Ornamental Gardening in Lombardy, 64<i 



for procuring foreign plants, since which time many that are both 

 new and rare have been introduced. 



We are indebted to our illustrious viceroy, who cultivates the 

 sciences, and particularly botany, for the introduction of many 

 plants. Every year we obtain some that are new ; and he prefers 

 those that are useful both for domestic purposes and the arts. 

 Now the taste for ornamental gardening is advancing all over 

 Lombardy, and all the rich proprietors appear to have a wish to 

 ornament their gardens with foreign plants. 



Only the male of the Salisburm adiantifblia has flowered here; 

 the female has not produced any flowers. The plant was intro- 

 duced in 1823, by Count Vitaliano Borromeo, one of our most 

 illustrious lovers of Flora. 



In the garden at Monza, the Magnolm conspicua flowers 

 abundantly every year, and this year it produced plenty of seed. 

 It is propagated by seed, layers, and inarching. When this 

 plant is in flower it might be called the snow tree. M. glauca 

 flowers every year, but has never produced seeds : it is propa- 

 gated by layers and inarching. M. obovata flowers abundantly, 

 and produces seeds. M. Kbbiis and Soulange«w« are grafted on 

 M. obovata. 



In the month of November the plants of Magnolm grandiflora 

 are covered with straw caps, not from any fear that the cold 

 would injure them, because they supported it very well in 1829 

 and 1830, when the thermometer was at 12° Reaumur, for twelve 

 nights; but lest the weight of the snow should break their 

 branches, as it sometimes does. In spring many of them die, 

 and even those of a considerable size, both in the royal gardens, 

 and elsewhere, which is attributed to the droughts which often 

 occur here, from the beginning of autumn to winter. Our Mag- 

 mAia grandiflora that we have here, which is sixty years old, and 

 36 ft. high, is completely exposed to the sun : but, if planted 

 facing the north, it would have grown more vigorously, and its 

 leaves would have been of a deep green ; whereas, from its being 

 so much exposed to the sun, although it has not languished, its 

 leaves . have always been of a pale green. This tree flowers 

 freely, and produces a great quantity of seed. There are more 

 than 230 plants of M. grandiflora in the open air in this garden. 



M. g. prae^cox flowers abundantly from the beginning of May 

 till August, and sometimes till September : it is esteemed more 

 than any of the other magnolias by the horticulturists of Lombardy. 

 M. macrophylla flowered, last year for the first time, but did not 

 produce seed. In the winter of 1829—30 it nearly died to the 

 ground. It grew in the garden at the Villa Ei'avesi, at Derio. 

 The tree at Monza has been eight years planted, and is 10 ft. 

 high. M. tripetala flowers freely every year, and produces 

 plenty of seed. Asimi?ia triloba bears abundance of fruit every 



Vou XI.— No. 69. 3a 



