CHAP. III. 



MAGNOLIA' CEJE. MAGKo'l/^, 



265 



walk, or a winter flower-garden. The finest magnolia wall in England is that 

 at White Knights, near Reading ; it is 145 ft. long, and 24 ft. high. The 

 upper part of it is formed of trellis-work, which projects with a curve, the 

 tangent to which forms an angle of, perhaps, 45° with the face of the wall. On 

 this trellis the upper branches of the trees terminate, and, by their projection, 

 protect all those beneath them from perpendicular rains or snows. Such 

 protection, however, is altogether unnecessar3', as the magnolias against walls, 

 in Messrs. Loddiges's arboretum, and in various nurseries and gardens about 

 London, abundantly testify. Indeed, it cannot fail to be ultimately injurious, 

 not only by keeping off perpendicular rains, but by excluding the direct in- 

 fluence of the sun's rays from the upper part of the tree. As this species of 

 magnolia does not flower till June or July, its blossoms are in no clanger of 

 being injured by frost; and, therefore, it requires no projecting coping, or 

 covering of any sort, during winter, at least about London. Where danger 

 is anticipated from severe frost, attention should be directed to protecting the 

 roots, and especially the collar and the stem, for 2 ft. or 3 ft. above the ground. 



Propagation, in the London nurseries, is generally effected by forming stools 

 cither in warm situations in the open air, to be protected during winter, or 

 in cold-pits. The shoots are laid down in autumn, and require two years to 

 become sufficiently rooted for separation ; they are then potted, and kept in 

 ])its or under glass during winter, and set in the open air, in a shady place, 

 during summer, till wanted for final planting. M. grandiflora is also occa- 

 sionally raised from American seeds ; but, as plants so originated are much 

 longer in coming into flower than plants raised from layers (as we have before 

 observed, p. 262.), they are not in demand. 



Choice of Plants. In no case whatever would we recommend purchasing 

 any species of magnolia not grown in a pot ; because plants so grown may 

 be sent to any distance without injury to the roots, which are few and suc- 

 culent, and easily damaged by exposure to the air and light. 



Planting, Culture, and Management. In planting, the ball should be care- 

 fully broken by the hand, and the roots spread out in every direction, and 

 covered with heath mould, or a mixture of leaf mould and sandy loam. The 

 soil ought to be made fiinn to the fibrous roots, not by treading, but by 

 abundant watering, and, if the plant be large, by fixing with water; that is, 

 while the earth is being carefully put about the roots by one man, another 

 should pour water over it from a pot held 6 ft. or 8 ft. above it, so that the 

 weight of the water may wash the soil into every crevice formed by the roots, 

 and consolidate it there. Shading will be advisable for some weeks, or even 

 months, after planting : to a standard, this may be given by placing a cone of 

 wicker-work over the tree by day, and takmg it off" at night ; or by sticking a 

 few spruce fir or' other twiggy branches in the soil round it, or, at least, on 

 the south side. Against a wall or trellis, it may be sheltered by an old net 

 during day, which is to be taken off" at night, or by any other convenient means. 

 If the magnolia be intended to form a handsome tree as a standai-d, it should 

 not only have a sufficient depth of suitable soil, and a dry sheltered situation 

 open to the south, but it should be pruned to a single stem for at least 3 ft. 

 or 4 ft. from the ground, to direct the growth to the head. If the jjlant does 

 not grow freely after it has been three or four years planted, it ought to be 

 bentdown to the ground, and kept in that position till it throws up one strong 

 shoot from the collar. The old stem should then be cut away, leaving only 

 the new shoot ; and this shoot, which will probably extend to 3 ft. or 4 ft. 

 the first season, will soon form a handsome tree. The greater part of the 

 magnolias which are planted as standards, as far as we have been able to 

 observe, are treated in such a manner that they can never be expected to 

 become any thing else than mere bushes. The soil is not properly prepared ; 

 or, if prepared, a sufficient quantity of it is not brought together : because, to 

 admit of this species growing to a tree, the subsoil ought to be prepared by 

 tUt as well as the soil. The plants, too, are generally turned out of their 

 pots without breaking the ball, and spreading tFae roots; and it has been as- 

 certaincdj that the Magnolm grandiflora, and various other exotic trees, when 



