222 MR. HAETWEG'S JOURNAL OF A MISSION TO CALIFORNIA. 



the beautiful little Leptosiphon aureus, and similar plants, which, 

 between their taller neighbours, had almost become invisible. 



An excursion to the " Butes," an isolated group of mountains 

 between the Sacramento and Feather rivers, furnished me with 

 Campanulacea No. 316, C. No. 317, Scrophularinea No. 318, 

 Compositse Nos. 319 and 320, Gilia No. 324, G. 335, Linum 

 325, Trifolium No. 331, Labiatfe No. 333, Asclepias No. 338, 

 Clarkia elegans, Lupinus densiflorus, Asclepias No. 338, and 

 Umbellifera No. 339, called Yerba de la vivora, the leaves and 

 stem of which are universally used with success against the bite 

 of rattlesnakes. 



From the rocky summit of the Butes a beautiful view is ob- 

 tained of the Sacramento valley ; during the time of my visit, the 

 lower country, owing to the melting of the snow in the moun- 

 tains and consequent inundations, presented an immense lake. 



Another excursion I made to the mountains led along the 

 right bank of the Chuba river, over the now parched up prairie. 

 A ride of fifteen miles brought me to the foot of the mountains. 

 The lower range, as in the former visit higher up in the valley, 

 is occupied by Ceanothus No. 285, a few live Oaks, and Pinus 

 Sabiniana. Following a small rivulet, I found there Mentha 

 No. 348, Labiata No. 352, Stenactis No. 353, a shrubby La- 

 biata No. 355, with large white flowers, and Collinsia tinctoria, 

 No. 354. This new species of Collinsia is of stronger growth, 

 though less striking, than C. bicolor ; it grows chiefly in the 

 dry sandy bed or on the banks of the rivulet, and produces its 

 yellowish flo.wers mottled with purple much later than C. bicolor. 

 On a subsequent occasion, when I returned to this place, to pro- 

 cure seeds of it, my hands were stained yellow by the glandular 

 hairs which cover the seedpods, from which circumstance I 

 named it Collinsia tinctoria. 



Another interesting plant I found on this excursion is Nemo- 

 pliila speciosa, with white petals, one-third of which is tipped 

 with purple. It grows generally near rivulets, or in damp and 

 partly shaded places. If the few seeds I procured should vege- 

 tate, it will prove a great acquisition to that handsome genus. 



The higher part of this range of mountains is less accessible 

 than on the former visit. My endeavours to proceed farther 

 were eventually frustrated by the steep banks and swollen state 

 of the Chuba. 



By the beginning of .June I set out again, in company with 

 Mr. Cordua and an Indian, to visit if possible the snowy heights 

 of the mountains, generally termed by emigrants from the United 

 States the Californian Mountains. After crossing the Chuba 

 river we struck across the prairie, and entered the mountains 



