and pointed ont in a general way the area — perhaps 100 acres — 

 over which, they said, the tree is growing. I found it occupying, 

 only the dry, thin soil of the north side, disposed in small groves 

 and clusters, its upper limit heing at about 2500 feet elevation 

 above the sea. x^t that line, the growth stops short ; and thence 

 to the sumirit, which T ascended from the north, not a single 

 specimen was seen, and the summit itself was equally treeless. 

 Nor could I discover any evidence that trees had ever occupied 

 the mountain top. which on all sides is very rocky, and chjthed 

 with a chaparral, some two or three feet in height, consisting 

 mainly of manzanita. Rhus ovata, Chamaebatia, and Adenostoma 

 fasciculatum. Fires, however, have within recent years swe]Jt 

 the entire mountain — the last. I was told, having occurred about 

 seven years ago — so that the present covering is of late growth. 

 Formerly the brush cover must have been much heavier, as I 

 noticed charred stumps of manzanita half a foot through burned 

 even with the ground, from which thrifty sprouts have arisen. 

 Tt should be recorded, however, tliat Mr. Franl- Stephens of San 

 Diego, states positively that when he vi^i'ed the summit in 1903, 

 he found on a gentle slope immediately north of the crest, a 

 grove of many old cypresses, low-branched and gnarled, and the 

 trunks in some cases fully two feet in diameter near the ground. 



Looking down the north slope from the upper heights, the 

 clumps of cypress can easily be distinguished by the lively green 

 of the foliage, standing out from the surroun^hng chaparral; 

 and all trees examined presented the same brigh" vigorous a]j- 

 pearance noted by Mr. Parish in his paper, with mature fruit 

 abundant. The extreme height observed was about 2? feet, the 

 maximum of trunk diameter at base being about 3 inches. In 

 the upper part of the belt ( to which my observations were mainly 

 confined ) there was an abundance of seedlings aufl young sap- 

 lings in various stages of healthy growth froiu (> ii^ches upward. 

 vSpecimens were growing not only in the l}ottom of the gulches, 

 but upon intervening ridges as well. In manv ])laces amid the 

 growing trees, were the dead trunks of those which fire at some 

 former time had killed, but in no case did I notice that these 

 old trees were of greater size than living ones. The postmaster 

 at Potrero. who knows the trees well and has fought fire on 

 Tecate for many years, informed me that in 2? years he could 

 not see much difiference in their size, so slow is their "'rowth. 



The gregarious habit of the cypress in the midst of chanar- 

 ral made it impossible to secure a satisfactory photograph of any 

 individual, but a scrutiny of the accompanying print will perhaps 

 give a hint of the general ai:)pearance of the tree. The time of 

 my visit was October 30. 1915. 



Following is an extract from a letter of Mr. Stephens, 

 ilaterl Xovember 14. 1915. He visited the summit of Tecate 

 in P)03, when engaged in painting some g'overnnient monuments 



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