THE MAGNOLIAS 103 



home, and though young trees are oftenest seen, the older 

 specimens are as large as any native magnoha. This is one 

 parent. The other is but a shrub, the purple magnolia, 

 M. ohovata, that must be protected against the rigors of our 

 Northern winters. It blooms in May or June, and its 

 purple flowers, with rosy linings, are relatively small and al- 

 most scentless. The children of this parentage get their 

 tints of pink and rose and crimson from this purple mag- 

 nolia shrub. 



Splendid, hardy, fragrant, big-flowered varieties have 

 arisen from this cross. All are small trees, suitable for 

 planting in city yards, where they are decorative through- 

 out the season. 



Starry Magnolia 



M. stellata 



The starry magnolia blooms in March or April, covering 

 itself with star-shaped white flowers made of strap-like 

 petals that form a flat whorl instead of a cup. This is the 

 earhest magnoha and wonderfully precocious, blooming 

 when scarcely two feet high. 



The Southern states can grow the splendid Campbell's 

 magnolia, which is in its glory in the high mountam 

 valleys of the Himalayas, where it reaches one hundred feet 

 in height. The fragrant flower-cups, from sLx to ten 

 inches in diameter, shade from pink to crimson. It is rare 

 in cultivation because it is not easy to grow, and northern 

 horticulturists fail utterly to grow it outdoors; but the fact 

 that it is the most beautiful of all exotic species must en- 

 courage its culture in the South, and diflSculties will be over- 

 come when the tree's pecuhar needs are fully understood. 



