THE TULIP TREE. 



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Fig. 1385.— Tulip Tree— LinWe/M/row <?«/i7>- 

 i/cm. (Height 76 feet.) 



employed trees, wherever a grand effect 

 in park or avenue planting is desired, or 

 the home grounds are to be beautified. 



Liriodendron Tulipifera — The tulip- 

 bearing lily tree ! Such is the title, sug- 

 gestive of beautiful and graceful ideas 

 that scientists have bestowed on the sub- 

 ject of our paper, and very appropri- 

 ately is it so named. Its profusion of 

 yellow lurbaned flowers in May and 

 June, resemble a veritable tulip garden, 

 its leaves wear the same gloss as the 

 calla's foliage, and its straight, smooth 

 stems shoots up bare (until a great height 

 is reached) of leaves and branches, like 

 some gigantic lily stalk. Let us follow 

 out the whim of describing it by similes 

 and we must then call the leaves violin- 

 shaped, for thus some descriptions con- 

 cur in characterizing it, while the flowers, 

 poets seem to agree, are like chalices, 

 for Pickering says : 



" Through the verdant maze, 

 The Tulip-tree, 

 Its golden chalice oft triumphantly displays." 



And Bryant following on, makes the 

 same comparison in his lines, — 



" The Tulip-tree ojjened in airs of June her 



multitude 

 Of golden chalices, to harmony of birds. 

 And silken-winged insects, of the sky." 



The flowers, to give a more definite 

 description, are solitary, fragrant, of a 

 greenish yellow color, marked within with 

 orange. The sepals are three, reflexed. 

 The corolla, composed of six petals in 

 two rows, has a breadth of about i ^ 

 or two inches. 



The leaves are large and handsome, 

 and of a rich bright green hue changing 

 to a beautiful yellow in autumn. The 

 summit has a fine even symmetrical 

 form, in keeping with the elegance 

 of its trunk. In the Western States the 

 tree has been known to attain to a height 

 of 140 feet, but in the Middle and 

 Eastern States and in Ontario it is 

 not so large, though it will reach an 

 altitude of upwards of 100 feet. It 

 thrives best in a deep, rich, well-drained 

 loam, and in a sheltered position. Its 

 roots are, unfortunately, tender, and 

 when large it is difficult to transplant. 

 Small trees should be secured for plant- 

 ing, and care must be taken not to e.x- 

 pose the roots to sunshine or wind. 



The Tulip-tree has very few insect 

 foes to contend with, the bitterness of 

 the bark and leaves securing immunity 

 for it from all these pests. We would 

 suggest it as a desirable ornament for 

 the home grounds in the southern parts 

 of the Province. For avenues, its 

 stately columnar stems and thick shade- 

 giving canopy of foliage would render 

 it peculiarly suitable, and in parks it 

 would give splendor and charm to the 

 landscape, either standing in an iso- 

 lated position or forming one element 

 in the composition of a group. 



In conclusion, we may add that the 

 tree is obtainable at a moderate price at 

 several of the larger nurseries in Ontario. 



A. E. MiCKLE. 



Maplehurst, Grimsby. 

 273 



