Propagation and Culture. Plants of this species are generally produced from seeds; but the Magnolia glauca thompsoniana, and other varieties, are propagated by inarching, or by layers, which require two years to root properly. The seeds should be sown in pots of bog earth about the beginning of March, or later, according to the climate or season, and placed in gentle heat, if necessary, under glass. They should annually be transplanted into small pots until they are wanted for final planting. A tree in ordinary circumstances will attain the height of one foot per annum until it is fifteen or twenty feet high, after which it will remain stationary.

Insects. The Magnolia glauca is very free from the attack of insects. It is noted, however, in Smith and Abbot's "Insects of Georgia," that the Sphinx vitis feeds upon this tree as well as upon the grape-vine.

Properties and Uses. In general, this tree can only be used for ornamental purposes, and no collection should be without it. The wood, however, is sometimes employed for making joiners' tools; and the bark is also used in some parts of the country, like that of the cinchona, in the case of intermittent and remittent fevers. It is aromatic and pungent, apparently more so than the other species. When distilled, it has a peculiar flavour, and an empyreumatic smell. In a dry state it affords a little resin. The aroma is volatile, and probably contains an essential oil, or a variety of camphor. The bark, seeds, and cones, are employed in tincture, in chronic rheumatism. That from the cones is very bitter, and is sometimes used to cure coughs and pectoral diseases, and for preventing autumnal fevers. The flowers in a dried state, may be used in drawing-rooms for pot pourri, as a substitute for those of the lily of the valley.

Derivations. This species is called Umbrella-tree on account of the leaves being disposed somewhat in the form of an umbrella. It is called Elkwood in the mountains of Virginia, probably from the resemblance which the points of the shoots bear to the horns of the elk. The French names merely signify Umbrella-tree, and the German ones, the Three-petaled Beavertree or Magnolia.

Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pl. 55; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, v., pl. 5; and the figures below. Specific Characters. Deciduous. Leaves lanceolate, spreading, adult ones smooth, younger ones pubescent underneath. Petals 9-12, exterior ones pendant.-Don, Miller's Dict.

Description.

HE dimensions of the Magnolia umbrella are such as to form a connecting link between the large shrubs and trees of the third order; although it sometimes rises to the height of thirty-five or forty feet, with a diameter of five or six inches, it rarely attains this size. The stem is seldom erect, but generally inclined, and rises, from the root in twos or threes. The bark on the trunk is gray, smooth, and polished, and if cut when green, exhales a disagreeable odour. The leaves are eighteen or twenty inches long, and seven or eight inches broad. They are thin, oval, and acuminate at both extremities. They are often disposed in rays at the extremity of vigorous shoots; and these display a surface of two and a half feet in diameter, in the form of an umbrella. The flowers, which open in May or June, are seven or eight inches in diameter, with large, white, flaccid petals. They are placed on the extremities of the last year's shoots, have a languid, luxuriant appearance, and a strong odour. The fruit is five or six inches long, and about two inches in diameter. It ripens in America about the beginning of October, and about the same period in England and France. It is conical in its form, of a beautiful rose-colour, and usually contains from fifty to sixty pale-red seed.

Varieties. In 1836, at Desio, near Milan, in Italy, several young hybrid plants were raised from seeds which had been fecundated with the pollen of the Mag

nolia conspicua and purpurea. From the hardiness of this tree, no doubt, many other hybrids may be produced between it and the more delicate Chinese species.

Geography and History. The Magnolia umbrella, according to Michaux, is first seen in the northern part of the state of New York, and is found on wooded mountains, in Carolina, Georgia, and eastern Tennessee. In the lower parts of Georgia and South Carolina, however, it is found near the alluvial flats which lie along the banks of the rivers, in company with the Magnolia grandiflora.

This tree was introduced into England in about 1752, and soon after it passed into France, and was cultivated on the continent generally. It may now be considered as the most common of all the magnolias. In France and northern Italy it seeds freely; and even in England, at Deepdene, in Surrey, self-sown seeds have produced plants. It does not thrive in the north of Scotland without protection. In England and middle Europe it attains the height of thirty feet, which it will acquire in fifteen to twenty-five years.

In the Bartram botanic garden, at Kingsessing, three miles below Philadelphia, there is a tree of this species, thirty-five feet in height, with a trunk three feet in circumference.

Soil and Situation. In its natural habitat, this tree grows only in the shade where the soil is deep, strong, and fertile. When cultivated, the soil should be a deep, rich, sandy loam, but not very moist, like that recommended for the Magnolia glauca.

The situation should be sheltered and shady, as the exposure to the sun, or the training against a wall is injurious. A sheltered glade, in a shrubbery or wood, where it is sufficiently distant from other trees not to be injured by the roots, is the most desirable site.

