tree at Cashiobury; and several at White Knights, one of which, 16 ft. high, has ripened seeds. At Farnham Castle, in Hampshire, one 10 years planted is 16 ft. high; and at Cobham Hall, in Kent, one 16 years planted is 20 ft. high. The largest M. c. Soulangeana in the neighbourhood of London is in Brown's Nursery at Slough, where it has attained the height of 15 ft. in less than ten years, and is thought by Mr. Brown to be rather more hardy than M. conspicua. At High Clere, on an elevated exposed situation, M. c. Soulangeana has attained the height of 7 ft. 6 in. in 4 years, as a standard. M. conspicua grows freely, against a wall, in all the low districts of Scotland; and, as a standard, in the neighbourhood of Dublin. In the neighbourhood of Paris, the largest plant of M. conspicua is at Fromont. It measured, in 1835, 40 ft. high; and the circumference of the trunk, at 2 ft. from the ground, was more than 2 ft. ; and the diameter of the space covered by the branches is 24 ft.; it flowers magnificently every year, at the end of March and be

ginning of April, and the odour of the flowers is perceived at a great distance. This is the tree, the ripened seeds of which produced M. c. Soulangeana. The original plant of M. c. Soulangeàna, at Fromont, is not more than 12 ft. high, and, though it has flowered every year for several years past, it did not ripen seeds till 1834. These seeds have been sown; and M. Soulange-Bodin informs us that he expects some interesting new sorts from them. In the botanic garden at Ghent there is a standard tree of M. conspicua 22 ft. high. In Germany, M. conspicua is trained against a wall, or kept in the conservatory; and in Italy, and the South of Europe, it has not been long planted; though both the species, and the var. M. c. Soulangeana, are at Monza, where, as before noticed, M. conspicua has ripened seeds; as has also, as Signor Manetti informs us, M. c. Soulangeana.

Commercial Statistics. The price of M. conspicua in the London nurseries is from 2s. 6d. to 5s. a plant; at Bollwyller, 10 francs; in New York, ?.

10. M. PURPUREA Bot. Mag. The purple-flowered Magnolia.

Identification. Sims, in Bot. Mag.

Synonymes. M. obovata Thun.; M. díscolor Vent.; M. denudata Lam.; the obovate-leaved Mag. nolia; Magnolier discoloré Bon. Jard., and Magnolie bicoloré Dun., Fr.; rothe Bieberbaum, Ger.

Engravings. Sal. Par., t 87.; Bot. Mag., t. 390.; E. of Pl., 7908.; and our fig. 36.

Spec. Char. Deciduous. Leaves obovate, acute, reticulately veined; almost smooth. Flowers erect, of 3 sepals and 6 obovate petals; styles very short. (Don's Mill., 1. p. 84.) A shrub from Japan, with flowers purple on the outside, and white within. March, April, and May. 1790. Varieties. In De Candolle's Prodromus, and in Don's Miller, three varieties are described: M. p. denudata Lam., distinguished by the flowering branches being without leaves; M. p. discolor Vent., which is said to be rather more tender than the species; and M. p. liliflora Lam., the petals of which are white on both sides. These varieties were originally described by Kæmpfer; but, as far as we know, none of them are in British gardens. Several plants of this species having been raised from seed ripened in this country, the plants may exhibit slight shades of difference, as has been the case with certain seedlings raised in the Brentford Nursery; but, as far as we have observed, none of these are worth keeping distinct. The only variety which we consider truly distinct is M. p. gracilis, considered as a species by Salisbury and other botanists, but which, we are convinced, is nothing more than a race, or a variety.

Description. A deciduous shrub, attaining, in the gardens about London, the height of from 6 ft. to 10 ft. in as many years, and seldom growing much higher as a bush. The stems are numerous, but not much branched; the leaves are large, of a very dark green; and the plant produces a profusion of flowers, which do not expand fully till a day or two before they drop off; and which, unless the weather is warm, do not expand at all, but wither on the plant, and disfigure it. The flowers are large, more or less purple (according to the season, but never wholly dark purple) without, and always white within. The bark, when bruised, has an aromatic odour. It is a very ornamental species, and no garden ought to be without it.

