28 BOTANY OF THE ROUTE. 



localities when not much shaded. They are thus, like the spruces, much limited by natural 

 boundaries to particular districts. 



The same oak (QuERCUS Garryana) which I have mentioned as found in small numbers east 

 of the Cascade range, is more abundant in the vallej^ between it and the Coast range, west of 

 which I do not think there is a single oak tree. On the Columbia, Oak Point is its lowest 

 locality, and a corresponding point on the Chehalis is near the mouth of Black river, where a 

 few stunted oaks occur, covered with long moss, and evidently suffering from the excess of 

 moisture in the vicinity of the coast. At the same place, and from the same cause, the 

 " black spruce " begins to grow, and the "yellow fir" disappears. 



The wood of this oak, though inferior to some kinds of the Atlantic States, is useful for 

 man}^ purposes to which oak wood is applied. It rarely grows more than fifty feet high and 

 two in diameter, branching low like an apple tree, so that at a distance groves of it look 

 much like orchards, giving to the prairies where it grows a rural and home-like aspect. It is 

 rare on the prairies near the Straits of Fuca, but is said to extend further north. It is, 

 however, one of the more southern group of plants which I have mentioned as belonging 

 to the prairies, and is crowded out by the extension of the spruces over them. In the partial 

 shade of these it sometimes grows slender and tall, like the oak of our eastern forests. 



The "white maple," (Acer macrophyllum,) quite diS"erent from any eastern species, is the 

 most beautiful of its family in North America. It is frequently eighty feet in height, and 

 attains a diameter of six feet, with smooth, white bark and pale green leaves from six to 

 twelve inches in breadth. Its long racemes of yellow flowers appear with the young leaves in 

 May, giving the tree an elegant appearance. Its wood is superior in beauty of veining to 

 either the "curled" or "birdseye" varieties, and is capable of a high polish. Sugar has 

 been made from its sap at the Cascades, and may yet become an important product. This 

 maple grows from a high elevation on the mountains to the ocean; but I did not see it east of 

 the Cascade range, where it seems to be replaced by the third species of the Catalogue, (A. 

 GLABRUM,) a species of the Rocky mountain forests. 



The "vine maple," (A. CIRCINAtum,) so called from its prostrate and tangled growth, forms 

 almost impenetrable thickets in damp parts of the forests. It grows only twenty or thirty feet 

 high, with a diameter of a foot at most, and is used chiefly for fuel, and boat timbers, for 

 which its crooked stems are well adapted. Its rich purple flowers are very ornamental 

 in April, and its leaves are the only kind that turn scarlet in autumn, like those of so many 

 eastern trees. 



The "Oregon alder" (Alsus Oregona) inhabits a similar extent of country, but is most 

 abundant near the sea, wheire its light green foliage and white bark contrast agreeably 

 with the dark hue of the spruce forests. It grows sixty feet high, has very soft white 

 wood, excellent for carved work, furniture, &c. In the dry soil of the valley it is rather 

 scarce, but is said to reappear on the western slopes of the Rocky mountains. 



Another smaller alder, (A. viridis,) little more than a shrub, grows in small numbers near 

 Steilacoom, and is, perhaps, that mentioned by Nuttall ("yl. rubra") as occurring near Oak 

 Point. 



The "Oregon ash" (Fraxinus Oregona) grows in moist, sandy soil, on river banks, in the 

 Valley between the Cascade and Coast ranges, but, like the yellow fir, stops at brackish water; 

 and although a few are found down to the mouth of the Columbia, none grow along other rivers 



