452 



HISTORY OP THE VEGETABLE KINGDO.M. 



The Small Magnolia, or White Bay (m. 

 glaitca). This tree, though inferior in size to 

 the preceding, and less regularly formed, is yet 

 very interesting on account of its beautiful 

 foliage and flowers. It is found in the eastern and 

 some of the middle states of America, and in the 

 maritime parts of the southern states. It is one 

 of the most abundant of the trees which grow in 

 wet ground. It is not found to penetrate far 

 into the interior of the country, and is unknown 

 in the western states. In the lower parts of 

 New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and farther south, 

 it is seen only in the most miry swamps, which, 

 duvin:^ the greater part of the year, are so wet 

 as to be impassable. Here it is accompanied by 

 the white cedar, and by the different species of 

 andromeda and whortle-berry. In the Caro- 

 linas and Georgia it grows abundantly in the 

 long narrow marshes which traverse the pine 

 barrens, on a black miry soil, which lies above 

 a bed of sterile sand. 



The leaves of the small magnolia are five to 

 six inches long, petiolated, alternate, oblong, 

 oval, and entire. They are of a dark shining 

 green above, and glaucous underneath, thus pre- 

 senting an agreeable contrast in the colour of the 

 two surfaces. The leaves fall in the autumn, 

 and re-appear early in spring. The flowers, which 

 are single, and situated at the extremity of the 

 branches, are two to three inches in breadth, 

 white, and composed of several concave oval 

 petals. In the southern states the blossoms appear 

 in May; in the northern a month later. In the 

 neighbourhood of New York and Philadelphia, 

 they are collected and sold in the markets. The 

 fruit is small, green, and conical, composed of a 

 number of cellules, and varying in length from 

 an inch to an inch and a half. When ripe, the 

 seeds, which are of a scarlet colour, burst their 

 cells, and remain some days suspended by white 

 slender filaments. The seeds very speedily become 

 rancid ; and in order to preserve their germi- 

 nating power, they must be placed as soon as 

 gathered, and before the enveloping pulp is 

 withered, in rotten wood, or in sand slightly 

 moistened. The bark of the tree is smooth, and 

 of a gray colour. The trunk is much bent, and 

 divided into a great number of branches. The 

 wood is of a white colour, light, and of no use. 

 From its obtaining the name of " beaver wood," 

 it is probable these animals at one time were inha- 

 bitants of the localities where it grows, and made 

 use of it for constructing their dams. The bark 

 and seed-cones have a bitter taste and aromatic 

 flavour, and are used as tonics. This elegant tree 

 stands the climate of Europe, and ripens its seeds 

 in the environs of Paris. 



The Cucumbek Tree (magnolia acuminata). 

 This is a beautiful tree, equal in height and dia- 

 meter to the big laurel. It abounds along the 

 whole mountainous tract of the AUeghanies, in- 



cluding a distance of 900 miles, and is also com- 

 mon on the Cumberland mountains. The situ- 

 ations peculiarly adapted to its growth are the 

 declivities of mountains, narrow valleys, thebanks 

 of torrents, where the atmosphere is constantly 

 moist, and where the soil is deep and fertile. 

 The leaves are six to seven inches in length, and 

 three or four inches broad upon old trees. Upon 

 saplings, growing in moist places, they are some- 

 times double this size. They are oval, entire, 

 acuminate, and deciduous. The flowers ai-e five 

 to six inchefe in diameter, of a blue colour, 

 or sometimes white, with a tint of yellow, and 

 a faint odour. As they are very numerous, they 

 produce a pleasing effect amid the dark foliage. 

 The cones are about three inches long, eight or 

 ten lines in diameter, of nearly a cylindrical 

 shape, and often a little larger at the upper end 

 than at the base. On one side they are convex, 

 and concave on the other, and when green, nearly 

 resemble a young cucumber ; hence the common 

 name of the tree. The inhabitants in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the AUeghanies steep these cones 

 in spirits, and use the tincture as a tonic. 



This tree sometimes exceeds eighty feet in 

 height, and three or five feet in diameter. The 

 trunk is straight and of a unifonn size, and often 

 destitute of branches for two-tliirds of its height. 

 The summit is ample, regularly shaped, and 

 altogether forms one of the handsomest forms of 

 foliage of any tree in America. The lieart wood 

 is soft, and of a j'ellowish brown colour, resem- 

 bling that of the poplar or tulip tree. Like this 

 wood, also, it is fine grained, and susceptible of 

 a brilliant polish; but it is less strong and 

 durable when exposed to the weather. Being not 

 a very common tree, it is not much employed in 

 the arts. Savm into bands, it serves for joinery 

 work in the interior of houses ; and for its size 

 and lightness it is selected for large canoes. It 

 bears the winters of England, Gemiany, and 

 France, and flourishes in the open fields. 



The other species are the heart-leaved cucum- 

 ber tree (m. cordata), which is nearly similar, 

 but smaller, and has yellow petals ; the um- 

 brella tree (m. tripetala), with large leaves and 

 flowers, but a tree of moderate size; and the 

 long-leaved cucumber tree (m. auriculata), wilh 

 leaves eight to nine inches long, broad at the 

 top, and acuminated and nan-ow and somewhat 

 spear-shaped at the base. The flowers are large, 

 white, and of an agreeable odour ; the cones, 

 smaller than those of the other species, and of a 

 red colour. 



Loblolly Bay (gordonia last/anthus). This 

 tree grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet, 

 with a diameter of eighteen to twenty inches. 

 For twenty-five to thirty feet its trunk is pei-- 

 fectly straight. The leaves are evergreen, four 

 to six inches long, alternate, oval, acuminate, and 

 slightly toothed. The flowers are upwards of an 



