), by the Amerindians for
thousands
> >of years but fresh sphagnum moss. There was an English cottage industry
(I
> >vaguely remember a film about it, too), that collected sphagnum moss,
> >dried it, and shipped it to the front. There was no need to sterilize it
> >as sphagnum moss is free of bacteria (should be a drug company looking
> >into that). Before you write, do your research! Peter
>
> I've heard about this "sterile" sphagnum moss used as wound dressing, but
> I'm confused about its implication in the fungus sporotrichosis or rose
> thorn disease.  Cure the wound and start a fungal infection?  Margaret
> Lauterbach
>
>
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