Chap. V. DWARFED TREES. 73 
the time. " Hai-yah," said the old compradore, when he 
saw it, and was quite in raptures of delight. All the 
other coolies and servants gathered round the basket to 
admire this curious little plant. I had not seen them 
evince so much gratification since I showed them the 
" old-man Cactus " (Gereus senilis), which I took out 
from England, and presented to a Chinese nurseryman 
at Canton. On asking them why they prized the Lyco- 
podium so much, they replied, in Canton English, " Oh, 
he too muchia handsome ; he grow only a leete and a 
leete every year ; and suppose he he one hundred year 
oula, he only so high,'^ holding up their hands an inch 
or two higher than the plant. This little plant is really 
very pretty, and often naturally takes the very form of 
a dwarf tree in miniature, which is doubtless the reason 
of its being such a favourite with the Chinese. ^ 
The dwarfed trees of the Chinese and Japanese have It^ * 
been noticed by every author who has written upon 
these countries, and all have attempted to give some 
description of the method by which the effect is pro- 
duced. The process is in reality a very simple one, and is 
based upon one of the commonest principles of vegetable 
physiology. We all know that anything which retards 
in any way the free circulation of the sap, also prevents 
to a certain extent the formation of wood and leaves. 
This may be done by grafting, by confining the roots, 
withholding water, bending the branches, or in a hundred 
other ways which all proceed upon the same principle. 
This principle is perfectly understood by the Chinese, 
and they make nature subservient to this particular 
whim of theirs. We are told that the first part of the 
VOL. I. E 