Geography, History, &c. Found wild in Japan; and cultivated there, and in China, in gardens. It was discovered by Thunberg, and imported by him into England, in 1790. It has

36

since been generally distributed thoughout the botanic and first-rate private

gardens of Europe. About London and Paris, it is not only propagated for

sale as a flowering shrub, but as a stock for grafting other species on, even of the tree kinds: such as M. conspícua, cordata, and others. In the north of France, and in Germany, it is generally treated as a green-house plant.

Soil and Situation. This species is generally considered as requiring a mixture of heath soil, or sandy peat, with loam; but in many gardens about London it succeeds perfectly both in sand and clay; the latter soil being rendered free by sand, leaf mould, or manure, and drainage. The situation, when the plant is treated as a bush, ought to be open, in order that the wood may be ripened; and the plant should be detached, it order that it may be covered with foliage and blossoms on every side. North of London, in most situations, it requires a wall, and few plants are more deserving of one. Against a wall, it will reach the height of 15 ft. or 20 ft.

Propagation and Culture. In the London nurseries, it is generally propagated by layers; but it will also strike by cuttings, both of the ripened and the herbaceous wood. The stools are generally formed in pits; or, if in the open ground, they are generally covered with mats during winter. Seeds have been ripened both in England and France; and from these plants have been raised in some few nurseries. The plants, whether raised from layers, cuttings, or seed, should always be kept in pots till wanted for final planting. Statistics. There are fine plants of this species, trained against walls, at Harringay, Wormleybury, White Knights, and numerous other places. The largest bushes in the neighbourhood of London are in the Mile End Nursery; and there are very handsome specimens in the Hammersmith Nursery. There is one 20 ft. high in the garden of the Rev. J. Mitford, at Benwell in Suffolk, which, we believe, is the largest in England. Price, in London, from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. a plant; at Bollwyller, 5 francs; in New York, ?.

11. M. (? P.) GRA'CILIS. The slender-growing purple-flowered Magnolia. Synonymes. Magnòlia Kòbus Kæmpf., Dec., and Don.; M. glaúca var. a Thun. Fl. Jap.; M. tomentosa Thun. in Linn. Soc.; Sidi Kobusi, Japanese; Magnolier grèle, Fr.; filziger Bieber. baum, Ger. Derivations. Kobus, or Sidi Kobusi, is the name of the plant in Japan. It is named grácilis from its slender habit of growth; and tomentosa from the comparatively downy surface of the leaves. lt was called M. glauca by Thunberg, because he originally supposed it to be a variety of the M. glauca of North America. The French and German names signify the same as the specific one. Engravings. Kæmpf. Ic., t. 42.; Par. Lor., 87.; E. of Pl., 7909.

Description. In its native country it is a small tree with rough bark; but in England it is a somewhat delicate shrub, with slender stems and branches, growing rather more erect and fastigiate than M. purpùrea. The leaves are of the same form, but a little longer, and always of a decidedly paler green. The young leaves are pubescent underneath, as are the young shoots. In England, though this kind cannot be considered as a tree, yet it has a different habit of growth from M. purpùrea; and, instead of, like it, forming a broad spreading bush, it is a narrow, upright, slender, fastigiate-growing one. The bark has the same odour as that of M. purpùrea. The two main points of difference between it and M. purpurea are, the paler green, and somewhat narrower shape, of the leaves; and the longer and more slender form of the flower, the points of the petals of which are slightly turned back; while the flower of M. purpùrea is more cup-shaped, and the petals at the points are rather turned inwards. The petals of M. gracilis are exteriorly of an entirely dark purple, whereas those of M. purpurea melt off into white at their upper extremities.

