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The features in this issue have something in common.

In one story (Hogweed, page 54), we explore the pernicious effects of a Soviet agricultural experiment to use a Caucasian plant for northern silage. In another (Precious Water, page 32), we learn that relocating Merino sheep from the mountainous Caucasus (or perhaps Spain) has had a devastating effect on the local topsoil of Kalmykia.

Both scientific failures were rooted in well-intentioned plans to solve a problem. But by transplanting species adapted for one environment to an entirely different locale, an invasive species was created, with disastrous consequences.