394 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
A BOTANICAL PARADOX. 
OH IN A is supposed lo be the home of mam strange 
things, among which those of the vegetable king- 
dom are not the least. There are giant persimmons, to 
four inches in diameter, and better to ect taan Americans 
can imagine, for all the "pucker" is gone before they are 
ripe ; and there are full-grown pine trees not over two 
feet high. Lilliputian lemon trees grow in one's parlor 
and bear fruit ready to be picked for the fish when it is 
Reproduced from Journal of Heredity. 
On This Chinese Pine Arc Growing Two Deciduous Trees 
Winch Arc About as Little Related to the Pine as Any Trees 
Could Be. One Is an Elm; the Other Is a Paper-Mulberry. The 
Chinese Are Past Masters in Horticulture, but It Is Impossible 
to Believe That They Could Graft Such Diverse Species as These. 
served in the dining-room. The Chinese farmer is a past- 
master, in an empirical way, of the arts of budding and 
grafting. The "English" walnut is indigenous to China. 
( )ne "day I made a visit to the Great Bell Temple, a few 
miles northwest of the city of Peking, and there I found 
a botanical wonder which outdid all that I have ever seen 
or heard about. In grafting, it is generally thought that 
the species must not be far removed from each other; 
but here I found a specific gap of a botanical phylum, 
and an evolutionary gap of geologic periods of time, cov- 
ered. I was assured, not by human means, but by nature's 
accidents. 
In the court of this temple is a pine tree ( Pinus sinen- 
sis ) from the side of the trunk of which, at about 8 feet- 
above the ground, is growing a healthy elm tree ( Ulmus 
pumila) about 1 foot in diameter. The junction is shown 
in detail in the accompanying photograph. Around the 
junction there is no sign of any break in the bark of the 
pine tree. 
Here is a problem for plant chemises. Can the food 
solutions of the gymnosperms be utilized by an an- 
giosperm ? And I would ask the students of genetics : Can 
the "sport"' form of variation, so often credited with the 
origin of new species, extend to such a violent disruption 
of nature's continuity as this ? ( )r, did one elm seed of the 
millions which have doubtless lodged in the crevices of 
pine tree bark, so sprout and take root that, through in- 
herited or environmental advantages, it was able to assimi- 
late the nutritive substances of the pine? Or has Chinese 
arboriculture surpassed itself, and performed this union 
which almost staggers reason? — Journal of Heredity. 
HOW JAPS GROW MINIATURE TREES 
T^OR many centuries the Japanese have closely guarded 
the secret of growing miniature trees. Indeed, until 
recently they did not allow the trees to be taken out of 
In the Crotch of the Pine. Above the Elm, May Be Seen the 
Small Black Trunk' of a Paper-Mulberry, the Foliage of Which 
Occupies Much of the Upper Right-Hand Part of the Photograph. 
The Elm and Paper-Mulberry Are so Different from the Pine 
That It Is Hardl\< Believable That They Could Live on Its Sap. 
but It May Be That the Trunk of the Pine Is Partly Hollow and 
Contains Earth and Decaying Matter Which Furnish Nourish- 
ment for the Strangers Lodging on It. 
the country ; wealthy people kept them as art treasures. 
Now, in America, miniature trees bring a good price, and 
are used as house plants and table decorations. By fol- 
lowing the plan here described almost anyone can raise 
diminutive trees with little trouble, according to the 
Youth's Companion. 
Get a few large, thick-skinned oranges and halve them. 
Remove the pulp and cover the outside of the skins with 
