1378
ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.
PART 111.
it will make shoots 5 ft. or 6 ft. long, as may be seen in the garden ofthe London Horticultural Society. The manner in which the Chinese procure these miniature trees is, by ringing the extremities of thebranches of old trees, and then applying a ball of loam, kept moistby water and moss, till roots are thrown out from the callosityformed at the ring; when the small branch is cut off, and plantedin a porcelain pot,either, says Mr. Main, “round, or, most commonly,an elongated square, 12 in. or 14 in. long, 8 in. wide, and about Sin.in depth. Along with the tree they place pieces of stone, to re-present rocks, among which moss and lichens are introduced. Thetree, thus planted, is not allowed to rise higher than about 1 ft. orIS in.,- no greater supply of water is given than is just sufficient tokeep it alive; and, as the pot soon acts as a prison, its growth isnecessarily impeded : at the same time, every means are used to checkits enlargement. The points of the shoots, and the half of everynew leaf, are constantly and carefully cut off; the stem and branches,which are allowed to extend only a certain length, are bound andfantastically distorted, by means of wire; the bark is lacerated toproduce protuberances, asperities, and cracks ; one branch is partlybroken through, and allowed to hang down, as if by accident; anotheris mutilated to represent a dead stump : in short, every exertion ofthe plant is checked by some studied violence or other. This treat-ment produces, in course of time, a perfect forest tree in miniature.Stunted and deformed by the above means, it certainly becomes acurious object, bearing all the marks of extreme old age. Itswrithed and knotty stem, weather-stained and scabrous bark; itsdistorted and partly dead branches; its diminutive shoots andleaves; all give it the aspect of antiquity. Various kinds of treesare chosen for this purpose; but the two most commonly met withare the t/Tmus (campestris)parvifdlia sinensis, and a species of .Ficus,very much like F. indica.” t^Oard. Mag., vol. ii. p. 139.) Graftedstandard high on the common English elm, the Chinese elm wouldform a very handsome small tree. The French name, The deTAbhtGallois, arises from that gentleman, in the reign of Louis XV. , having' imported this plant from China , supposing it to be the real tea tree.For a very full account of the Chinese mode of dwarfing trees,see Hort Trans., iv. p. 231.
I U. c. 16 cnculldta Hort. has the leaves curiously curyed, something likea hood. There is a tree in the Horticultural Society’s Garden.
if U. e. 17 concavcefdlia Llort. resembles the preceding kind. There is atree in the Horticultural Society’s Garden.
if U. c. 18 foliis aureis Hort. has the leaves variegated with yellow.
Other Varieties. In Messrs. Loddiges’s Catalogue, ed. 1836, U. c. naM,U. c. foliis maciddtis,V. dubia,XJ. viscosa, and some others, which are indicatedas belonging to this species, are mentioned ; but, with the exception of Fviscosa, of which there is a tree in the Horticultural Society’s Garden,which,in 1834, after being 10 years planted, was 20 ft. high, weeansayverylittle of them, on account of the small size of the plants.
French Varieties. The following sorts are enumerated in the Nouveau Cours d’Agriculture ,,in the Diciionnaire des F.aux et Farits ; and, though we have not been able to identify all ot Infwith the English kinds, and think it very probable that some of them do not belong to V- ca •pestris, yet we have thought it right to place the names before our readers ; in order thatcwlectoof these interesting trees may endeavour to procure them, with a view to adding to the varietnow in cultivation.
L'Orme h Feuilles larges et rzides, the rough broad-leaved Eim. The
L'Orme Tell, VOrmc) I'illeul, VQrme de tlollande ; the British, or Lime Tree , Elm. — 1leaves are not so rough as those of some of the other varieties,
L'Ormille , VOrme nain, the dwarf Elm , with small, navrow, rough leaves.
L'Orme k Feuilles lisses et glabres , the shining smooth-leaved Elm , has the leavesblackish green, leathery, and unequally divided by the midrib.
Le petit Ortnc d Feuilles panacMes de bkmc.
L'Orme a Feuilles lisses panachees de blanc , the shining silvery-leaved Elm .
Le petit Orvie h Feuilles panachees dejaunc, the dwarf golden-leaved Elm .