270 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
but generally inclined, branching, and rising from the root in twos or threes. 
The leaves are 18 in. or 20 in. long, and 7in. or 8in. broad. The flowers are 
7 in. or 8in. in diameter, with large white flaccid petals; they are placed on 
the extremities of the last year’s shoots, have a languid luxurious appearance, 
and a sweet but heavy odour. The fruit, which is conical, is 5 in. or 6 in. long, 
and about 2in. in diameter. It ripens in America about the beginning of 
October ; and in England in fine seasons, about the end of the same month. 
It is of a beautiful rose colour, and contains usually from 50 to 60 seeds, 
which should be sown immediately after they are gathered, as otherwise they 
become rancid and lose their vital qualities; though, if enveloped in moist 
moss or earth, they may be preserved for several months. This species is 
very hardy, and can withstand the most rigorous winters, when the summer 
has been sufficiently hot to ripen the wood thoroughly. As it is a short-lived 
tree, and consequently flowers early, there is not the same objection to raising 
plants of it from seed, as there is to raising plants in that manner of M. grandi- 
flora, which is a long-lived species. 
Geography. The umbrella tree, according to Michaux, is first seen in the 
northern part of the state of New York, and it extends on wooded mountains 
to Carolina and Georgia, as well as Virginia. Though met with over a great 
extent of country, it appears only in situations perfectly adapted to its growth, 
which are always shady, and, where the soil is deep, strong, and fertile. In 
the lower parts of South Carolina and Georgia, it is found only near the allu- 
vial flats which lie along the banks of the rivers, and there it is accompanied 
by the Magnolia grandiflora, but never by the Magnolia glaica, which is con- 
fined to situations where, according to Michaux, the soil is black, shallow, 
and often miry. 
History. This species of Magnolia was brought to England about 1752, and 
soon after it passed into France, and was cultivated on the Continent generally. 
In France and Italy it seeds freely ; and even in England, at Deepdene in 
Surrey, self-sown seeds have produced plants. It may now be considered as 
the commonest of all the magnolias; because, though in point of beauty it is 
not so popular as M. grandiflora or M. glaiica, yet, as a peat soil is not 
essential to it, it is more easily preserved. 
Soil and Situation. The soil should be a deep, rich, sandy loam, and the 
situation sheltered and shaded. A situation exposed to the sun is injurious ; 
and, trained against a wall, the plant suffers extremely. A sheltered glade, in 
a shrubbery or wood, where it is sufficiently. distant from other trees not to be 
injured by the roots, is the most desirable site. 
Propagation and Culture. In the nurseries it is almost always propagated. 
by seeds, but sometimes also by layers. In either case the plants are kept in 
pots until required for final transplanting. 
Statistics. Magnolia tripétala in Great Britain. The largest plants in the 
neighbourhood of London are at Purser’s Cross and at Syon; and they are 
about 30 ft. high. There is one in the Mile End Nursery 20 ft. high. The 
largest in England are at Cobham Hall, in Kent, and about 36 ft. high. At 
Walton House, in Surrey, there are plants 30 ft. high; and at Bowood, in 
Wiltshire, one 13 ft. high. At Golden Grove, in Pembrokeshire, there is a 
tree 23 ft. high; and at Croome, in Worcestershire, one 20 ft. high. The tree 
does not thrive about Edinburgh ; and in the north of Scotland it is trained 
against a wall. In the Perth Nursery there is one, trained against a wall, 
16 ft. high ; and at Gordon Castle, one 14 ft. high. In Ireland, in the Glas- 
nevin Botanic Garden, there is a standard tree 14 ft. high; and at Pakenham 
Hall, in the province of Leinster, there is a standard tree which in 10 years 
has attained the height of 10 ft. 
Magnilia tripétala in Foreign Countries. In the Ghent. Botanic Garden there 
is a standard 25 ft. high; and one at Scéaux, near Paris, which has attained 
the same height in 12 years. At Schwobber, in Hanover, there is a tree 25 
years planted, which is 30 ft. high. The species is in most of the Continental 
botanic gardens, in France, Belgium, Holland, and the south of Germany, as a 
