Page 5 Advertisements Column 6

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9102, 10 July 1888, Page 5

It is generally known what a peculiar fancy the Chinese have for dwarf trees. They first make an incision in an orange, about the size of a florin, by which all the pulp is extracted. The cavity thus obtained is filled with a mixture composed of cocoanut fibre, waste wool, and charcoal dust; the seed of the tree desired is then sown exactly in the centre of the cavity with this singular mixture. The orange thus prepared is placed in a glass, or any other recipient, and from time to time water is poured through the orifice, and then covered lightly with wood ashes. The seed germinates, and the roots shoot through the peel of the orange, the stem coming up through the incision. These roots are cut close to the surface of the orange during their growth. When the tree is three years old it can no longer grow, and is about ten or twelve centimetres high, rarely exceeding these proportions ; it has nevertheless all the appearance of an old tree. Even the roots have ceased to grow. The orange is then coloured and varnished, and a dwarf tree is produced with the special recipient in which it has taken root. The Chinese produce in tins manner oak, nut, date, and orange dwarf trees.

If you should happen to meet a Welldressed Gentleman, you may depend upon it he patronises A. Woollams and Co., the Tailors, oi Sydenham Grev-streo*.