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 {M. 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. 

 103 



