MAGNO LIA. 



174 



MAGNOLIA. 



trees, mostly of small size, and some 

 of them shrubs. M. grandiflora, 

 the ever-green Magnolia, the most 

 desirable variety of which is M. g. 

 exoniensis, is a well-known highly 

 prized tree, generally planted against a 

 wall. Though it will only flower 

 freely in favourable situations, yet it 

 is very hardy, not having been killed 

 anywhere by the severe winter of 

 1837-8. In every villa, whatever 

 may be its extent, one or two 

 plants of this Magnolia ought to be 

 placed against the house, or on a con- 

 servative wall. It requires a loamy 

 soil, rather rich ; but it will grow still 

 better in peat, and it requires no at- 

 tention but training the branches, and 

 nailing them against the wall. It pro- 

 duces its large flowers, which are from 

 six inches to a foot in diameter when 

 fully expanded, from August to Oc- 

 tober. M. g. prcecox is a compara- 

 tively rare variety, with broader 

 leaves than M. g. exoniensis, and 

 still larger flowers, and they appear in 

 July and sometimes in June. In pur- 

 chasing both species in the nurseries, 

 care should be taken to select plants 

 which have been raised from layers ; 

 as seedlings, which are now sometimes 

 imported from France, are often ten 

 or fifteen years before they come into 

 flower : whereas the others will flower 

 the first or second year. M. conspi- 

 cua is a deciduous tree, which pro- 

 duces abundance of white flowers 

 about the size of lilies, in .April 

 and May, and sometimes even in 

 March. It is quite hardy, but as its 

 flowers appear so early, they are liable 

 to be injured by spring frosts ; they 

 also appear before the leaves, and for 

 these reasons the tree should be 

 planted against a wall, and if pos- 

 sible near M. grandiflora, and the 

 branches of the two intermingled, in 

 which situation, it produces a splendid 

 effect. It never grows out of bounds, 

 and therefore requires no pruning. It 



will thrive quite well as a standard in 

 any common soil, and planted among 

 evergreens in sheltered situationsforms 

 a splendid object when in flower. M, 

 c. Soulangiana is a hybrid between 

 this species and M . purpurea, equal- 

 ly splendid in its flowers ; and this 

 hybrid, M. conspicua and M. gran- 

 diflora, ought never to be omitted in 

 any garden whether small or large. 

 M. purpurea is a shrub which will 

 thrive in the open border, but it flowers 

 best against a wall, and no plant is 

 better deserving a place there. M. 

 acuminata, with bluish flowers, and 

 M. cor data with yellowish ones, are 

 as hardy as most flowering trees, and 

 the former will attain the height of 

 thirty or forty feet in fifteen or twenty 

 years ; both deserve a place as stand- 

 ards. M. auriculdta is a beautiful 

 hardy tree with mahogany- colour- 

 ed bark and smooth shining leaves 

 with reddish veins, it ought also to 

 have a place in every collection of 

 trees. The flowers of this and of the 

 two preceding sorts are not fragrant 

 like those of M. grandiflora and 

 M. conspicua. M. tripetala has 

 leaves so large, that in America 

 it is called the umbrella-tree ; the 

 flowers are white and fragrant. It 

 requires a peat soil kept moist, and 

 forms a splendid object on a lawn. 

 M. macro phylla is a comparatively 

 rare species with white flowers, the 

 petals of which have a purple spot at 

 the base, and the leaves are of an 

 enormous size. It thrives best in this 

 country in deep sand. M. fuscata 

 is a greenhouse shrub with brown 

 coloured flowers delightfully fragrant ; 

 which well deserves a place in every 

 conservatory, and which, in very warm 

 situations, will live through the win- 

 ter against a conservative wall. In 

 general, the Magnolias may be desig- 

 nated the aristocratic trees of a gar- 

 den,, whether we regard the large size 

 and fragrance of their flowers, or the 



