following notes has been drawn from the reports of Dr. A. Kellogg, H. C. Bloomer (Curator of Botany, California Academy of Natural Sciences), Prof. H. N. Bolander, and to Dr. Newberry, of the Pacific Railroad Surveying Expedition.

SEQUOIA.

THE BIG TREES.

Sequoia Gigantea, (the Mammoth or Big Trees.)-The Sequoia is found only in California-the Sequoia Gigantea only in a few localities— there being but six or seven groves, so far as known, in the entire State; though it is probable others exist in the unexplored regions of the Sierra Nevada. Three of these groves are in Mariposa county, one in Calaveras, one in Tuolumne, and one or two in Tulare county-the trees in the latter locality being scattered over a great extent of country, admit of their being considered one grove or several. The three Mariposa groves are within two miles of each other. The second one in size contains eighty-six trees; the third, thirty-five. The Tuolumne grove contains ten trees-one or two of which are said to be thirty-five feet in diameter. The Calaveras mammoth grove was the first discovered, and has attracted many visitors.

One peculiarity of this tree consists in its bearing two kinds of leaves those on the young tree, and on the lower branches of the larger one, being about five eighths of an inch long, and one eighth wide. They are set in pairs opposite each other, on little stems. The other kind of leaves grow on the branches that have borne flowers, are triangular in shape, about an eighth of an inch long, and lie close down to the stem. The cones, solitary, or two or three together on long pedicels, are not much larger than a hen's egg, whereas the cones of many smaller conifers of the Coast are larger than pine apples. The seeds of the Sequoia gigantea are not more than a quarter of an inch long, a sixth wide, and almost as thin as writing paper, it taking about fifty thousand of them to weigh one pound. The bark is constructed on a different plan from that of most other trees-it being deeply corrugated longitudinally. The corrugated layers are of a harder texture, and the interstices are packed with an elastic, spongy substance. It is reddish brown in color, generally very thick on the large trees not less than eighteen inches. The wood is soft, elastic, straight-grained, free-splitting, light when dry, and red in color-bearing a close resemblance to red cedar, but the grain is not quite so even, and is very valuable. The big tree grows in a deep, fertile soil, and is always surrounded by a dense growth of other evergreens, comprising the various species of

Pine, Fir, Spruce, and California Cedar. Many young trees of the Sequoia gigantea, produced from the seed, are growing in gardens in California, in the Eastern States, and in Europe.

We have it on the authority of a statement made by Professor Whitney, at a meeting of the California Academy of Sciences, May, 1867, that among the remains of miocene plants found in the coal beds of Greenland, were fossilized portions of the Sequoia, or Big Trees—that region being now covered with almost constant snow and ice.

The larger of the standing trees in the Calaveras grove, range in size from 275 to 366 feet in height, and from 50 to 64 feet in circumference-some of the prostrate trees having originally been of larger dimensions than any of those standing. Many of the trees in the Tulare group are reported to be larger than any found in the Calaveras Grove, one of the former being, according to measurements made by members of the State Geological Survey, 106 feet in circumference at the base and 276 feet high. A part of this tree was burned away, the girth having been originally between 115 and 120 feet. It is proper to observe that nearly all these trees expand greatly at the base, measuring much less ten or fifteen feet above than they do immediately at the ground; wherefore, where accuracy is desired, it should be known at about what height the measurement is made. The tree above mentioned as having a girth of 106 feet at the roots gave but 76 feet when measured at a point only twelve feet above the ground.

REDWOOD.

Sequoia Sempervirens, (Endl.), Redwood.-This tree, first discovered by Menzies, in 1796, is only second in size, while it stands first in commercial value among the mighty forest trees of California, though not much superior to the sugar pine in either respect. Douglass, in speaking of it, declares that its appearance upon the mountains of California is so majestic as to inspire the beholder with emotions of awe. The Redwood belongs exclusively to the foggy regions of the Coast Ranges, and the underlying metamorphic sandstone, for wherever either of these is wanting the tree does not exist. From the northern boundary line of the State down to the head of Tomales bay it forms a continuous forest, increasing in width northward. At Tomales bay the chain is interrupted by a small bed of lime rock. The interruption extending from the lower foot-hills of Tamalpais down to Belmont, is undoubtedly owing to the lowness of the hills. A connecting link is found, however, on the Oakland hills; the grove of redwood found there, now almost entirely destroyed, affording the strongest evidences of the

dependency of this species on the prevalence of heavy mists. Extending from Belmont to a few miles below Santa Cruz, is another narrow continuous forest of these trees, occupying mainly the tops and western slope of the mountains and the deeper gulches eastward. From near the mouth of Salinas river to the head of Carmelo valley, another long interruption is caused by the occurrence of a bituminous slate formation. The absence of redwood in this long interval can hardly be ascribed to any other cause, inasmuch as Monterey and the adjacent regions are subject to heavier fogs than Santa Cruz. Pinus Insignis, and Cupressus macrocarpa, occupy here those portions naturally belonging to the redwood and Tsuga Douglasii. Further south, from the head of Carmelo valley to San Luis Obispo, its most southern limit, redwood occurs but sparingly, forming nowhere extensive groves.

