EVERGREEN MAGNOLIA 



(Magnolia Fcetida) 



THIS is not a timber tree of first importance. A few years ago it 

 was seldom cut except in very small quantities; but it was found to 

 possess good qualities, and now it goes regularly to the mills which saw 

 hardwoods hi the region where it grows. The wood of different magnolia 

 trees, or even the wood of the same tree, shows lack of uniformity. Some 

 of it looks like yellow poplar and compares favorably with it in several 

 particulars, while other of it is very dark, with hard flinty streaks which 

 not only present a poor appearance, but dull the tools of the woodwork- 

 ing machines and create an unfavorable impression of the wood generally. 

 This magnolia holds pretty closely to the damp lands in all parts of its 

 range. The amount of the annual cut is not known, because it goes hi 

 with the minor species in most places and no separate account is taken. 

 It is coming into more notice every year, and some manufacturers have 

 been so successful in finding ways to make it serviceable that the best 

 grades are easily sold. The wood does not hold its color very well. The 

 light-colored sapwood is apt to become darker after exposure to the air, 

 and the dark heartwood fades a little. The tree is so handsome hi the 

 forest that it is occasionally spared when the surrounding trees are 

 removed. 



It is doubtful if any American tree surpasses it as an ornament 

 when its leaves, trunk, flowers, and bark are considered. It is not 

 perfect in all of these particulars; in fact, it possesses some serious faults. 

 The crown is often too small for the tree's height; the branches straggle, 

 many on some parts of the trunk and few on others; the flowers are 

 objectionable because of strong odor which is unpleasant to most people. 

 But these shortcomings are more than compensated for by splendid 

 qualities. The rich, dark green of the leaves, their size and profusion, 

 then- changeless luster, place them in a position almost beyond the reach 

 of rivalry from any other tree. 



Those who see this splendid inhabitant of the forest only where it 

 has been planted hi northern states, and elsewhere outside of its natural 

 range, miss much of the best it has to give. It belongs in the South. 

 The wet lands, the small elevations in deep swamps, the flat country 

 where forests are dense, are its home. The yellowish-green trunk rises 

 through the tangled foliage that keeps near the ground, and towers fifty 

 feet above, and there spreads in a crown of green so deep that it is almost 

 black. It likes company, and seldom grows solitary. Its associates are 

 the southern maples, red gum, tupelo, cypress, a dozen species of oak, 



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