2 BOTANY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE SULPHUR. 
to the constant influence of the moist atmosphere, soil, and investment of mosses 
and lichens, and soon fall to the ground, which in some places they occupy 
in great numbers. But as is everywhere observable where the climate is uniform, 
the variety in species is not great; and some will occur with multitudes of in- 
dividuals covering a very large space. It is curious to observe how tenaciously 
some genera extend throughout this territory, though continually represented by 
a different species. This is particularly conspicuous with Vaccinium, Rubus, 
Ribes, Rosa, and Lupinus. The former has several deciduous species towards 
the northern portion, but towards the south they become neat evergreen shrubs, 
with a myrtle-like foliage. To a European, the general features of the vegetation 
are entirely such as he is familiar with, only modified by the character of the 
climate and country; with the exception, that there are two common plants, 
Panax horridum and Dracontium camtschaticum, which differ so entirely from 
the surrounding vegetation, as to exert a very considerable influence on the phy- 
siognomy.—Ep. 
The number of species collected at these several places was altogether about 
200; many of them are as yet very scarce in herbaria, but none entirely new, the 
whole line of coast having been already pretty well explored by English, 
American, and Russian botanists. They have also been well described in several 
works, amongst which we may particularly refer to Hooker’s Flora Boreali- 
Americana, Bongard’s Végétation de l’Isle de Sitcha, and to two general works 
now in the course of publication, Ledebour’s Flora Rossica for the Russian 
possessions, and Torrey and Gray’s Flora of North America, which includes the 
whole of the territory visited. An enumeration of the species collected by the 
Expedition would therefore be superfluous. 
Il. CALIFORNIA. 
It usually happens, that the season most favourable for the nautical examina- 
tion of a country, is that which is least so from acquaintance with its vegetation ; 
and this proved particularly the case with California. Indeed, the residents would 
almost check our pursuits, by representing that the season was past when Botany 
should be pursued, whilst they dwelt with much animation on the rich vesture 
the country assumed after the period of the rains. It was late in the autumn 
of 1837, when an Expedition up the Rio Sacramento penetrated from San 
