34 



ARBOHETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



especial!}' directed to the subject. M. c. S. speciosn and M. c. S. Alexan- 

 drhia are in British gardens, but tliey are not worth keeping distinct from 



M. c. Souhingertwa 



44. Magn6iia con&picua. 



TIlis is a very showy tree, distinguishable from all the other magnolias 

 of both sections, by its flowers expanding before any of the leaves. The 

 tree assumes a regular conical shape, with a grey bark and numerous 

 branches and twigs, which generally have a vertical, rather than a horizontal, 

 direction. The young shoots are from 1 ft. to 18 in. in length, and the tree, 

 in ten years, will attain the height of from 10 ft. to 15 ft., flowering the second 

 or third year after grafting. It is nearly as hardy as the American species ; 

 flowering freely every year, as a standard, in the neighbourhood of London, 

 when the wood has been properly ripened during the preceding summer. A 

 rich sandy loam seems to suit this species best ; but it will grow in any deep 

 free soil, properly drained, and moderately enriched. The situation, when it 

 is to be treateti as a standard, ought to be sufficiently open to admit of ripening 

 the wood in autumn, and yet not so warm as to urge forward the flower-buds 

 prematurely in spring, as they are very liable to be injured by frost ; from 

 which, however, they may be protected by a very slight covering (during nights 

 and frosty days) of gauze or bunting, stretched over the tree horizontally, 

 and supported by posts. Against a wall, the tree shows itself in its greatest 

 beauty; and there it can easily be protected, by a projecting coping, from the 

 severest weather ever experienced in the neighbourhood of London. Li 

 warm situations, sloping to the south or south-east, the tree has a fine effect 

 planted in front of a bank of evergreens; and, indeed, wherever it is planted, 

 evergreens should be placed near it, and, if possible, so as to form a back- 

 ground, on account of the flowers expanding before the tree is furnished with 

 any leaves. The species and all the varieties are propagated by layers, or 

 by inarching on M. purpurea or on M. acuminata. When inarched on M. 

 purpurea, the tree is comparatively dwarfed, by which it is rendered very con- 

 venient for use as a shrub, or for growing in pots, ami forcing ; but, when it is 

 intended to form a tree, it should either be inarched on M. acuminata, or raised 

 from layers or seeds. It generally requires two years before the plants can 

 be separated from the parent stock. Some plants of this species have been 

 raised from seed ripened in Europe ; and we have no doubt that, when this 

 magnificent tree becomes better known and more generally in demand, it 

 will be raised in this way extensively in France and Italy, and supplied to 

 the British nurseries from these countries. 



I 