Geography, History, &c. It is a native of Japan, where it is said by Kæmpfer to attain the size of a cherry tree. It was brought to England in 1804, but is not very common, probably from its being very generally confounded with M. purpùrea. Its management, in all respects, is the same as that of the species, except that it is, perhaps, somewhat more tender. The largest plant that we know of is in the conservatory at White Knights, where it forms a narrow bush about 10 ft. high. It is kept in the conservatory there, not on account of its tenderness, but because it was considered to be a conservatory plant when it was first planted; and it is now much too

large to be removed with safety. There are bushes of this variety in the open border, both in the Hammersmith Nursery and at Mile End, between 3 ft. and 4 ft. high, and 2 ft. and 3 ft. broad, which flower freely every year, without any protection whatever. Price, in the London nurseries, 58.; at Bollwyller, ?; and in New York, ?.

App. i. Half-hardy Magnolias.

Magnolia fuscata Andr., figured in Bot. Mag., t. 1008., and introduced from China in 1789, is common in conservatories. At Claremont it forms a large evergreen bush, 15 ft. high; and at Taplow Court, a bush 10 ft. high. It flowers in April, May, and June: its fragrance is much more grateful than that of the other magnolias, and not at all oppressive. The plant has been tried against a conservative wall; and also, in the Goldworth Nursery, in the open ground, as a bush; and in both situations, when once firmly established, it is found to endure moderate winters with a little protection. On account of its being an evergreen, and from the fragrance of its flowers, which are of a dark brownish red or purple, tinged with yellow in the inside of the petals, it is a very desirable plant. There are two other species, natives of China (M. anonæfòlia and M. pùmila), also evergreens, and treated as green-house or stove plants; but we have not heard of either of them having been tried out. Possibly, they may prove nearly as hardy as M. fuscata.

App. ii. Additional Magnolias.

It is highly probable that there are other species of the genus Magnòlia, in the mountainous regions of India, and in China, which will endure the open air in Britain, though none of these have yet been described by botanists, with the exception of some by Dr. Wallich, which are now considered to belong to Michèlia. Some expected additions of genera closely allied to Magnolia will be noticed in the concluding section of this chapter. Possibly, by cross fecundation, some mules might be produced, between the species mentioned in the preceding paragraph and the hardy species. If the refreshing fragrance of M. fuscata could be thrown into the flowers of M. grandiflòra, or of any of the other species which continue flowering for a long time, the result would be a desirable acquisition. We recommend the subject to the attention of ingenious cultivators.

GENUS II.

LIRIODE'NDRON L. THE TULIP TREE.

Gen. Char. Carpels 1-2-seeded, disposed in spikes, indehiscent, deciduous, drawn out into a wing at the apex. Calyx of 3 deciduous sepals. Corolla of 6 petals, conniving into a bell-shaped flower. (Don's Mill., i. p. 86.) There is only one species; a deciduous tree of the first rank. North America. Flowers yellowish, variegated with green, red, and orange. June. 1688. Height, in England, 70 ft.

1. LIRIODENDRON TULIPI FERA L.

The Tulip-bearing Liriodendron, or Tulip Tree.

Identification. Lin. Sp., 755.; Hayne Dend., 115.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 82..; Don's Mill., 1. p. 86. Synonymes. The Poplar, White Wood, Canoe Wood, the Tulip Tree, Amer. ; Virginian Poplar, Tulipbearing Lily Tree, Saddle Tree, Eng.; Tulipier de Virginie, Fr.; Virginischer Tulipeerbaum, Ger. Derivations. This tree is called Liriodendron, from leirion, a lily, and dendron, a tree; from the flowers resembling those of a lily, though more correctly those of a tulip, as the specific name implies. It is called Poplar, from its general resemblance to trees of that genus; White Wood, from the colour of its timber; Canoe Wood, from the use to which it is applied by the native Indians; Tulip Tree, from its tulip-like flowers; and Saddle Tree, from the form of its leaves. The French and German names are literal translations of the words Virginian tulip tree.

