VOli. XXXVUI. No. 34 
WHOLE No. 1343. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
NEV 
V YORK, AUGUST m, 1879. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by the Rural Publishing Company, in the office of the librarian of Congress at Washington. — Entered at the Post-Office at New York City, N. Y., as second-class matter.] 
the form of the leaf is somewhat unique, bear¬ 
ing no special resemblance to that of any Mag¬ 
nolia. The flowers are borne but sparsely, 
and because they are found only here and 
there on the bush the name Parvitlora may 
have been given. Certainly the flower is not 
small, fully equaling that of Magnolia tri- 
petala. The petals arc arrauged in a cup¬ 
shaped form, like those of M. glauca; are 
about four inches long and of a pure, solid, 
creamy-white color, like those of M. con- 
spicua. Inside, however, the appearance of 
Parvitlora is still more remarkable, ou account 
of the extraordinary development of the pis¬ 
tils and stamens. These parts of the flower 
are peculiar in most Magnolias, bat in M. parvi- 
flora they attain an unusual size and brilliancy 
of hue. The pistils, in a solid cone, riso out 
of a bed of stamens 6ix or seven rows deep. 
The base of these is a broad belt of crimson, 
and the anthers are of the same color. In fact, 
the whole general tone of both pistils and sta- 
Urboriniltnral 
mens is more or less brightly crimson. But 
the most remarkable qualities of M. parviflora 
are its delightful spicy odor and the peculiar¬ 
ity of blooming in raid June- So penetrating 
and agreeable i3 this odor that the first plant 
which bloomed in this country, April IS, 1879, 
in the greenhouses of Parsons & Sons Co., 
distinctly scented the entire building, 100 
feet long. Its fragrance is much more 
penetrating than that of M. hypolcuea, and in 
many ways Magnolia parviflora differs greatly 
from M. hypoleuca. In short, the vigor of the 
growth of parviflora, the lateness of its period 
of blooming, and its delightful, penetrating, 
spicy odor must eventually secure it a high 
place among hardy plants. To Mr. Thomas 
Hogg we are again indebted for the introduc¬ 
tion of a valuable, hardy, Japaueso plant. 
The first plaut received in this country was, as 
far as appears, received from Japan in Febru¬ 
ary, 1875. It has not yet been offered for sale, 
but it is being propagated as fast as possible. 
MAGNOLIA PARVIFLORA 
A NEiv Magnolia must necessarily be a val¬ 
uable acquisition when we think of all the es¬ 
timable qualities possessed by the various 
members of this family or genus. Possibly 
the noblest and most effective in the leaf and 
flower among plants noteworthy in spring, the 
Magnolia lias been, as it were, specially appro¬ 
priated to that season. So much has this been 
the case that we are apt to think of Magnolias 
as blooming almost too early to escape late 
frosts, or to combine tbe adornment of both 
foliage and flowers. Of course, a moment’s 
thought recalls the fact that only Chinese Mag- 
uolias. ao called—Conspicua, Sonlangeana, &c. 
—bloom very early, before the leaves appear 
and also that there are beautiful Magnolias 
blooming late in June. It must be confessed, 
however, that the 
beauty of the flowers 
of late-blooming spe¬ 
cies fails to equal that 
o£ Conspicua and 8ou- 
langeana, and that in 
most cases such mag¬ 
nolia flowers are more 
curious than attract¬ 
ive. For this and 
other intrinsic reas¬ 
ons, we feel confident 
that in the late-bloom¬ 
ing Magnolia here il¬ 
lustrated — Magnolia 
parviflora—the reader 
will recognize a plant 
of evident merit. 
Though certainly 
long known to a few 
botanists and explor¬ 
ers, such as Siebold, 
Maximowicz, etc., this 
is apparently the first 
time it is figured and 
presented for the act¬ 
ual employment of 
the general public of 
lawn planters. But 
what is this Magnolia 
to whose merits we 
wish to call atten¬ 
tion? With little dif¬ 
ficulty we might con¬ 
ceive it a nobler and 
better form of Magno¬ 
lia glauca, one of our 
most charming native 
Magnolias. The flora 
of Japan, indeed, of- _ 
to our own, and in 
this ease the similarity 
has been sufficient to 
wicz speaks of it aa 
on the under, after the 
manner of Magnolias 
generally. Otherwise 
The strawberry in our day has advanced 
from a luxury to be regarded almost as a 
necessity. What meal ia June is complete 
without it! Now we have a wonderful as¬ 
sortment of this delicions fruit, from the white 
and light scarlet to the almost black. In flavor 
too, we have from the sharp acid to those that 
are sweet and rich. We have also, tbe “ Lazy 
Man’s Strawberry” and those which require 
something besides laziness to produce a fair 
crop. We are approaching the time when 
every family may and will have, the Straw¬ 
berry. 
What Strawberry shall they have ? Every 
well appointed garden should have at least 
half a dozen varieties giving a succession. To 
one who has good 
loamy soil made suf 
ficiently fertile and 
who likes to handle 
garden tools as well 
as to eat, I say plaut 
the Duncan, Duchesse' 
Durand’s Beaaty, For 
est Rose, President 
.Lincoln and Glendale 
and if the President 
should chance to dine 
with you in Jane, you 
may famish first-class 
strawberries for him 
in variety. It is not 
that I mean that these 
are the only good 
strawberries—Oh, no! 
—but I do mean that 
when well raised, these 
are good enough. 
Some one asks, “Why 
omit the Sharpless. 
Chas. Downing, Seth 
B o y d e n, Jucnnda, 
.Kentucky, Monarch, 
Crescent, etc, etc ?’’ 
Well, these are pos¬ 
sessed of sterling qual¬ 
ities and not to be 
despised. So we might 
make up several 
fevfei groups of the “cream 
of the Strawberry” 
and get cream every 
Ej ffiijvv’’ The Great American 
has been condemned 
Mugjjgu as a very unprofita- 
ble sort. It certainly 
wSpSTSi is not the “Lazy 
Man's berrybut I 
have grown it so large 
and fine as to cause 
exclamations, and I 
jgjgjC find that on a heavy 
rich soil, with good 
WMGl carc ’ i 8 wonderfully 
productive. The Jn- 
euuda, too, is a little 
particular where it 
grows, but fit It exact- 
x ly and it will fit an 
epicure. Now I sug- 
gest a few points in 
strawberry culture. 
For gardens, first se- 
lect a list of varieties 
that will bear high 
¥>Jr | culture. Second, give 
r jS them all they will 
yj bear in fertility and 
' culture, keeping them 
in single hills the rows 
being two feet by 18 
inches. Remember 
7mm 
MAGNOLIA PARVIFLORA 
