174 '^^^^ Magnoliacecs. 



picked ere it is fully ripe, and will not show the injury of a bruise as 

 quickly or plainly as that of a light color. To this add that the very 

 earliest fruit and the very latest will command always one-quarter to one- 

 third more price than that of medium seasons, and I have written enough 

 for the present. F- R- ElliotU 



Cleveland, O. 



THE MAGNOLIACE^. 



The hardy members of this order are embraced in the genera Magno- 

 lia and Liriodendron. 



{a.) Magnolia. — An erroneous opinion prevails that the several 

 species and varieties of this genus can be successfully cultivated only in 

 more southern latitudes. Two are indigenous to northern sections of the 

 Union; and it is evident, that, with suitable management, all of them, 

 whether of American or Asiatic origin, will thrive here, the gra?idiflora and 

 one or two others excepted. 



With the rapid advancement in ornamental gardening, no sufficient 

 reason can therefore be offered why, though at present the most rare, they 

 should not become common ornaments of our grounds. This view is 

 sustained by the experience of a few individuals in Boston, Flushing, 

 Newburg, Rochester, and Cleveland ; and that experience has also shown 

 the following kinds to be worthy of cultivation : — 



I. M. Acuminata {Ciiciunber-tree). — In the original forests of Ohio, this 

 tree was common, but, with their destruction, is rapidly disappearing ; and, 

 as its reproduction from seed is now commonly interrupted, it may be 

 exterminated in the course of a few generations. 



Its intrinsic merits as an ornamental tree, as w^ell as its great value as a 

 stock for extending the propagation of other kinds, may perhaps avert such 

 a result. 



Employed for this latter purpose, it imparts vigor to the weak, hardiness 

 to the more tender, and, by its profuse supply of sap, forces them into 

 abnormal production of flowers, improved in size and perfection as well as 

 in numbers. 



