62 The Arboretum. 



height of about thirty feet, seldom exceeding thirty-six, with 

 a trunk five or six inches in diameter. The leaves are 

 large and long, often measuring eighteen inches in length 

 and eight broad, and they are produced in large tufts at the 

 ends of the branches, as shown in the engraving, which have 

 given it the appellation of the Umbrella tree, or in French, 

 the Parasol Magnolia. The flowers are large, seven or eight 

 inches in diameter, with from nine to twelve petals, appear- 

 ing in May and June, on the extremities of last year's shoots, 

 and possessing a sweet but heavy perfume. They are fol- 

 lowed by a conical fruit, which changes to a deep rosy tint, 

 rendering the tree very showy until they drop in the autumn. 



The Magnolia tripetala is a very beautiful tree, and no 

 ornamental plantation or pleasure ground should be without 

 it. A tree, in good soil and with proper treatment, will 

 attain the height of ten to fifteen feet in ten years, when it 

 will assume the shape and appearance of our engraving, 

 which is of a tree ten years planted, and twelve feet high, 

 (drawn to a scale of one quarter of an inch to a foot.) 



/S'oiZ, Situation, Propagation and Cult%ire. — The best soil 

 for this species is a deep rich, sandy loam, on a subsoil not 

 too retentive of moisture, when it will fully ripen its wood. 

 The situation should be partially shaded and sheltered, and 

 it should be set at such a distance from other trees or 

 shrubs, that it may have room to extend its branches and 

 display its flowers ; the border of a lawn would be a most 

 appropriate place. The trees are sometimes raised from 

 layers, but they are generally propagated by seeds, and they 

 should be transplanted where they are to remain, before they 

 attain a large size ; three to six feet high is the best size for 

 removing with safety. 



History and Statistics. — This umbrella tree was first intro- 

 duced into England about 1752, and it has now become one 

 of the most common kinds ; and in the neighborhood of Lon- 

 don are numerous plants thirty feet high. In France, and 

 on the continent, it is also common ; but in the north of Ger- 

 many and Denmark, according to the Arboretum Britannicum 

 it is a greenhouse plant. The finest cultivated plants in our 

 gardens are in the Bartram Botanic Garden, near Philadel- 

 phia. The price of trees is from 50 cents to $1 each. 



