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F. A. McCLURE
is trimmed, and as the blossoms begin to open, the ensheathing membranes are carefully removed by means of a pair of forceps (Figure 2).
During the last few days of the twelfth month of the lunar year certain streets in Canton, particularly Yeung Hong (), are gay with Chinese Sacred Lilies and other flowers exhibited for sale.
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An interesting branch of the forcing industry is the production of dwarfed and bizare forms by a process known as carving (E). In Amoy, where the art is apparently developed to a very high degree, the plant is so treated that, when its flowers reach the full-blown stage, it bears the shape of a fairy, a tiger, a lion or any of a score of conventional forms. In Canton, however, the usual form of these works of art is much simpler and the name applied to them is Haai Chaau Shui Sin ( H>^{}]] ) Crab's Claw Narcissus. The name alludes, however, not to the ensemble form, but rather to the curved shape of the individual leaves. Although not so desir- able in the eyes of some as the natural form, these creations are highly esteem- ed by many, and good examples bring fancy prices. The technique followed by Narcissus carvers in Canton is probably typical, in its fundamental features at any rate, and is deemed of sufficient interest to warrant its description here. The smaller, less shapely bulbs, chiefly those removed from over- crowded clusters, arc used. After the preliminary twenty-four hour soaking, the first step is to trim away from one side of each bulb a large portion of the fleshy scales, leaving the central bud exposed. The bulbs are then impaled on slender bamboo sticks about five inches in length, one on either end with their bases facing each other. A number of these sucks are then arranged as the spokes of a wheel and fastened securely in this relation, with the bulbs packed together on the rim, the excised area of each uppermost. A small dome of bamboo strips is then constructed over the spokes of the “wheel," and covered with a layer of cotton. Plate 28, Fig. 2. This circle of bulbs is then laid upon a shallow clay bowl which is filled with water into which the roots begin to grow.
1.
In
2.
The preliminary carving and the horizontal orientation of the bulbs In the first have a profound effect upon the development of the plants. place, a considerable portion of the stored food has been removed, which reduces the rate of growth and the ultimate size of the vegetative parts. the second place, the horizontal position of the bulbs, combined with the removal of all restraint from what is now the upper side of the growing buds, giving free play to their negative geotropic response results in an upward curving of the leaves and flower stalks. When the growth has proceeded to the appropriate stage further carving is initiated which accentuates the dwarf- ing and curling of these structures. This part of the technique takes the form of the daily removal, with a sharp carving tool (Figure 2), of a minute portion of the edge of each leaf. This results in differential growth by retarding the development of the injured areas of tissues. In addition, the flower stalks are carefully trained, by daily manipulation, so as to occupy their appropriate positions in the finished product, particularly so that the blossoms will be massed together at the centre in a dense cluster, Finally, as their flower buds open, the ensheathing tissues are removed, just as they
The Hong Kong Naturalist.
The Hong Kong Naturalist.
Plate 28.
Vol. III, Nos. 3 and 4.
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