To the harvesters of Achaea,

Longstanding Oakstone policy has held that the minimum to which the
plants known as perrennials could be harvested was 15, and the minimum
to which the plants known as annuals could be harvested was 5. These
restrictions were made to the benefit of Nature, to provide a
comfortable margin of safety, and give the plants a base to grow from
and produce the next crop of herbs. Further, at that time there were few
forests in the realm, and the minimums also served the purpose of
ensuring that in case emergency replanting was needed, every undamaged
room would have some plants available to use for replanting.

Perrennials in the past grew to a total of 60, regenerating themselves
all the year through. Annuals in the past grew to a total of 50, but
only grew once, at the turn of the New Year. The harvesting limits
allowed both types to have a total of 45 plants to be harvested from
each. (50-5=45, 60-15=45)

Now, Lord Sarapis has decreed that henceforth that the plants formerly
known as annuals will grow all the year round, and further that they
will grow to a total of 60 plants per room. Now that the plants all grow
year round, and grow to the same total, a major part of the reasoning
for setting the harvesting limit for annuals at a lower level is gone.

Today also, in considering our harvesting minimums, we find that the
need for a large number of perrennials as a stock for replanting is not
as great. There are many more natural areas than there once were,
meaning that in the case of an emergency finding stocks to replant
should not be a great difficulty. Further, we find that the overharvests
of perrennials (because of the nature of the plants) tend to be either
careless mistakes in which usually only a couple herbs past the limit
are taken, or malicious overharvests, in which the harvester totally
disregards the limit and deliberately harvests to 0. Having the
perrennials at a lower level would not reduce the effective safety net
in either of these cases.

While the laws of Oakstone are ancient and are regarded as virtually
sacrosanct by many, it is important to recognize changes in the
circumstances which led to the creation of the specific law...and alter
that law if such is necessary.

For these reasons, by the unanimous vote of the Hierophants and the
majority consent of the membership of Oakstone, the harvesting limits of
5 and 15 for annuals and perrennials respectively are hereby ABOLISHED,
and the harvesting limit set at 10 for ALL HERBS.

On the first of Phaestian this year, the policy will immediately go into
effect for perrennials. You may harvest them to 10 at that time, and we
will be enforcing the new, lower limit immediately.

However, a 6-month grace period will be established before the
enforcement of the new minimum for annuals begins, since that minimum
has been raised from 5 to 10. Beginning on the 1st of Miraman, 346 AFSE,
reports of annuals harvested below 10 will be considered overharvests.
The purpose of this grace period is to allow the herbs currently
harvested to 5 to grow back up to 10, so that people who innocently
harvested to 5 while that was the rule will not be penalized. If you
continue to harvest to 5 during this grace period, and as a result the
plant has not grown back to 10 by Miraman, you WILL be penalized... 'But
you said you weren't enforcing it till Miraman' will not be an
acceptable excuse.

In addition to the reasons stated above, it is worth noting that this
change should also make harvesting and law enforcement marginally
easier, since there will no longer be lists of herbs that must be
remembered. Also, you will note that the number of any herb that may be
harvested from a full room is now 50 instead of 45.

Please direct comments or questions to any of the Hierophants.

In the service of Nature,

Rhakshai Silvertongue
On behalf of Oakstone

Penned by my hand on the 24th of Lupar, in the year 345 AF.