wood is yellow, and used for bowls; the flowers, 3 to 4 in. across, are glaucous green tinted with yellow. It was introduced into England from Virginia about 1736. M. tripetala (or M. umbrella), is known as the “umbrella tree” from the arrangement of the leaves at the ends of the branches resembling somewhat that of the ribs of an umbrella. The flowers, 5 to 8 in. across, are white and have a strong but not disagreeable scent. It was brought to England in 1752. M. Fraseri (or M. auriculata), discovered by John Bartram in 1773, is a native of the western parts of the Carolinas and Georgia, extending southward to western Florida and southern Alabama. It grows 30 to 50 ft. high, has leaves a foot or more long, heart-shaped and bluntly auricled at the base, and fragrant pale yellowish-white flowers, 3 to 4 in. across. The most beautiful species of North America is M. grandiflora, the “laurel magnolia,” a native of the south-eastern States, and introduced into England in 1734. It grows a straight trunk, 2 ft. in diameter and upwards of 70 ft. high, bearing a profusion of large, powerfully lemon-scented creamy-white flowers. It is an evergreen tree, easily recognized by its glossy green oval oblong leaves with a rusty-brown under surface. In England it is customary to train it against a wall in the colder parts, but it does well as a bush tree; and the original species is surpassed by the Exmouth varieties, which originated as seedlings at Exeter from the tree first raised in England by Sir John Colliton, and which flower much more freely than the parent plant. Other fine magnolias now to be met with in gardens are M. cordata, a North American deciduous tree 40 to 50 ft. high, with heart-shaped leaves, woolly beneath, and yellow flowers lined with purple; M. hypoleuca, a fine Japanese tree 60 ft. high or more, with leaves a foot or more long, 6 to 7 in. broad, the under surface covered with hairs; M. macrophylla, a handsome deciduous North American tree, with smooth whitish bark, and very large beautiful green leaves, 1 to 3 ft. long, 8 to 10 in. broad, oblong-obovate and heart-shaped at the base; the open sweet-scented bell-shaped flowers 8 to 10 in. across, are white with a purple blotch at the base of the petals; M. stellata or Halleana, a charming deciduous Japanese shrub remarkable for producing its pure white starry flowers as early as February and March on the leafless stems; and M. Watsoni, another fine deciduous Japanese bush or small tree with very fragrant pure white flowers 5 to 6 in. across.
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| Magnolia grandiflora, shoot with flower; rather less than 12 nat. size. |
1. Flower after removal of the sepals and petals, showing the indefinite |
The tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, a native of North America, frequently cultivated in England, is also a member of the same family. It reaches a height of over 100 ft. in a native condition, and as much as 60 to 80 ft. in England. It resembles the plane tree somewhat in appearance, but is readily recognized by lobed leaves having the apical lobe truncated, and by its soft green and yellow tulip-like flowers—which however are rarely borne on trees under twenty years of age.
For a description of the principal species of magnolia under cultivation see J. Weathers, Practical Guide to Garden Plants, pp. 174 seq., and for a detailed account of the American species see C. S. Sargent, Silva of North America, vol. i.
MAGNUS, HEINRICH GUSTAV (1802–1870), German chemist
and physicist, was born at Berlin on the 2nd of May 1802. His
father was a wealthy merchant; and of his five brothers one,
Eduard (1799–1872), became a celebrated painter. After studying
at Berlin, he went to Stockholm to work under Berzelius, and
later to Paris, where he studied for a while under Gay-Lussac and
Thénard. In 1831 he returned to Berlin as lecturer on technology
and physics at the university. As a teacher his success was rapid
and extraordinary. His lucid style and the perfection of his
experimental demonstrations drew to his lectures a crowd of
enthusiastic scholars, on whom he impressed the importance of
applied science by conducting them round the factories and workshops
of the city; and he further found time to hold weekly
“colloquies” on physical questions at his house with a small
circle of young students. From 1827 to 1833 he was occupied
mainly with chemical researches, which resulted in the discovery
of the first of the platino-ammonium compounds (“Magnus’s
green salt” is PtCl2, 2NH3), of sulphovinic, ethionic and isethionic
acids and their salts, and, in conjunction with C. F. Ammermüller,
of periodic acid. Among other subjects at which he subsequently
worked were the absorption of gases in blood (1837–1845), the
expansion of gases by heat (1841–1844), the vapour pressures of
water and various solutions (1844–1854), thermo-electricity
(1851), electrolysis (1856), induction of currents (1858–1861),
conduction of heat in gases (1860), and polarization of heat (1866–1868).
From 1861 onwards he devoted much attention to the
question of diathermancy in gases and vapours, especially to the
behaviour in this respect of dry and moist air, and to the thermal
effects produced by the condensation of moisture on solid
surfaces.
In 1834 Magnus was elected extraordinary, and in 1845 ordinary professor at Berlin. He was three times elected dean of the faculty, in 1847, 1858 and 1863; and in 1861, rector magnificus. His great reputation led to his being entrusted by the government with several missions; in 1865 he represented Prussia in the conference called at Frankfort to introduce a uniform metric system of weights and measures into Germany. For forty-five years his labour was incessant; his first memoir was published in 1825 when he was yet a student; his last appeared shortly after his death on the 4th of April 1870. He married in 1840 Bertha Humblot, of a French Huguenot family settled in Berlin, by whom he left a son and two daughters.
See Allgemeine deutsche Biog. The Royal Society’s Catalogue enumerates 84 papers by Magnus, most of which originally appeared in Poggendorff’s Annalen.
MAGNY, CLAUDE DRIGON, Marquis de (1797–1879), French heraldic writer, was born in Paris. After being employed for some time in the postal service, he devoted himself to the study of heraldry and genealogy, his work in this direction being rewarded by Pope Gregory XVI. with a marquisate. He founded a French college of heraldry, and wrote several works on heraldry and genealogy, of which the most important were Archives nobiliaires universelles (1843) and Livre d’or de la noblesse de France (1844–1852). His two sons, Edouard Drigon and Achille Ludovice Drigon, respectively comte and vicomte de Magny, also wrote several works on heraldry.
