Along the Lakeside—Third Excursion 
glossy, and thick leaf is much like that of the rubber- 
plant and rhododendron, but falls in November at the 
North. Its blossom is of exquisite texture, cream-white 
and odorous, two to three inches in diameter, the small- 
est of all magnolia flowers. It shows the family trait of 
few and coarse branches, with the foliage mostly clus- 
tered at the ends. ‘This picture of it shows that it is 
not a wise selection for a small lawn. 
Another species, of still more awkward figure, toler- 
able only upon large grounds, is the umbrella-tree, with 
very large leaves crowded at the end of the branch. It 
usually requires a strong imagination to see that this dis- 
position of the foliage simulates an umbrella, but some 
can see what others cannot, and people often grasp at a 
straw in naming a plant. The blossom is enormous, 
nearly ten inches across, and a vast disappointment to 
one who sees it for the first time, after having read of it, 
as it is coarse and uncouth. I cannot but wonder what 
has given to this sprawling tree its wide popularity. 
This species can be found in the ‘‘ Ramble,’’ also just be- 
yond the bridge under which one passes in going north 
from the ‘‘Menagerie,’’ at Sixty-fourth Street, East. 
But a truly noble specimen, the tallest and most 
shapely of the species seen at the North, is the cucum- 
ber-tree or mountain magnolia (JZ. acuminata), attaining 
a height of nearly a hundred feet. Its bell-shaped, 
greenish-yellow flowers do not enhance its beauty, but 
in stately figure and dark luxuriance of foliage it is a 
conspicuous ornament. A large cluster is in the ‘“‘ Ram- 
ble,’’ northeast of what might be called the duck-pond, 
if it were large enough to have a name. 
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