364 



A BOTANICAL ACCOUNT OF CALIFORNIA. 



cending the gradual acclivity, we left the 

 region of Pinus Sabiniana, and entered 

 that of Pinus Benthamiana, which seems 

 to be the characteristic of the upper region. 

 Some trees of this noble pine attain an 

 enormous size. The largest I measured 

 were 28 feet in circumference, and 220 feet 

 high. Of equal dimensions is P. Lamber- 

 tiana, which, however, does not constitute 

 masses by itself, but is thinly scattered 

 among the former. The same is the case 

 with a Thuja, which rises to the height of 

 130 feet, by 12 to 15 in circumference. 

 Few plants occur in these pine tracts ; the 

 principal being some Cyclobothras, a Calli- 

 prora, an Iris, Papaveracea ; and, in shaded 

 places, a Rubus, a Philadelphus, a Spiraea, 

 Pyrus florida, a Rosaceous plant, and a 

 Taxus — the latter, judging from the few 

 specimens I saw, attaining only the size of 

 a shrub or small tree. 



On the fourth day we reached Bear Val- 

 ley, a beautiful little mountain valley sur- 

 rounded by a lofty ridge of mountains, 

 which is well wooded with Pinus Benthami- 

 ana. The north side of the valley was still 

 covered with snow. On the south side, 

 however, a few spring flowers had made 

 their appearance, among which I observed 

 Pseonia californica, with brown petals edged 

 with orange ; some Composite, a Ranuncu- 

 lus, a Corydalis, and a Nicotiana. A new 

 species of pine occurred in the valley, of 

 which I only saw two trees of dwarf growth, 

 probably stragglers from a more northern 

 latitude. The leaves stand in pairs, and 

 are three inches long ; cones two inches 

 long, by one broad. In general appearance 

 the tree is not unlike a young Scotch fir. 

 The cones at the time of my visit were 

 open, and the seeds had fallen out. The 

 upper end of the valley is bounded by a 

 mass of granite, terminating in a precipice 

 S00 feet in depth, below which the Chuba 

 river is winding its way, appearing like a 

 sheet of foam. In warm and sheltered situ- 

 ations, where the snow had melted, I ob- 

 served an Allium, a Pentstemon, a Statice, 

 a Phlox, and a Calochortus — the latter not 

 yet in flower. The more elevated parts 

 above Bear Valley, from the severity of 

 last winter, were still several feet deep, 

 covered with snow, for which reason we 

 returned hence by the same road we came. 



Immediately upon my arrival at head quar- 

 ters, I proceeded once more to the Upper 

 Sacramento Valley to collect such seeds as 

 1 could not procure before. 



Having packed up my collections, and 

 sent part by water to San Francisco, I left 

 on the 30th of June for Monterey, in compa- 

 ny with an American whom I had engaged 

 as guide. Towards evening of the same 

 day we arrived at the junction of the 

 Feather river with the Sacramento; and 

 passing, the following morning, our lug- 

 gage over in a canoe, we swam the horses 

 across ; the distance from shore to shore 

 being not less than 300 yards. We now 

 continued our course over the prairie on 

 the right bank of the Sacramento river for 

 two days, and crossed again to the south 

 side in a ferry boat, at the Straits of Car- 

 quinez. A kind of tertian fever, accom- 

 panied by violent headache, under which 

 I had been suffering some days previous to 

 my departure, here developed itself into a 

 quotidian fever and ague, which for want 

 of proper medicines, the constant exposure 

 to a tropical sun during the day, and camp- 

 ing out at night, soon reduced me to such 

 a state of debility as scarcely to be able to 

 sit on horseback. 



From the Straits of Carquinez we passed 

 along the Bay of San Francisco to the Pue- 

 blo of San Jose, and reached Monterey on 

 the 8th of July. Soon after my arrival 

 (having, with the assistance of my little 

 medicine chest, cured myself,) I continued 

 my excursions about Monterey as far as 

 returning strength permitted, and collected 

 such kinds of seeds as I thought worth pre- 

 serving. Towards the end of July I went 

 over to Santa Cruz for a similar purpose, 

 and whilst visiting a family upon their 

 farm, with whom I had become intimately 

 acquainted during their winter residence 

 in Monterey, I was again taken ill with 

 fever and ague. In addition to the seeds 

 which I collected in the Santa Cruz moun- 

 tains last year, I found the evergreen Chest- 

 nut with ripe fruit. This shrub, of which 

 I had been most anxious to procure seeds, 

 attains the height of ten feet, and is of a 

 pyramidal form. The nuts, which are pro- 

 duced in prickly clusters on the points of 

 the young wood, are each enclosed in sepa- 

 rate cells, and are of the same size and 



