34 ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 
especially directed to the subject. JZ. c. S. specidsa and M. c. S. Alexan- 
drina are in British gardens, but they are not worth keeping distinct from 
M. c. Soulangeana. 
44. Magndiia conspicua. 
This is a very showy tree, distinguishable from all the other magnolias 
of both sections, by its flowers expanding before any of the leaves. The 
tree assumes a regular conical shape, with a grey bark and numerous 
branches and twigs, which generally have a vertical, rather than a horizontal, 
direction. The young shoots are from 1ft. to 18in. in length, and the tree, 
in ten years, will attain the height of from 10 ft. to 15 ft., flowering the second 
or third year after grafting. It is nearly as hardy as the American species ; 
flowering freely every year, as a standard, in the neighbourhood of London, 
when the wood has been properly ripened during the preceding summer. A 
rich sandy loam seems to suit this species best; but it will grow in any deep 
free soil, properly drained, and moderately enriched. The situation, when it 
is to be treated as a standard, ought to be sufficiently open to admit of ripening 
the wood in autumn, and yet not so warm as to urge forward the flower-buds 
prematurely in spring, as they are very liable to be injured by frost; from 
which, however, they may be protected by a very slight covering (during nights 
and frosty days) of gauze or bunting, stretched over the tree horizontally, 
and supported by posts. Against a wall, the tree shows itself in its greatest 
beauty; and there it can easily be protected, by a projecting coping, from the 
severest weather ever experienced in the neighbourhood of London. In 
warm situations, sloping to the south or south-east, the tree has a fine effect 
planted in front of a bank of evergreens; and, indeed, wherever it is planted, 
evergreens should be placed near it, and, if possible, so as to form a back- 
ground, on account of the flowers expanding before the tree is furnished with 
any leaves. The species and all the varieties are propagated hy layers, or 
by inarching on M. purpirea or on M. acuminata. When inarched on M. 
purpirea, the tree is comparatively dwarfed, by which it is rendered very con- 
venient for use as a shrub, or for growing in pots, and forcing; but, when it is 
intended to form a tree, it should either be inarched on M. acuminata, or raised 
from layers or seeds. It generally requires two years before the plants can 
be separated from the parent stock. Some plants of this species have been 
raised from seed ripened in Europe; and we have no doubt that, when this 
magnificent tree becomes better known and more generally in demand, it 
will be raised in this way extensively in France and Italy, and supplied to 
the British nurseries from these countries. 
