22 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



green leaf is from five to eight inches long, thick, 

 shiny above, and somewhat rusty beneath. The ma- 

 jestic and lilylike flowers measure seven or eight 

 inches across ; they are cream-white, exceedingly fra- 

 grant, and bloom from April to June in the South, 

 but as late as early August in the North. 



The finest growth of this tree, according to Prof. 

 Sargent, is in western Louisiana, where it forms a 

 conspicuous feature of the forest.* It grows wild in 

 river swamps and pine barrens as far north as the 

 Carolinas, and is a most familiar and beautiful 

 object in the streets and gardens of the 

 Southern cities. This great-flow- 

 ered magnolia, the only perfectly 

 ever-green species, is not hardy 

 in the North — a pity, for it is 

 certainly the most magnificent 

 flowering tree of our country. 



The small 

 magnolia, or 



Magnolia qlauca. , -i 



sweet bay, is 

 a slenderer tree, frequently 

 reduced to the condition of 

 a shrub in the North, but 

 southward it attains 



Small Magnolia- 

 Sweet Bay. 



Magnolia glauca. 



a 



* Vide Silva of North America, C. S. Sargent. 



