MAGNOLIA FAMILY 



is indeed most rightly named — a star. Perfectly 

 hardy, it blooms the earliest of all the magnolias, com- 

 ing into flower with the forsythias. The blossom is 

 pure white, and deliciously fragrant ; the petals at 

 first spread into a star but later become reflexed. Ex- 

 tremely beautiful, it needs but to be known to be 

 highly valued. 



Other magnolias have come, and others, no doubt, 

 are yet to come, from that great storehouse of the East, 

 China. A recent arrival is Magnolia kobus, a small 

 bushy tree which is perfectly hardy but whose flowers 

 are not so fine as those of Magnolia stcllata. 



The family characteristics of all the magnolias are 

 the leathery texture of the petals, and the successive 

 rows of stamens packed around the prolonged recepta- 

 cle which is crowned with pistils, also packed in rows 

 and closely cohering with each other. The fruit is a 

 fleshy cone containing brilliant scarlet seeds. 



In order that a magnolia should do well it ought to 

 stand by itself in the open, so that it may have an 

 abundance of light and air ; otherwise the flowering 

 wood does not properly ripen. 



The secret of transplanting magnolias is to do it as 

 the leaves are opening ; that is, in the case of these 

 Asiatic species, after the flowers have fallen. This 

 seems rather astonishing, but the reason lies in the 

 character of the roots, which are large and fleshy and 

 which decay rapidly when cut or bruised. The} 7 con- 

 sequently do not recover from transplanting unless 

 moved at a time when they are in active growth and 

 so in a condition to make new root growth rapidly. 



All the magnolias love moisture, and grow best in 



IO 