Engravings. Bot. Mag., 275.; Duh., tom. 3. t. 18.; Willd. Ab., t. 29, Krause, t. 34.; E. of Pl., 7903.; and our plate in Vol. II.

Spec. Char. Leaves smooth, truncate at the top; 4-lobed, resembling a saddle in shape. Flowers large, solitary, terminal, variegated with green, yellow, and orange colour; furnished with two deciduous bracteas under flowers. (Don's Mill., i. p. 86.)

Varieties.

L. T. 2 obtusiloba Michx., integrifolia Hort., the obtuse-lobed, or entire-leaved, Tulip Tree, Yellow Wood, or Yellow Poplar, has the leaves with blunter lobes than the original species, but is in no other respect different from it. See the plate of this tree in our Second Volume.

L. T. 3 acutifolia Michx. has the leaves smaller and more acutely cut than either the preceding variety or the species. We are not aware of any plants of it existing in British gardens.

* L. T. 4 flava Hort. has yellow flowers. As most of the tulip trees in Europe have been raised from seeds, it is probable that their flowers vary in degrees of yellowness; but we are not aware that any variety, with the flowers entirely yellow, is propagated in British nurseries. It is, however, in the catalogue of the garden at Courset, and in some of the Paris catalogues.

Description. This tree, in the Atlantic states of North America, according to Michaux, especially at a considerable distance from the sea, is often seen from 70 ft. to 100 ft. in height, with a trunk the diameter of which varies from 18 in. to 3 ft. The elder Michaux found in Kentucky, on the road from Beardstone to Louisville, tulip trees which appeared to be 15 ft. or 16 ft. in circumference; and, three miles and a half from Louisville, he measured one which, at 5 ft. from the ground, was 22 ft. 6 in. in circumference, the height of which he found to be from 120 ft. to 140 ft. Of all the deciduous trees of North America, the tulip tree, next to the button-wood (Plátanus occidentalis), attains the amplest dimensions; while the perfect straightness and uniform diameter of its trunk for upwards of 40 ft., the regular distribution of its branches, and the richness of its foliage, give it a decided superiority to that tree, and entitle it to be considered one of the most magnificent trees of the temperate zones. In the developement of its leaves the tulip tree differs from most other trees. The leaf-buds, in general, are composed of scales closely imbricated, which, in the spring, are distended by the growth of the minute bundle of leaves that they enclose, till they finally fall off. The terminal bud of each shoot swells considerably before it gives birth to the leaf: it forms an oval envelope, which contains the young leaf, and which produces it to the light only when it appears to have acquired sufficient force to endure the influences of the atmosphere. Within this envelope is found another, which, after the first leaf is put forth, swells, bursts, and gives birth to a second. On young and vigorous trees five or six leaves issue, successively, in this manner, from one bud. Till the leaf has acquired its growth, it retains the two scales which composed its envelope, and which are now called stipules. In the spring, when the weather is warm and humid, the growth of the leaves is very rapid: they are 6 in. or 8 in. broad, borne on long petioles, alternate, somewhat fleshy, smooth, and of a pleasing green colour. They are divided into three lobes; of which the middle one is horizontally notched at its summit, and the two lower ones are rounded at the base. This conformation is peculiar to the tulip tree, and renders it easily distinguishable in the summer. The flowers, which are large, brilliant, and, on detached trees, very numerous, are variegated with different colours, among which yellow predominates; they have an agreeable odour, and, surrounded by the luxuriant foliage, they produce a fine effect. In the spring they are gathered by women and children in the neighbourhood of New York, and sold in the market of that city. The fruit is composed of a great number of thin narrow scales, attached to a common axis, and forming a conical spike 2 in. or 3 in. in length. Each fruit contains 60 or 70 carpels; of which never more than a third, and in some seasons not