Re: Licensing Hybridizers

Chris writes:
:  I believe that education is the foundation to success. 

And I agree.  But part of that education is learning from prior experience.
Finding out what has worked and gaining an understanding about why it worked.
Finding what did not work and building upon that insight to find new ideas that
just _might_ work.

Perhaps my "crystal ball" approach sounded too flip but a snapshot summary
seemed more appropriate than a lengthy dissertation about the relationship
between the evolution of  rules and the evolution of iris.   Yes, I've done a
lot of research on this -- enough to be convinced that licensing would create
far more problems than it might solve.

But what's the alternative?  

"Mentoring"  can, and does, work because it  provides the education and
encouragement a new hybridizer needs.  By helping a newcomer get on the
"quality" track from the start, it also helps keeps a lot of "junk" off the
market.  ( Actually, the only unsuccessful mentoring program I ever encountered
was one that was so rule-bound that most of the potential mentors chose not to
particpate.)  But the secret is building mutually beneficial relationships.

To illustrate:  Mentoring, in the informal sense, got me started and kept me
going. I had lots of fun making crosses, but drew on the advice and
encouragement of several established hybridizers when it came to long-term
planning and selecting seedlings. Now that I've entered the ranks of the
seniors, I find that answering the questions of beginning hybridizers often
gives me ideas of new experiments to try.   

BTW -- beginners _are_ welcome in our hybridizers' Robin.  (How's that for a
seque?)  

Sharon McAllister
Southern New Mexico
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