Honestly Greg I intended to drop this subject until I saw your answer to Kathy. It appears that you are saying the magazine is deliberately being dumbed down because you think that's a good idea based on some comments you have heard. You chose to cite a complex scientific example, "molecular study of leaf tissue and gas chromatography of Catasetinae fragrances." to illustrate your point. Heck I agree that most readers don't even know or care what gas chromatography is and and even I don't care what chemical gives Catasetinae their fragrances.
There is room for more practical subjects than the ones you chose to cite. The Phrag article in the current magazine is good. The GH article is purely entertainment. At least one of the goals of AOS is education. Entertainment does not appear in the list. Lindleyana which simply contains official, technically correct descriptions of new plants and information about taxonomic classification changes is not in the same complexity category as your examples.
Just in 2009 Orchid Digest contains articles on the following (and this is just a sample)(I have shortened some titles for brevity):
Jan/Feb/Mar----Breeding With Recently Described Paphiopedilums
Apr/May/June---Genus Lueddemannia, A Review and Dockrillia striolata
July/Aug/Sept---New Trends in Bulbophyllum Breeding (a fabulous article by Bill Thoms)
Oct/Nov/Dec--Part II of the Jan Paph Breeding article, another fabulous article on Kovachii hybrids by Glen Decker (a member of your committee), and a nice piece on Paph Crystelle by Frank Smith
Are you telling me that you did not want the Decker, Thoms, and Frank Smith pieces? It would positively amaze me that Glen (on your committee), Thoms (a Floridian and apparently close Bulbo ally of Frank Smith), and Frank Smith (an AOS Trustee) would not like to get their very good articles in Orchids.
There is plenty of room for articles on insecticides, miticides (explaining that insecticides don't work well on mites), fungicide classes and how to use them (including the need to rotate those newer, less toxic products that target only a single biological pathway). An article explaining polyploidy and how colchicine works to increase ploidy. How about an explanation of the toxicity labels mandated by federal law...GRAS,Caution (IV and III),Warning (II), and Danger (I). How many readers know that you can't kill a fungus once you have it. You can only prevent its spread and either wait for the leaf to grow out or cut it off. Fungicides are prophylactic products.
I classify all the above, taxonomy, breeding results, and pesticide use as useful scientific and educational information well within the ability and interest of the "average" reader. Are the readers of Orchid Digest smarter than the readers of Orchids? Hardly since they are one and the same!! Dumbing down the magazine might look like a good idea if you listen to the revolving door class of members who pass through horticultural organizations on a 2-3 year period, but the core membership is smarter and more interested in learning than you are giving them credit for. The magazine needs to be about orchids, not home decorating.
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