22 MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLOKA. 



II. — On Magnolia obandiflora. By John Saul ; Washington, 



United States. 



(Communicated December 7th, 1852.) 



Among evergreen trees few, if any, can compare in beauty or 

 stateliness with this Magnolia ; whether we look at its fine broad 

 expansive foliage, the size, beauty, and fragrance of its flowers, or 

 the noble grandeur of the tree, all must admit it to be one of the 

 greatest ornaments a garden can possess. It is pretty generally 

 known in England, but what are the finest trees in that country 

 compared with specimens of it here ! Iu the Isle of Wight, and 

 some parts of Devonshire, I have seen, perhaps, some of the best 

 examples of it in England ; these were principally standard trees. 

 I have also remarked in various parts of the country very fine 

 trees trained to walls. It appears to me, however, that the 

 majority of cultivators of this tree in England err in its manage- 

 ment, as I shall presently attempt to show ; but first let us view 

 it in this its native country. 



The Magnolia is quite at home in the southern states, com- 

 mencing with South Carolina, in which it attains a large size, and 

 is one of the greatest ornaments of the forest, but my present 

 purpose is to draw attention to its cultivation in the middle 

 states, where the winters are more severe. About New York this 

 tree is not hardy, a circumstance at which one need not be 

 surprised when it is recollected that the thermometer occasionally 

 sinks as low as from 15° to 20° below Zero, yet even here 

 Magnolias may be kept alive out of doors if they are well pro- 

 tected. About Washington it is perfectly hardy, braving with 

 indifference the greatest cold: the past winter was unusually 

 severe, the thermometer having sunk as low as 5° and 6° below 

 Zero, yet no injury was sustained by this tree: exposed and unpro- 

 tected, not a leaf or young shoot was harmed ; some of the 

 gardens here can boast of handsome specimens, though they are 

 not very remarkable for large size. On the opposite shores of 

 the beautiful Potomac River, a few miles below Alexandria, is 

 Mount Vernon, the once quiet retreat of the illustrious Washing- 

 ton, and still bis resting place. Tbis great man, who was well 

 known to have enjoyed more real delight and happiness in rural 

 affairs than in military exploits, planted and enriched his place 

 with many rare and beautiful trees of his native land ; the 

 Magnolia, among other species, here found a home ; at the present 



