The ones which broke the spell for me were the appearance of potatoes and tobacco in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The stories have overall a long-ago, quasi medieval quality, although to tell the truth I’ve never been able to decide it they are set in the ancient past or in a future where things have degenerated into conditions suggesting ancient times. I guess they were intended to be timeless. I’ve never checked to see what Tolkien enthusiasts have to say about this – time to Google “Tolkien potatoes” and see what I get. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/