1,3 LAWN TBEE8. 



trees are vounif and jjrowinc: in a ridi, deep soil, — varyinfj from six to ten inches 

 Ion" ajid four to six wido. The flowers, wliieh appear in May or June, are three to 

 four inches in diameter, of a bhiish purple color on a dull white ground. This treo 

 is usually pr«)pagated from seed. The nurserymen who propagate it extensively, sow 

 th-e seeds in beds of light mellow soil in the open ground. Those who propagate it 

 on a less extensive scale will find it quite as convenient to sow the seed in a shallow 

 box of li'^ht earth. At one year's growth the seedlings may be transplanted into 

 nursery rows. They re-root slowly, and it is not until two years' growth after trans- 

 planting that they make a rapid, vigorous growth. 



The Mucinolia trqx'icla* (three-pctaled magnolia, or umbrella tree,) is much 

 smaller than the preceding, and better adapted to planting on a small lawn or limited 

 grounds. Michaux regards it as a "connecting link between the larger shrubs and 

 trees of the third order, rarely attaining thirty or thirty -five feet in height, and five 

 or six inches in diameter. The leaves are very large — twelve to twenty inches long, 

 and six to ei"ht broad. The flowei-s are produced on the points of the branches — 

 very laro-e, some six to eight inches in diameter, and composed of three large, loose 

 petals. The chief beauty of this species consists in its magnificent foliage, the most 

 tropical like, excepting the M. macrophylla, of all our hardy trees. There is also a 

 certain beauty in its large flowers, and in the fruit, which is in the form of a pine 

 cone — five or six inches long, and two or three in diameter. The tree, however, in its 

 form has little elegance, often inclining to one side and throwing up a succession of 

 vio-orous shoots from the lower part. A specimen nine or ten years planted, in our 

 grounds, has divided near the ground into three main branches. These divide again 

 further up. The main branches are about three to four inches in diameter, and the 

 •whole ten feet high. It has blossomed for several years. It blossoms young, seeds 

 freely, and is usually propagated and managed as described for the acuminata. 



The Maf/noUa macrophylla, or broad-leaved, is a very striking and beautiful tree, 

 and the rarest of all the deciduous American species. It is distinguished at once 

 from the preceding by its large leaves — which are light green above and glaucous 

 beneath, — its light grayish bark, and silky buds. It is propagated as the two pre- 

 ceding, from seeds ; but they are diflBcult to get. 



The cordata, or heart-leaved, is also a fine species fi-om Carolina or Georgia, with 

 flowers of a yellowish tinge, produced twice during the season. Hardy in the Middle 

 States. 



The auriculata, or long-leaved, resembles the acuminata ; but it does not attain so 

 large a size, and is distinguished by the leaves being distinctly lobed at the base. 

 The flowers are white. 



The conspicua, or chandelier magnolia, is a beautiful Chinese species, quite hardy 

 in the Middle States, and regarded as one of the most charming of small sized lawn 

 trees. It branches low, and forms a symmetrical half shrub half tree, covered in 

 spring before the leaves, with milk white flowers. One of the finest specimens we 

 have seen in this country, is that on the grounds of the late Mr. Downing, alluded ^ 



* See plate copied from Loudon's " Arboretum Britanicum." 



