LARGE FLOWERED MAGNOLIA. 
7 
species also furnishes the greatest number of young stocks, which are as 
thriving as plants carefully raised in the nursery, and so numerous in the 
districts where the tree abounds, that several hundreds of them may be 
plucked up in an hour. 
Insulated trees bear a proportionally greater number of blossoms and of 
cones than those which are enclosed in the forests : a single tree some- 
times yields 300 or 400 cones, each of which contains 40 or 50 seeds. 
This Magnolia is deservedly esteemed in Europe by the curious in foreign 
trees. It is valued, not only for the magnificence of its foliage and 
of its flowers, but also for its insensibility to cold. It is hardier than the 
Orange Tree, and in America it grows five degrees further north : the 
Orange Tree does not multiply in the American forests above the 28° of 
latitude. In Europe, the most northern point at which the Big Laurel pas- 
ses the winter securely in the open air is about Nantes, in the latitude of 
47° 14' ; but it begins to yield ripe fruit near Grenoble, in the latitude of 
45° 11'. In the garden of the late Mr. W. Hamilton, near Philadelphia, 
I saw a Magnolia which bore uninjured the rigorous climate of this part of 
Pennsylvania, which is much more severe than that of Paris and of Lon- 
don. From these facts it may be inferred that, with time and perseverance, 
this tree may be habituated to a degree of cold far exceeding the tempe- 
rature of its native skies, and that it will one day become the finest orna- 
ment of our parks and gardens. 
PLATE LI. 
A leaf of the natural size. Fig. 1, A flaiver of half the natural size. Fig. 2, 
A cone of the natural size. 
[ Several varieties of this tree are to be found in the nurseries of London 
and Paris, differing only in the shape of the leaves and size of the flowers, 
both of which are modified by cultivation and sometimes greatly increased 
in size. A deep sandy loam, dry at bottom, and enriched with vegetable 
mould, suits all the varieties of this species, and it is best propagated by 
layers, those raised from seed requiring a long time to flower. The 
shoots should be laid down ip autumn, and require two years to become 
sufficiently rooted for separation ; they are then potted, and kept in pits or 
under glass during winter, and set in the open air during summer, till wanted 
for final planting. A few specimens have thriven very well in the vicinity 
of Philadelphia, but further north they require protection. Planting against 
a south wall with projecting eave boards, would probably be advantage- 
ous ; in such situations I have seen them in excellent condition in England. 
See Nuttall’s Supplement, vol. 1, p. 81.] 
