Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-02-11
sglomlh's Golnmn,
PIGMY TREES AND NINA
TURE LANDSCAPES.


cessful in the world. They can con-
troll and direct the growth of plants
to degree that seems really marvel
GUS until the principle upon which it
is done is known, when, as in many
other matters, it becomes quite
simple.
The Chinese have such strong
liking for the grotesque and unnatur-
al, that the handiwork of their gar
deners is not as pleasing as that of
japanese gardeners. The Chinese
understand the dwarfing of trees /;
but their best work is in so directing
the growth of plant or tree that it
will resemble some hideous animal
that is only fit to exist in a night
mare.
The japanese, on the contrary, are
remarkable for their love of what is
beautiful and graceful, and conse-
quently, ugly forms find no favor
with them. Every Japanese has a
garden if it be possible but as space
is valuable in Japan, only the very
rich man can have large grounds, and
the family in moderate circumstances
must be content with a garden often
smaller in area than the floor of one
of our hall bedrooms in a narrow,
city house.
Nevertheless that small garden
must coutain as many objects as the
large garden, and, of course, the only
way of accomplishing the required
result is to have everything in minia-
ture. 1t is no uncommon thing to
see a whole landscape contained in a
space no greater than the top of
your dining-room table. There will
be q mountain, stream, lake,
rocky grottoes, winding paths, bridg-
es, lawns, fruit trees, shrubs, and
flowers; all so artlstically laid out
as to resemble nature, itself. In the
lake will swim wonderful, filmy-inned
gold and silver fish, and not infre-
quently the tall form of q crane will
be seen moving majestlcally about
the tiny landscape.
This seems wonderful enough:
but what will you think when l say
that almost all the same landscape is
reproduced on a surface of about one
foot square. In this case a tiny
house is added; delicate green moss
takes the place Of grass, and glass
covers the lake where water should
be. Counterfeit fish swim in the
glass lake, and false crane over
looks the whole scene, just as the
real crane does the larger landscape.
The mountain, winding walks, bridg-
es, and rocky grottoes are in the lit
tie landscape; and real trees bearing
fruit, or covered with dainty bios
SONS, are in their proper places.
These trees are of the right pro-
portions to fit the landscape, and
they are, consequently, so tiny that
one stranger has slyly taken the leav-
es or fruit between the fingers, in or
der to make sure that the dwarfs do
truly live, and are not, like the fish
and crane, mere counterfeits. These
miniature landscapes have been sue
cessfully brought to this country
and on one occasion lady of San
Francisco used one of them for a
center-piece on the table at a dinner
party, greatly 10 the wonder and adj
miration of her guests, who could
scarcely be convinced that the al.
most microscopic apples on the trees
were genuine fruit.
And now comes the question-hoN
is this dwarfng done? The principle
is simple. The gardener merely
thwarts nature. He knows that, t.
grow properly, tree requires sun
light, heat, moisture, and nourish
ment from the soil. He takes meas
ures to let the tree have only just en-
ough of these to enable it to keel
alive.
To begin he takes q little seedln!
or cutting, about two inches high, ant
cuts off it's main root. He then put
the plant in shallow dish, with th
cut end of the root resting agains
stone, to retard its growth by pre-
venting nourishment entering tina
way. Bits of clay the size of a bea
are put in a dish, and are so regulate,
in kind and quantity as to afford til
least possible food for the little root
lets, which have been left on the poo
little tree. Water, heat, and ligh
are furnished the struggling plant i
just sufficient quantities to hold lif
in it without giving it enough to thirty
on. In addition, any ambitious at
tempt to thrive, in spite of thes
drawbacks, is checked by clippin
with a sharp knife or soaring with
red-hot iron.
After from five to fifteen years @
such treatment, the only wonder
that the abused tree will consent eve
to live, to say nothing of bearin
fruit.-St Nicholas.
BOBBY AND THE RAM.
When Bobby Smart was six yeal