In a message dated 97-11-07 08:48:03 EST,
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<< Greetings Comrades-
 
      Does anyone out there know of seed banks, historic demonstration
      projects, or sites (Williamsburg??) that specialize in preserving or
      propagating 19th-century varieties of agricultural plants and animals?
 
      I am interested because of research I have done on icehouses from
      VA-NC Piedmont plantations and farms.  These were used into the 20th
      century but I don't have much historic information on what went into
      the icehouses.  I have seen some general references to varieties
      (species?) but most of the diaries and informants don't mention plants
      by species or variety. So, I don't know if different varieties were
      selected with a view toward differing preservation techniques.  Also,
      if anyone has information which indicates that icehouses were used for
      anything other than household production, I would like to know that,
      too.
 
      Also, is anyone else out there documenting volunteer plants on
      historic sites and putting seeds in banks. I have seen volunteer
      grapes and pears on historic sites and I wonder if they are varieties
      that are lost today.
 
      Richard Kimmel
      [log in to unmask]
  >>
 
Check Colorado State University in Fort Collins.  I'm not sure if the
Agriculture Department is who does it, but that University is the respository
for natural seeds from all over the world.  The bank is in place to assure
the protection of natural plant species which are threatened with extinction
or with severe hybridization.  At least that is what I have been told.
 
Mike Polk
Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C.
Ogden, Utah