47 
t 
Central Railroad, Great Latin orator, what a disgrace to your 
immortal name ! 
OswegOj N. Y. 
J 
Notes on the Coniferse of Washington Territory.— The follow- 
ing observations are limited to the eastern slope of the Cascade 
Mountains, between the parallels of 46^ 30' and 47° 30' north lati- 
tude. It is difficult to give any fixed altitudes for the range of a 
species, as this is in a great measure regulated by the amount of moist- 
ure, these two factors of altitude and moisture combined determining 
the composition of the forests in the different locaHties. The damp 
winds from Puget Sound, after passing over the crest of the moun- 
tains, are gradually deprived of their moisture until, at a distance 
varying from thirty to forty miles from the summit, the soil becomes 
too dry to support a growth of timber. This line between the forest 
and sage-brush areas varies in altitude from 1,500 feet, along river 
valleys, to 3,000 feet. The lowest and perhaps the most extensive, 
at least the most valuable forests, consist of an open growth of yel- 
low pine {Pinus ponderosa^ Dougl.) and Douglas spruce or yellow 
fir {Pseudotsicga Douglasii, Carr,), the former extending to an alti- 
tude of 4,500 feet, and in dry situations even to 5,000 feet, while the 
latter ranges somewhat higher. The yellow pine is never found in 
the denser and damper forests towards the summit, even at as low an 
elevation as 3,000 feet. The whole timbered area can be well divi- 
ded into the lower and dry or yellow pine forest, and the upper and 
damp or fir {Abies) forest. The term upper in this sense means 
proximity to the summit rather than altitude. Probably nine-tenths 
of the upper area are composed of ^r— Abies grandis, Lindl., (white 
fir) first appearing, then becoming mixed with Abies amabilis^ and 
finally the first species disappearing and the latter forming the bulk 
of the forest area at the summit. Another species of fir probably 
occurs here, Abies concolor, Lindl., or perhaps A. stihalpina, Engelm., 
but its distribution was not well determined. A few trees of Abies 
nobilis, Lindl, (red fir) were seen near Matches Pass at an elevation 
of 6,000 feet. Pinus contorta, Dough, var. Murraycma, (black pine, 
tamarac) grows throughout the upper yellow pine area. In this 
situation it often forms dense thickets, the trees being small and with 
trunks as straight as arrows. The black pine is also often seen on 
l^igh exposed summits with Pinus albicaulis, the latter ranging higher 
than any other of the coniferte of the region, except perhaps Juniperus 
communis, L., var. alpina, (juniper) which carpets the alpine peaks. 
The white pine {Pinus monticola, Dougl.) is found scattered through- 
o,^it the upper yellow pine and lower fir forests, and the beautiful 
light green foliage of the larch {Larix occidentalism Nutt.) is often a 
conspicuous object at low elevations. Picea Engelmanni, Engelm., 
(spruce) is often a companion of the fir at high elevations, but is 
rather local in its distribution. The two hemlocks of the region, 
'J^suga Pattoniana and Tsuga Mertensiana, Carr., the latter much re- 
sembling the eastern species, T, Canadensis, Z2.XX,, %xK^^s ^X\xw^ the 
dipper fir forests. The cylindrical, oblong cones of the former arc, 
^fter falling, very conspicuous by their reflexed scales. The yellow 
or Sitka cedar {Chamcecyparis Nutkaensis, Spach.) is a middle-sized 
