DATE: Wednesday, November 19, 1997          TAG: 9711180059

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS

                                            LENGTH:   69 lines

NEWS AND NOTES

How does your garden

grow? Check the mail ...

More of you are buying garden products by mail.

The most popular products ordered, a Gallup survey for the Mail-order Gardening Association found, were bulbs (by 12.7 percent of gardening households), seeds (10.4 percent) and live plants/-nursery stock (8.6 percent).

Here's a way to cater

to your cat's whims

Many cats prefer to drink running water, but their owners aren't always around - or in the mood - to cater to their whims. A Nevada veterinarian has just the solution.

The Drinkwell Pet Fountain has a built-in pump. You fill its 3-cup bowl, and the pet fountain does the rest. It costs $45.45, including shipping and handling. For more information, call (800) 805-7532.

The price often isn't

right, says scanner study

Are checkout counter scanners a scam? Yes, says the California Public Interest Research Group, which reports that California consumers are being overcharged by at least $250 million a year because of errors by checkout counter scanners.

The California Retailers' Association slammed the report as ``inaccurate'' and ``misleading.''

Resource directory for

older folks - an update

Last week we ran an item about the free ``Resource Directory for Older People'' published by the National Institute on Aging and the Administration on Aging - which ran out of the directories in short order.

There may be a limited number left, and you can call the institute's toll-free number - (800) 222-2225 - to have one sent to you. In any case, be sure to ask for a free brochure listing other NIA publications.

If you can't find a hard copy of the ``Resource Directory for Older People,'' you can get it in cyberspace (www.nih.gov/nia) on the Internet. Click on the Health Information bar, and when the next screen appears click on Booklets.

If you don't have a computer and modem of your own, you can access the Internet by visiting your local public library.

Recall

What: About 205,000 Sling Garden Chairs.

Reason: The chairs can collapse and injure those who are sitting in them. There have been 10 reports of the chair collapsing, and reports of six people who suffered amputated or crushed fingers.

Description: The white, metal-frame chairs have seats made of striped vinyl fabric in various colors, with matching arm rests. A white label on the back of the chairs reads ``Made in China.''

Sold from: February through September at Kmart stores nationwide for about $13.

What to do: Stop using the chair immediately and return it to the nearest Kmart for a refund. For more information, call Kmart at (800) 635-6278. KEYWORDS: RECALL

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