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"New York takes quickly to what pleases its fancy. A year ago the dwarf Japanese trees brought here to
be sold at auction were shown to the public for the first time. Even then they were seen only by that
limited number who seek out such objects of foreign art, for these plants are much more the result of art
than nature. Until that time these plants had been seen only in a Japanese shop in Fifth avenue and
there were only a few of them, and by no means fine specimens to be found there. One or two more lots
of them were brought here for sale and suddenly the Japanese dwarf plant became almost as common as the
chrysanthemum. The window of nearly every florist displays now some specimens of this quaint form of
arboriculture. If they continue to increase as they have during the past few months, these results of
the Japanese gardener's skill will fail [sic] to attract even the casual
attention of the passerby, beautiful and delicate as most of the plants are. Equally familiar are the
ferns growing in the forms of birds and animals, with their roots trained to represent the creature desired,
while the green leaves sprout in any direction. Not many months ago a hanging ball of ferns was looked
upon as a novelty. Now it is possible to get an eagle, a monkey, or nearly any other kind of living
creature which appeals most to the purchaser for such use. The secret of these growths is said to be
known already to the American gardeners and they are likely to become more numerous rather than fewer.
No ingenuity of Americans will ever be able to supply the lapse of centuries that gives some of these plants
their greatest value." 1 |