82 



Ornamental Shrubs. 



as with them, together with many foreign varieties, the 

 foliage precedes the flowers, though all are early spring 

 bloomers. Only a few are evergreens, but the leaves 

 of many of the deciduous species are so persistent and 

 hold on so long in autumn that it might not require a 

 very great change in climatic conditions to enable them 

 also to be clothed with living green. In most cases the 

 leaves are large and inclined to be fleshy, alternate, entire, 

 and sometimes dotted with pellucid spots, giving them a 

 rich and attractive appearance. The fruit usually grows 

 in a cone or hard, compact cluster, which becomes scarlet 

 or bright red during the period of ripening. As the seeds 

 drop out they may often be seen hanging by a slender 



thread several inches 

 below the bunch in 

 which they matured. 

 They consist of small, 

 hard nuts covered with 

 a pale-red, fleshy sub- 

 stance which should be 

 removed before plant- 

 ing. Without observing 

 any prescribed order 

 or classification, the 

 following list is given 

 as including the more 

 desirable hardy forms 

 MAGNOLIA GLAUCA. adapted to cultivation : 



M. glauca, known in some localities as sweet bay, and 

 in others as swamp laurel, is the only species that is known 



