326 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. ix. 



loDg. 11S° 4S') beloDg to P. alha. The northern and north- 

 eastern range of Engelmann's spruce is therefore undeterminate. 

 It borders nearly all the streams and swamps in the northern 

 portion of British Columbia between about 2500 and 3500 feet 

 in elevation. It is probably this tree which forms dense groves 

 in the upper alpine valleys of the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity 

 of the forty-ninth parallel. The wood has not yet been extensively 

 employed, but it is excellent, and in some cases very durable. 



Picea Menziesii, Lindl. Menzie's spruce. This tree seems to 

 be confined chiefly to the immediate vicinity of the coast, where 

 it attains a large size, and is to some extent used for lumber. It 

 was, however, observed on the summit between the Coldwater and 

 Coquihalla Rivers (3280 feet) ; also on the Nicolume a few miles 

 beyond the sumniit between that stream and the Sumnllow, and 

 on the west side of the Spioos valley near the trail crossing. It 

 was noted (doubtfully) on the summit between the Forks of 

 Skeena and Babeen Lake, and may probably occur in the humid 

 region of the Gold and Selkirk Ranges. The wood is white and 

 free. 



Abies grandis, Lindl. Confined to the vicinity of the coast, 

 where its range is even more strictly limited than that of the 

 cedar or hemlock. The wood is said to be white and soft, but 

 too brittle for most purposes, and moreover liable to decay rapidly. 

 Grows to a large size. 



Abies subdlj^ina, Engelm. (^= A. lasiocarpa Hook.) Balsam 

 spruce. Appears to take the -^XdiQQ o^ Abies grandis in the region 

 east of the Coast Ranges. It is not found in the southern dry 

 portion of the interior plateau, but occurs abundantly in the 

 Gold and Selkirk Ranges in the Rocky mountain region east of 

 McLeod's Lake. Elsewhere it occurs in scattered groves, in the 

 northern portion of the interior plateau, generally in localities 

 nearly reaching or surpassing 4000 feet, but even in low valleys 

 in the eastern portion of the Coast Ranges. It crosses the 

 Rocky mountains in the Peace River district and occurs in cold 

 damp situations in the county between Lesser Slave Lake and the 

 Athabasca River. The tree often exceeds two feet in diameter, 

 but the wood is said to be almost worthless. 



Pinus po7\derosa^T)o\x^. Yellow pine, red pine, pitch pine. 

 A remarkably handsome tree, which grows only in the central 



