376 
DECIDUOUS TREES. 
M. acuminata; but by grafting on the M. purpurea , it is converted 
into a low shrub, suitable for growing in pots, and forcing, under 
glass, into winter bloom. It should have a well-drained, porous, 
warm soil. Having no leaves of its own during its blooming 
season, it is the more desirable to place it near evergreens, against 
whose dark foliage its blossoms will be pleasingly relieved, and 
whose height and foliage may shield it from winds. 
Fig, i 17. 
parsons’ magnolia soulangkana. 
Soulange’s Magnolia, M. Soulangeatia, is a magnificent hybrid 
between the M. co?ispicua and M. purpurea , and more showy and 
vigorous than either. Fig. 117 is an imperfect representation 
of a superb specimen growing in the specimen grounds of the 
Parsons nursery at Flushing, L. I. • in appearance a huge 
spreading shrub of large glossy foliage, but in size a tree, with 
a trunk fifteen inches in diameter, the head forty feet in breadth, 
and thirty feet high. It blooms in May. Its immense flowers 
begin to appear while it is in the nursery rows, and when larger 
it rivals the horse-chestnut in the splendor of its inflorescence. 
The two trees being in bloom at the same time, present the widest 
difference in the character of their flowers. Those of the magnolia 
are borne singly, are irregularly cup-shaped, from four to six inches 
in diameter, white, tinged with purple, and somewhat fragrant. 
The tree has the abundant masses of glossy leaves that distinguish 
the M. purpurea; but instead of being like that species a low shrub, 
