BONSAI FOR AMERICANS

Subtitled ""A Practical Guide to the Creation and Care of Miniature Potted Trees,"" this aims to offer the art of bonsai with the Japanese traditions in form and technique used as a guide to an art translated for American performance and particular love of beauty. Mr. Hull discusses the materials at hand -- using older plants, collecting, importing, what plants can be used, the container, accessories. Then on to potting -- soil mixtures and transplanting, the training of the plants -- the pruning that is at the heart of what keeps the trees so small, and wiring. There is not too much text information on actually choosing the forms of the arrangements: this would appear to be covered in the illustrations, listed but not seen here. Glossary, bibliography. A usable, definite book.