THE dwarf vegetation of China is peculiar to that country.  I have in my possession an oak tree two feet high bearing acorns, and its trunk bearing all the external marks of an ancient tree.  I have also had orange and citron trees of the same size, bearing fruit of a very fine flavour.  One of these orange trees used to produce, at the same moment, incipient buds, blossoms in full flower, fruit newly set, and of full size, both in a green state and ripe.  I have seen a lu-chee tree, whose natural size is that of a full-grown mulberry, dwarfed into one of three feet, its trunk having all the appearance of old timber, and the branches naturally tapered.  The mode of dwarfing is simple : the branch of a full-grown tree is covered with mould, which is bound round with cloth or matting, and kept moist ; the fibres soon shoot into the mould.  The branch is then cut from the tree, planted in the earth, and the fibres thus become the roots, and the branch a tree, bearing blossoms and fruit.  The buds at the extremity are taken off, and thus other buds and branches are formed.  After a certain time syrup is applied to the stem, which attracts insects, and the bark being thus injured gives the knotted and aged appearance of old trees, pieces of bamboo being applied to give any desired form to the branches. -- Dublin University Magazine, Sept., 1848. 1 

1    The Floricultural Cabinet, and Florists' Magazine, London, December 1848, XVI, pg. 308.

The Dublin University Magazine: A Literary and Political Journal, an independent magazine with no official connection to Trinity College, was published from January 1833 to December 1877 (volumes 1 to 90).  What was the reason this short article was chosen to be in the Dublin periodical?  Was the author local or was this a reprint?  Who was the author and possessor of the dwarf trees?  Where and when did these trees come into the author's care and how long did they last?  What became of the containers -- not mentioned at all here -- after the trees perished?  Did the author or someone who saw the trees ever write any follow-up articles about them?  Although the information in this article is similar to other material from this time (see, for example here and here), it is not a copy of info from other sources we have found and, thus, appears to be an original presentation.