Michael McCarthy overstates his argument about the “ethic of domination” (“The case for natural salvation”, 27 June).We celebrated St John’s Eve in 1957 with the usual bonfire and prayers. Before the fire burned out, my father prayed silently in front of it. Then selecting a brand he carried it carefully aloft to the “dale” where the potatoes where growing. He prayed silently for a brief moment and then threw the brand between two ridges where it would safely burn itself out. He then went back to the bonfire and selected a second brand which he carried to the byre, where the cows were kept in the winter, and traced a cross in the air. He then returned this brand to the bonfire. I was not quite ten years old at the time. I was an adult before I rec