Propagation and Culture. In nurseries, this species should always be propagated by seeds, although it may be multiplied by layers. In either case the plants are kept in pots until required for final transplanting. The seeds should be sown immediately after they are gathered, as otherwise they become rancid and lose their vital qualities; though, if enveloped in moist moss, or earth, they may be preserved for several months. As this tree is short-lived, and consequently flowers young, there is not the same objection to raising plants of it from seeds, as there is in the Magnolia grandiflora, which is a long-lived tree. The umbrella magnolia is hardy, and can withstand the most rigorous winters, when the summer has been sufficiently hot to ripen the wood. In Britain and the northern parts of the United States, it sends up various shoots from the roots, to replace the stems, which are seldom of long duration; so that a plant that has stood thirty or forty years in one spot, has had its stems several times renewed during that period."

Properties and Uses. The wood of the Magnolia umbrella is spongy, brittle, with a large pith, soft, porous, and of very little use. Hence it may be considered of little or no utility except for the purposes of ornament.

Derivations. The specific name is derived from the Greek macros, great, and phullos, a leaf. It is called Umbrella-tree from its resemblance to the other species bearing that name. The French names are translations of the botanic one, except Magnolier bananier, which alludes to the resemblance the leaves of this tree bears to those of the banana-tree. The German name signifies Large-leaved Beaver-tree.

Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pl. 57; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, v., pl. 6; and the figures below. Specific Characters. Deciduous. Leaves very large, oblong-obovate, somewhat panduriform, cordate at the base, under surface whitish, glaucous. Petals 6-9, ovate.-Don, Miller's Dict.

general appearance greatly resembles that of the Magnolia umbrella. The terminal arrangement of the leaves is the same, and it is remarkable that it is usually found growing with it. In point of size it is about the same as the above-named species, not usually exceeding thirty or thirty-five feet in height, and five or six inches in diameter, although individual trees have been found of nearly double these dimensions. The trunk is covered with a smooth and very white bark, by which, in winter, when stripped of its leaves, it is readily distinguished. At this season, also, it may be known by its buds, which are compressed, and covered with a soft and silvery down; whereas, in the Magnolia umbrella they are prominent and rounded at the end. The leaves in a wild state are about thirtyfive inches long, and nine or ten inches broad; and in vigorous plants, when cultivated, they often exceed these dimensions. They are borne on petioles, short in comparison with their size, and are of an oblong-oval shape, pointed at the extremity, and sub-cordiform at the base. Their colour is light-green above, and glaucous beneath. The flowers put forth from May to July, and are larger than those of most of its congeners; for, when fully blown, they are sometimes eight or nine inches in diameter. They are composed of six white petals, longer and broader than those of the Magnolia umbrella. Within the flower, near the bottom of the petals, is a purple spot, about two thirds of an inch in diameter. The flowers emit a fragrant odour, and their beauty is heightened by the luxuriant foliage which surrounds them. The fruit is about four inches long, nearly

cylindrical, and of a vivid rose-colour when arrived at maturity. In the arrangement of the carpels and of the seeds, the fruit resembles those of the Magnolia umbrella and acuminata. It should be remarked, however, that it is destitute of the appendages visible on that of the last-mentioned species, especially when it is dry.

Geography and History. The large-leaved magnolia is found in the mountainous regions of North Carolina, about ten miles from Lincolnton; in Tennessee, near the river Cumberland; and in Georgia on the river Chattahouchie. It is also sparingly found in Tennessee, west of the mountains, at intervals of forty or fifty miles.

This tree was discovered by the elder Michaux, in 1789, but was not introduced into England till imported by Messrs. Loddiges, in 1800. In France, it seems to have been introduced about the same time as in England; and it appears to prosper better in the climate of Paris, as there, in the nursery of M. Godefroy, it has ripened seeds, from which, in 1827, young plants were raised.

The largest tree of this species in England, is at Arley Hall, the seat of the Earl of Mount Norris. In 1837, it was twenty-eight and a half feet high, with a trunk six inches in diameter, at a foot from the ground, with a head seventeen feet in diameter.

In France, the largest Magnolia macrophylla is at Fromont, which in 1835, measured twenty-four feet in height, and the branches covered a space of fifteen feet in diameter. It had flowered every year since 1826, and ripened seeds in October, from which many young plants had been raised.

In the Bartram botanic garden, at Kingsessing, near Philadelphia, there is a tree of this species thirty feet in height and six inches in diameter.

Soil and Situation. In its natural habitat this species delights in cool situations, sheltered from the wind, where the soil is deep and fertile. The soil, in which trees have attained the largest size in England, is a deep, dry sand, with a situation perfectly sheltered on every side, and slightly shaded from the midday sun.

Propagation and Culture. Neither this species nor the Magnolia umbrella can be readily grafted or inarched on each other, or on any other tree; probably from the large proportion which the pith bears to the ligneous part of the shoots. It will root by layers with great difficulty; but plants so raised, from the want of vigour, will probably not be of long duration. The only mode of general adoption is, to raise it from seeds. In order to preserve the power of vitality in the seeds, the same attention is requisite as in the preceding species. Young plants grow very slowly till they are thoroughly established, which will require, in general, two years. The annual growth of the shoots may vary from one to two feet; so that in ten years a plant may attain a height of twelve or fifteen feet. This species may be considered as short-lived, and, like all trees of short duration, comes into flower when young.

Properties and Uses. The wood of this species is softer and more porous than the Magnolia umbrella, and has comparatively no value except for ornament.