Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-01-21
TO hs Continued.l
Miniature ORANGES.

While the orange grower OF the
West is striving to produce giant
fruit, the florist of the East is bend
ing his efforts in the opposite direc-
tion, to produce dwarf trees laden
with diminutive oranges. in imita-
tion of those grown in China and ia
pan, TO supply the demand to the lat
est fad in floral decoration of the
house.
These trees are about foot to a
foot and Il half high, with fruit the
size of a large strawberry, making
charming spots of color in a room.
No people are so remarkable as the
Chinese and Japanese for the minute
care and attention which they be-
stow upon their agricultural under
takings, They devote a great deal
of time to purely ornamental cultiva-
ton. and especially delight in the
production of quaint and abnormal
growths.
Both in Japan and China it is the
custom to produce dwarf fruit trees.
In many of the houses il Japan may
be met with tiny specimens of the
orange tree which are seldom above
six inches in height, and bear or
angeS only the size of cherry, and
yet are sweet and palatable.
How these results are obtained APP
pears now to be tolerably clear The
production Of dwarfS is indeed based
upon one of the cOmmoneSt principles
of vegetable physiology, namely, the
retardation of the flow of sap in the
young trees. Where the dwarfs are
raised from suckeral as is frequently
the case, the main stem is in most
cases twisted in zigzag form, which
checks the free circulation of sap, but
at the same time promotes the growth
OF the side branches that bear fruit.
When the trees are raised from seed
those seeds are selected which are
themselves the smallest and which
have been gathered from the smallest
trees. The supply Of water is re-
duccd to the smallest possible quaint
ty, and while the branches are in the
act of formation their growth is re-
tarded in various ways, the points of
the leader being generally nipped
out.
Any vegetable monstrosity that is
dwarfed in size has had a sort of liv-
ing death. No shipwrecked crew,
cast away upon a raft, were ever put
upon such a short allowance as a
dwarf orange tree which has been de-
prived of almost the necessaries of
life.
Sometimes the branches are bent
and intertwined or tied together in
order to force them into some I'M
natural and grotesque position. BY
tins means the tree is given the ap-
pearance of great age.
No doubt the climate of both China
and Japan favorS to some extent the
growth of plants under these most
unfavorable conditions. but there can
be no question Of the natives super
Tor skill in this branch of arbOricul-
ture; in fact, they have no real com
pe:itors in the art.
Though the production of some of
the dwarfed fruit trees of CATHAY is
mere caprice, and although one
knows the poor dwarfed thing has no
feeling, they always produce feel
ing OF pity, for does not the longing
to give them 4 drink and some sun
shine come to mind, and the cOnse-
quent thought of suffering? Pos
sioly this new fad will extend to
other flowers, fruits and plants that
are capable of sustaining life on short
allowance.
Dlminutive Strawberries are always
OF 4 better flavor than large ones.
SO possibly, we may have the dwarf
violet, concentrated bunch of &C.
stacy no larger than Il thimble.
Size and bulk generally accompany
coarseness. CoarsenesS is the antitli-
esls OF refinement. Refinement is
the age. So, possibly, delicate and
diminutive will become the order of
the day in the value of growing
things-nOt the fruit and flower
that has expanded the most in the
rays of the life-giving sun, but the
flower that expanded the least, the
fruit that refused to grow. The
may bring the highest prices with a
people that have been known to have
craze for a green carnatiOn once
upon Il time.
-Lue f. Vernon.