BOTANY 
OF THE 
VOYAGE OF THE SULPHUR, 
I. NORTH-WEST AMERICA. 
Tue portion of country visited, and which may be accepted under this popular 
denomination, extends from 60° 21’ to 46° 19’ N. lat. Port Etches, in King 
William’s Sound, and the Columbia River are situated at the extremes, and Port 
Mulgrave, Sitka, and Nootka Sound, are intermediate. These places were seve- 
rally visited during the autumn of 1837, with the exception of the Oregon or 
Columbia River, the examination of which was deferred till the months of August 
and September in 1839. The whole territory, though extensive, is remarkably 
uniform in its physical character and natural productions. The climate is far 
more moderate than on the eastern coast, not being liable to those great vicissi- 
tudes, nor ever known to display any great range of temperature. The number 
of rainy days in the year is very great, and at Sitka only thirty-seven really fine 
clear days were recorded throughout this period. At this Russian settlement 
some extended observations gave the mean temperature of the year as 45° 5, and 
the range from 2° 3’ to 81° 9’... The whole country is bold and mountainous, in- 
tersected by deep and moist valleys, and is every where covered by a gloomy forest 
of spruce. These vast forests offer a scene which powerfully arrests attention. 
The trees are often of enormous dimensions ; stretching upwards, with scarcely a 
branch, to where the eye almost fails to follow them, with enormous trunks, very 
deceptive till brought within the scope of our experience by means of the tape- 
line ; beneath, a most luxuriant undergrowth everywhere abounds, and has an 
exuberance and charm about it which is rarely supposed to be possible beyond 
the tropics. But over these the influence of the moist climate is unceasing. It 
most probably hurries through a rapid existence the more lowly shrubs, and its 
effect on the trees is very marked. None are seen to attain any great age, that is, 
none have that appearance ; but when the vigour of life is past, they rapidly yield 
B 
