DOMESTIC FLORA OF CHINA.—NO. 5.-TEXAS ENTERPRISE. 
333 
of food, such as oil-cake, bean-meal, shorts, ship- 
stuffs, IiYdian meal, crushed corn, &c. A precau¬ 
tion, however, must be observed in first giving 
them rich food, that they be in pretty good condi¬ 
tion before they are put'to high feeding, and that 
the rich food be gradually increased both in quan¬ 
tity and quality. The plan of feeding in many of 
the well-informed parts of England, is, to supply 
the sheep daily with turnips, in order that they may 
have them fresh, and eat them as they come, with¬ 
out eating the dainty bits first. When a fresh por¬ 
tion is supplied, it should be done in the afternoon, 
when the sheep are not so very hungry, in conse¬ 
quence of which, there will be less danger of their 
hurting themselves by over-eating. Sheep fed on 
turnip-tops, should never receive them wet, either 
with rain, dew, or snow. 
THE DOMESTIC FLORA OF CHINA.—No 5. 
Dwarf-Trees .—The dwarfed trees of the Chinese 
and Japanese have 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 produced. 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 un¬ 
derstood by the Chinese, and they make nature sub¬ 
servient to this particular whim of theirs. We are 
told that the first part of the process is to select the 
very smallest seeds from the smallest plants, which 
is not at all unlikely, but I cannot speak to the 
fact from my own observation. I have, however, 
often seen Chinese gardeners selecting suckers and 
plants for this purpose from the other plants which 
were growing in their garden. Stunted varieties 
were generally chosen, particularly if they had the 
side branches opposite or regular, for much depends 
upon this ; a one-sided dwarf tree is of no value in 
the eyes of the Chinese. The main stem was then 
in most cases twisted in a zigzag form, which pro¬ 
cess checked the flow of the sap, and at the same 
time encouraged the production of side branches at 
those parts of the stem where they were most de¬ 
sired. When these suckers had formed roots in 
the open ground, or kind of nursery where they 
were planted, they were looked over and the best 
taken up for potting. The same principles, which 
I have already noticed, were still kept in view, the 
pots used being narrow and shallow, so that they 
held but a small quantity of soil compared with the 
wants of the plants, and no more water being given 
than what was barely sufficient to keep them alive. 
Whilst the branches were forming, they were tied 
down and twisted in various ways; the points of 
the leaders and strong growing ones were generally 
nipped out, and every means was taken to dis¬ 
courage the production of young shoots which were 
possessed of any degree of vigor. Nature generally 
struggles against this treatment for a while, until 
her powers seem in a great measure exhausted, 
when she quietly yields to the power of art. The 
Chinese gardener, however, must be ever on the 
watch, for should the roots of his plants get through 
the pots into the ground, or happen to be liberally 
supplied with moisture, or should the young shoots 
be allowed to grow in their natural position for a 
short time, the vigor of the plant which has so long 
been lost will be restored, and the fairest specimen 
of Chinese dwarfing destroyed. Sometimes, as in 
the case of peach and plum-trees, which are often 
dwarfed, the plants are thrown into a flowering 
state, and then, as they flower freely year after yeaT, 
they have little inclination to make vigorous 
growth. The plants generally used in dwarf¬ 
ing are pines, junipers, cypresses, bamboos, peach, 
and plum-trees, and a species of small-leaved 
elm (a). 
(a) In our August number an allusion was made 
to the passion the Chinese have for miniature plants, 
which forcibly reminds us of an incident that oc¬ 
curred on our late excursion over the Long Island 
railroad. Among our company were Hee-Sing, 
high priest of the Chinese junk, which had lately 
arrived in our port, and his no less famous artist 
and companion, Sum-Sing, both of whom were 
characterized by their medium size, copper com¬ 
plexions, high cheek-bones, and straight black hair, 
similar in appearance to our native Indians. They 
were gaily dressed in loose flowing robes of vari¬ 
ously-colored silks, ornamented with gold buttons. 
They wore scull-caps closely fitting to the head, 
and from beneath these hung queer looking tails of 
long hair, falling nearly to the ground. They car¬ 
ried fans in their hands, which they used to 
screen their faces from the sun as they walked out, 
and as our ladies do, to blow them cool. They 
were of course the observed of all observers during 
the whole excursion. It was the first time they ever 
had ridden in a rail-car, and they manifested no little 
alarm at the shrill whistle of the locomotive, as well 
as the rapidity of its movement. But being somewhat 
intelligent men, and Hee-Sing understanding English 
tolerably well, everything as we passed along w T as 
explained to their entire satisfaction. Alighting at 
Suffolk Station, Sum-Sing found growing among 
the bushes a dwarf whortleberry, in the form of a 
miniature tree. M Hai-yah,” he exclaimed in 
great delight, “ too muchia handsome,” and care¬ 
fully packed it away, no doubt with the view of ex¬ 
hibiting it among his friends on his return to the 
Celestial empire, as one of the wonders of the 
Western world. 
Texas Enterprise. —A correspondent from Na- 
chidoches, Texas, writes as follows in reference to 
the opening for enterprise near that place. This 
section of Texas is rapidly rising into notice. We 
have a most luxuriant soil, and the health of this 
region is proverbial. Indeed it may be called the 
Italy of America. Excellent land, well watered 
and timbered, can be had for $1 per acre, and the 
stock run out the year round, without housing. We 
are now preparing to clear out the river Angelina 
for steamboat navigation; and then be within fif¬ 
teen miles of water-transportation to New Orleans. 
A west wind and an honest man go to rest to¬ 
gether. 