Associated with the redwood, we find Tsuga Douglasii, a tree having a wide range; Torreya Californica; Arbutus Menziesii; Quercus densiflora; and in Mendocino county, Abies grandis, (Dougl.); together with some shrubs and herbaceous plants bearing its characteristics. The shrubs, which increase as followed northward, belong mostly to the Ericacæous family. It is a noteworthy fact that the arborescent growth on the seaward side of the first range of hills generally consists almost exclusively of Tsuga Douglasii-this tree forming the outskirt east, and particularly westward. In Mendocino county Abies grandis unites with it for the same cause-both these trees there forming a dense belt facing the ocean, and are encroaching fast on the redwood. In fact, the western portion of those redwoods show this encroachment most strikingly by a total absence of young trees, while a dense undergrowth of the two mentioned species is springing up. The order of things is reversed, however, wherever the redwood has been removed. Its roots are imperishable, and as soon as the tree is cut they sprout and cover the soil rapidly, to the exclusion of every other species-none other being of so rapid a growth. The indestructibility of the roots renders the clearing of such land difficult; even the stumps of large trunks cut down cover themselves within two or three years so completely with sprouts that they can hardly be seen. The entire aftergrowth now found on the Oakland hills is owing solely to the indestructibility of the roots. and stumps of the original forest. The tenacity of life in this species, of rather rare occurrence in Coniferous trees, shows itself also in the resistance it offers to fire. Trees bereft completely of their branches by this element cover themselves in a few years entirely with young sprouts, giving the trunks the appearance of a pillar, or one of those old trees often seen in the east covered with Rhus toxicodendron. Even

trees, after they have obtained a thickness of a foot or two, are not liable to suffer from the effects of fire.

Another property peculiar to this species, is the great power it possesses in condensing fogs and mists. A heavy fog is always turned by it into rain, wetting the soil and supplying springs with water during the dry season; wherefore, springs situated in or near the redwoods are seldom in want of a good supply, while crops on the Coast Range are not liable to fail. It will surely happen that if the redwoods are destroyed, and they necessarily will be if not protected by law, certain portions of California, now fruitful, will become comparatively a desert. The unhappy experience of other countries, such as Asia Minor, Greece, France and Spain, should admonish us of the fatal effects of suffering an entire removal of the forests, and lead to a timely adoption of effective measures to prevent their destruction in this State. Our people have been duly warned of this danger, Bolander and other eminent botanists having called their attention to it years ago.

In explanation of the singular manner in which the larger sized Sequoia are occasionally formed, Dr. W. P. Gibbons first directed attention to the fact, that it has been found that three or four of these trees standing in proximity, have by the expansion of their growth been finally brought together and formed into one trunk. Since his suggestion of this method of growth numerous examples of it have been reported; among others, one occurring near Searsville, where several redwood trees have for a height of over forty feet grown together forming a single solid trunk. The only way to arrive at the age of such trees, is to count the number of rings indicating the annual growth from some single center. The oldest of these redwoods is about 1,500 years of age, much less than that of the Sequoia Gigantea. These redwoods are evidently the second generation of the race; therefore, it may be inferred that 3,000 years at least have passed since the present growth first commenced on the Coast Range. But long before this, vegetation must have covered portions of these hills, as the Sequoia reposes in a bed of alluvium from twenty to thirty feet in depth. The bulbous expansion of these trees near the base is composed of an enlargement of the roots growing together, and forming a complete net work. The height of this indicates the degree of denudation which the soil has undergone during the lifetime of the tree, being about five feet in 1,500 years. Around the base of each of these trees lie from 10,000 to 14,000 buds partially developed, possessing each the power, under favorable conditions, of being developed and forming a perfect

tree. The mass of wood contained in a tree of this kind, twenty-five feet in diameter, is equal to 40,000 cubic feet, weighing over 2,500,000 pounds.

CALIFORNIA PINES.

According to the classification of Prof. Bolander, the pines of California are divided into sixteen true species. There are twenty synonyms for these species, which have created some confusion as to their real name and number. The correct names of all, with the popular characteristics of the most striking, and their distribution, are herein given. The names marked thus (*) are those of trees having persistent cones, which they retain from ten to twenty years in some instances. Those marked thus (†) retain their cones but two years, while those to which this mark is attached () throw off a series of cones every year. It is worthy of remark that all the conifers of the Pacific coast exhibit a symmetry and perfection of figure, as well as a healthfulness and vigor of growth, not attained by similar trees in any other part of the world.

Pinus Insignis,* (Dougl.), well known as the Monterey Pine, and much cultivated in San Francisco. This tree covers many thousand. acres in the vicinity of Monterey and Carmelo, forming quite a forest along the coast between these places: sixty to one hundred feet high, one to three feet in diameter; shape very irregular, often only a few rigid, much-spreading branches; foliage dense and of a vivid green color; cones persistent, ten to nineteen whorls; bark very thick and rimose. The streets of San Francisco, formerly planked with Oregon lumber, are now laid with the Monterey Pine, it being very resinous, and therefore standing the wear and tear better. It is also much used for bridges, floors, etc.

P. Muricata,* (Don.)—Only species growing in the above vicinity, and which cannot be confounded with the Insignis. Singularly enough, it has many synonyms, the trees and cones being of great uniformity; among the names by which it is known are the following: P. Radiata, P. Sinclarii, and P. Tuberculata.

Pinus Tuberculata,* (Don.), Tuberculated Coned Pine.--This tree was first found by Dr. Coulter, south of Monterey, together with the P. Insignis, near the level of the sea and close to the beach. The foliage sparse and dull; rather bluish-green color; height from fifteen to thirty feet; diameter six to fourteen inches. Found also at Santa Cruz, Ukiah, Oakland hills, Forest Hill, and Eureka. The cones from the different localities are of great uniformity, but differ essentially