238 charcoal versus bone-dust. 



to do, they cannot fail of being regarded as one of the greatest orna- 

 ments of the shrubbery. 



The swamp Magnolia glauca, was the species of this plant first cul- 

 tivated in England, as it is mentioned by Ray, in 1688, as being 

 amongst the rare exotic trees and shrubs then growing in the episcopal 

 garden at Fulham, where it was sent by Banister to Bishop Compton. 

 This shrub seldom exceeds sixteen feet in height in its native soil ; it 

 is found in low, moist, or swampy ground in North America, but not 

 more northerly than Pennsylvania. The perfume of this plant re- 

 sembles that of the lily of the valley, with a mixture of aromatic odour ; 

 and its fragrance is so great, that the trees may be discovered at the 

 distance of three quarters of a mile by the scent of the blossoms, par- 

 ticularly towards the close of day, when it is, we are told, beyond 

 description pleasant to travel in the woods at the season of their 

 flowering. The tree is known in America by the name of White 

 Laurel, Swamp Sassafras ; but it is more generally called the Beaver> 

 tree, because the root is eaten as the most favourite food of the beaver, 

 and it is therefore employed to catch these animals. The flowers of 

 this speies of magnolia are similar to those of the grandiflora. They 

 consist of eight petals, but are not more than three or four inches 

 over. The bark of the swamp magnolia, as well as the fruit and the 

 young wood, form one of the American domestic medicines. 



ARTICLE V. 



CHARCOAL versus BONE-DUST. 



BY BRITANNIA. 



At a late meeting of the Horticultural Society of London, the result 

 of a trial of charcoal versus bone-dust, as applied to Fuchsias, was 

 produced in the form of two plants of F. Chevallierii. They were 

 struck from cuttings in one pot, and were potted off on the 15th 

 February. A thumb-pot, full of bone-dust, was mixed with the soil 

 in which one was potted ; the other received the same quantity of 

 charcoal. Each was potted in a 48-size pot. For a few weeks the 

 only perceivable difference was, that the one in bone-dust had leaves 

 of a much darker colour than the other. Both were re-potted, on 

 April 26th, into a 16-size pot and a 60-size pot, a pot of bone-dust 

 being given to the one, and of charcoal to the other, in the same way 



