74 THE HUMAN SIDE OF TREES 



limit. The little tree is lifted out of its soil every 

 few days to have the roots which are attempting to 

 burst its pot-prison trimmed. When winter comes 

 it is buried alive under ground so that it may not 

 freeze. In the spring its bursting energies are 

 trimmed afresh, it is replanted and carefully nur- 

 tured. This process goes on until its growing ten- 

 dencies are permanently curbed and it settles down 

 to a life of Lilliputian prosperity. No matter how 

 small they may be, these little pines demand their 

 full quota of air and sunshine, as many Americans 

 who have attempted to keep imported specimens 

 have learned to their sorrow. The Japanese per- 

 form these dwarfing miracles by no magic art or 

 diabolical cunning, but merely through the exer- 

 cise of great care and patience along lines which 

 many years of experience point out. That for- 

 eigners can master the art is shown by the fact 

 that at least one American naturalist at one time 

 had a conservatory forest of larches, bamboos and 

 maples ranging from six inches to two feet tall and 

 all grown by himself. 



Perhaps the greatest tree college of the country 

 is the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. 

 In this great outdoor museum of living things, 

 practically every tree which can exist in the Massa- 

 chusetts climate is grown, studied and card-in- 



