504 
inches long? somewhat resembling a small Cucumber, whence the inhabitants of North America 
call it Cucumber Tree.* The wood is of a fine grain, and an orange colour. It is not very com¬ 
mon in any of the inhabited parts of America. Some of the trees were discovered by Mr. John 
Bartram, growing on the north branch of Susquehanna river. It was introduced in 1736, by Mr. 
Peter Collin son.j- 
* 
Species 3. Umbrella Magnolia. (Magnolia Teipetala.) 
The Umbrella tree usually grows from sixteen to twenty feet high, with a slender trunk, covered 
with a smooth bark, and dividing into several branches. The leaves are remarkably large, often 
from twelve to fifteen inches or more in length, and five or six in width, narrowing to a point at 
each extremity, placed at the ends of the branches in a circular manner, somewhat like an Umbrella, 
whence its name. The flowers are composed of ten, eleven or twelve large, oblong, white petals; 
the outer ones hanging down. Seed-vessels oblong, conical, between three and four inches in length, 
and about an inch and a half in diameter.} 
The wood is soft and spongy; and the leaves drop off at the beginning of Winter. 
This is pretty frequent in Carolina. It is also found in Virginia, and some parts of Pensylvania. 
It was cultivated here in 1752, according to Miller.§ 
CULTURE. 
The Magnolias are propagated by seeds, procured from the places of their natural growth: these 
should be put in sand, and sent over as soon as possible; for if they are kept long out of the ground, 
they rarely grow, and therefore should be sown soon after they arrive. It is a good way to sow 
them in pots, and plunge them into an old hot-bed of tanner s bark. 
They may also be raised from layers and cuttings; but these do not thrive so well as those which 
come from seeds, nor will they grow to near their size. 
The first sort is not so difficult to train up as the third, but in order to get the plants forward, 
it will be proper when they are removed out of the seed-pots, to plant them each into a separate 
small pot, filled with soft loamy earth, and plunge them into a gentle hot-bed of tanner’s bark, 
observing to shade them from the sun, and admit proper air to them: but at midsummer, if they 
are well rooted, inure them to the open air gradually, and place them in a sheltered situation, where 
they may remain till autumn; but on the first approach of frost remove them under shelter. When 
the plants have got strength, some of them may be turned out of the pots, and planted in the full 
ground in a warm sheltered situation; but part should be kept in pots, and sheltered in the- winter, 
lest those in the open air should be killed. 
If the plants make good progress, they will be strong enough to plant in the full ground in about 
six or seven years from seeds. Remove or shift them in March, before they begin to shoot; which 
may sometimes happen to be too soon to turn them out of the pots into the full ground; but as 
there will be no danger in removing them out of the pots, the ball of earth being preserved to their 
roots, it is best to defer this till the month of April: but it will be necessary to harden those plants 
which are intended to be planted out, by exposing them to the air as much as possible before, 
which will keep the plants back, and prevent their shooting: for if they make shoots in the green- 
* Marshall. 
T Hort. Kew. 
} Marshall. 
§ Hort. Kew. 
