Jay...more details please? I don't know what nursery you used & have no personal stake in this issue, but would like to know more of the facts. You said: "I used a nursery with a good reputation here and on Gardenwatchdog and received my bareroot plant via USPS in pretty poor condition, wilted with all the leaves falling off. I followed instructions to soak the plant and placed it in a shaded location for recovery. It never did..." How was the plant packaged (was there anything around the roots to keep them from drying out?), how long was the plant enroute to you, other than the leaf conditions (I think dying leaves might be expected on a shipped plant) what was "wrong" with the plant when you received it, you're in zone 6/7 - did you put this plant outdoors & what temps were you having at the time (did you have other brugs outdoors at that time)? In my area, zone 6/7 this early in the year has cold nights and cool days..this would a shock for a plant coming out of zone 9/10 or more than likely, out of a warm greenhouse. All I can tell from the photo is that it appeared to be a well-rooted plant. What condition were the roots in when you received the plant? Bottom line...were you given an inferior plant? Or was there a problem in either the delivery of the plant or the environment you placed it in after receiving it? If a vendor has an established good reputation, they're not likely to be sending out bad plants. Their explanation on the UPS situation seems very logical, not only from the point of the cost of using UPS, but also the impracticality and lack of cost effectiveness in the 50-mile trip required to use UPS. Any time a living organism, whether baby chicks, plants, etc., is shipped there is a risk involved that is beyond the control of the shipper. If they've done everything right up to the point of shipping, they can't be responsible for events that happen after that. What does the vendor's web site say their policy is on plant replacement? Is their response to you in compliance with that policy? While I know I'd be disappointed, I'd have to ask myself "was the vendor truly at fault (sending a 'bad' plant in the first place) or did the problem arise after the plant left their hands?. Also, I think the time to speak up to a vendor on an issue like this is immediately upon receipt of the plant. If it looks bad upon arrival, I'd notify them immediately & advise them on what efforts I was about to make in an attempt to revive the plant. If they know there's a problem at that point, they might weigh a little more in your favor than after you've had it for awhile. I don't mean to sound like I'm taking the nursery's "side" on this issue, but am trying to make observations from a neutral viewpoint. Patrick

Wow, a post to this thread I sent earlier seems to have gone into limbo. Yes, Happy, I've been using the GRIN system today. The funny thing is, I found out that the USDA was accepting public input over the weekend, concerning the request for a non-food GM corn (Syngenta's "Event 3272") to receive "unrestricted" status (I submitted a message recommending disapproval). Many people reported that the site was difficult to get in to. Now the window for comment has expired, and the site is back up. Hmmmm... In checking the GRIN taxonomy for the genus Canavalia, I came across a C. brasiliensis that was collected in S. Korea. I found a photo, though, and it does not match Jim's description. I also came across information that some members of the genus have a high percentage of "hard" seed, meaning seed that is very difficult to germinate. We will most likely need to pre-soak the seeds prior to planting, perhaps in the nitrate solution I use to germinate old bean seed.

Sounds like you already have internet working but your mail settings are off a notch... Perhaps look here.. Open Outlook Express Click on the menu item Tools, then select Accounts Click on the Mail tab if not already selected. Highlight MSN which hopefully is marked default. Click on Properties button. Click on the tab for Connections Now you should see a drop down box, change it to say dial up modem or something similar as apparetnly its trying to use a Network Connection which the norm if you have a high speed connection like dsl or cable. Think you need that box to say use the dial up modem. Hopefully thats the simple fix.

All saved email in all versions of XP is stored in a .dbx file. If you can find that file within the Outlook/Outlook Express program folder, you may be able to restore your compacted email. I was successful in doing so when I still worked with an XP system. If you can't locate that file, chances are your email has left the premises....or is buried so deep that it will take one of the programs DA is suggesting to rout it out. HTH Anne