126 Botany of Mariposa. [ ZOE. 
Mimulus Pulsifere Gray of the listis JZ. floribundus Dougl., and 
the plant so designated in the list is yet undetermined. 
fritillaria atropurpurea Nutt. should be &. parviflora Torr. 
THE CONIFEROUS BELT. 
As we go eastward from Mariposa we gradually ascend, and at a 
distance of about ten miles we meet the western or lower edge of 
this zone. The line of demarkation here is quite plain and is in- 
dicated by the commencement of the continuous pine forest, and also 
by the appearance of the so-called bear clover ( Chameéatia folio- 
losa). This plant begins with the pine forest at about 3,000 feet, 
and forms a nearly continuous elastic mat about a foot deep under 
the trees, extending nearly or quite to the upper line of this zone, 
at about 6,000 feet. This upper boundary is not as clearly marked 
as the lower one, but is here understood to coincide with the line 
which bounds the territory inhabitable throughout the year. Above 
_ 6,000 feet the country, though beautiful and furnishing the most de- 
lightful and healthful summer residence in California, is usually 
covered in the winter with snow to a depth which practically makes 
a winter residence impossible, and hence excludes any permanent 
population. The subalpine zone, as here indicated, consists prin- 
cipally of certain high plateaux hereinafter described lying between. 
the principal mountain ridges and of the great intervening valleys 
formed by the rivers, while all that portion of the heavily wooded 
zone which lies below is included in the Coniferous belt. 
The forest, which, originally at least, covered substantially the 
whole of this belt and still covers by far the greater portion of it, 
consists principally of yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa), but the cedar 
(Libocedrus decurrens) is everywhere common, without occupying 
any tract exclusively. At about 4,000 feet, the white spruce (Adzes 
concolor) and the Douglas spruce (Pseudotsuga Douglasti) begin to. 
be frequent along the streams, while the sugar pine (Pinus Lam- 
bertiana) becomes abundant on the upper slopes. 
The magnificent size and the perfection of growth which all these. 
trees here attain are not surpassed in California. Oregon, even, 
can hardly show more noble specimens or more valuable tracts of 
timber. 
The deciduous trees in this zone are not usually conspicuous. 
_ either for number or size, but the golden cup oak ( Quercus chryso 
