16 MAGNOLIA ACUMINATA. 
fertile. To attain a large size, when cultivated, it requires a sheltered situation, 
and a deep, rich soil ; but it will grow in exposed sites, and in almost any soil 
that is moderately free, and not surcharged with moisture. 
Propagation and Culture. The Magnolia acuminata is generally propagated 
in the European nurseries by layers ; the plants so produced flowering much 
sooner than seedlings ; but the latter, as they make far more durable plants, 
should always be preferred when this species is used as a stock to graft or inarch 
others on. It is thus treated very generally, not only for the Magnolia auricu- 
lata and cordata, but for the Magnolia conspicua and soulangeana. The plants 
are sometimes grown in the free soil, but it is preferable to rear them in pots ; 
because, in that case, they are not checked by transplanting, and at least a year 
is gained in their growth. Plants raised from seeds do not usually produce flow- 
ers till they are eight or ten years old, when the tree will probably be fifteen or 
twenty feet in height; but those propagated from layers produce flowers in two 
or three years. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of this species is soft and light, weighing, 
when dry, twenty-six pounds to a cubic foot. Being comparatively rare in the 
United States, its timber is not in general use. Where it can be obtained, it is 
employed in joinery for the interior of houses, and for cabinet-making ; and, from 
its size and lightness, large trunks are selected for scooping out into canoes. 
Many of the inhabitants of the Alleghanies gather the cones about mid-summer, 
when they are half ripe, and steep them in whiskey, which thus becomes 
extremely bitter, and habitually taken in the morning, is considered as a pre- 
ventative against autumnal fevers. 
