MAGNOLIA. 



192 



llAGSrOLIA. 



"brown in the centre. The seeds 

 Bhoiild be sown in the ox>en air in 

 February, or as soon as the weather 

 Trill admit, in rich deep soil ; or in 

 sheltered situations, the seeds may 

 be sown in autumn, and the young 

 plants left to stand the winter. 

 When the jjlants begin to attain a 

 considerable size, they should be 

 stated and tied up, or they will have 

 a very untidy and disagreeable ap- 

 pearance. The kind called 3/. spUn- 

 den» is only a variety of M. tlegans. 

 Magxo'lia. — Magnolmceae. — 

 This is a genus of singularly orna- 

 mental trees, mostly of small size, 

 and some of them shi'ubs. M. 

 grandijiora, the evergreen !Magnolia, 

 the most desirable variety of which is 

 M. g. ezonUnsis, is a well-known 

 highly prized tree, generally planted 

 against a wall. Though it will only 

 flower freelyin favourable situations, 

 yet it is very hardy, not having been 

 killed anywhere by the severe winter 

 of 1837-8. In every villa, whatever 

 may be its extent, one or two jjlants 

 of this ilagnolia ought to be placed 

 against the house, or on a conservative 

 wall. It will thrive in a loamy soil, 

 rather rich ; but it will grow still 

 better in peat, and it requires no 

 attention but training the branches, 

 and nailing them against the wall. 

 It produces its large flowers which 

 are from six inches to a foot in 

 diameter when fully expanded, from 

 August to October. M. g. prce^cox 

 is a comparatively rare variety, indth 

 broader leaves than M. g. exoniends, 

 and still larger flowers, and they 

 appear in July and sometimes in 

 June. In purchasing both kinds in 

 the nurseries care should be taken 

 to select ptlants which have been 

 raised from layers ; as seedlings, 

 which are now sometimes imported 

 from France, are often ten or fifteen 

 years before they come into flower : 

 whereas the others will flower the 



first or second year. M. compicua 

 is a deciduous tree, which produces 

 abundance of white flowers about the 

 size of lilies, in April and May, and 

 sometimes even in March, It is 

 quite hardy, but as its flowers appear 

 so early, they are liable to be injured 

 by spring frosts ; they also appear 

 before the leaves, and for these 

 reasons the tree should be planted 

 against a wall, and if fjossible near 

 M. grandijiora, so that the branches 

 may intermingle, in which situation 

 it produces a splendid effect. It 

 never grows out of bounds, and 

 therefore requires no pruning. It 

 wiU thrive quite well as a standard 

 in any common soil, and planted 

 among evergreens in sheltered situ- 

 ations forms a splendid object when 

 in flower. M. c. Soulangeana is a 

 hybrid between this species and M. 

 purpurea, equally splendid in its 

 flowers ; and this hybrid, M. conspl- 

 cua, unhiM.grandifibra, ought never 

 to be omitted in any garden, where 

 ornamental flowering trees are re- 

 quired, M. jmrpurea is a shrub 

 which will thrive in the open border, 

 but it flowers best against a wall, 

 and no plant is better deserving a 

 place there, M. acuminata, with 

 bluish flowers, and M. cordata, with 

 yellowish ones, are as hardy as most 

 flowering trees, and the former will 

 attain the height of thirty or forty 

 feet in fifteen or twenty years ; both 

 deserve a place as standards. M. 

 auriculata is a beautiful hardy tree, 

 with mahogany-coloured bark, and 

 smooth shining leaves A\ith reddish 

 veins ; it ought also to have a place 

 in every collection of trees. The 

 flowers of this and of the two pre- 

 ceding sorts are not fragrant like 

 those of 3f. grandiflbra and M. 

 conspicua. M. tripetala has leaves 

 so large, that in America it is called 

 the Umbrella-tree ; the flowers are 

 white and fragrant. It requires a 



