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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



branches and foliage? Be this as it 

 may, they always stimulate the imagi- 

 nation, giving rise to feelings one does 

 not experience elsewhere. And as they 

 diifer widely in geographic position, 

 climatic surroundings, and component 

 species, so they invite different emo- 

 tions and call up different thoughts. 

 Thus the groves of dwarf live oaks on 

 the steep wind-swept slopes of some of 

 the coast ranges of California, and the 

 low forests of mountain buckeye on 

 Eoan Mountain in Tennessee and 

 North Carolina, both bathed in driving 

 fogs and heavily draped with lichens, 

 present weird fantastic shapes that ap- 

 peal strongly to the imagination ; the 

 timber line tongues of dwarf wliitcbark 



pines and alpiue hemlocks that clothe 

 the upper reaches of many of the higher 

 mountains of the West, produce a sense 

 of exhilaration and rugged vigor; tlie 

 stunted forests of piiion, juniper, and 

 mountain maliogany of the elevated 

 borders of some of our western deserts 

 prompt many a traveler to seek them 

 for the night's camping place ; while in 

 the warm balmy atmosphere of the 

 beautiful valley of Clear Lake, the 

 manzanita forests have a peculiar 

 charm, their glowing red trunks, light 

 overhead foliage, and rich carpet of 

 dark red berries creating a warmth and 

 depth of color and a feeling of quiet 

 restfulness that tempt one to return 

 again and again. 



Photograph by C. Hart Merriam 

 Two species of manzanita (4. cajiesccrw and A. stanfordiana) against a sparsely wooded hill slope 

 in the mountains north of Clear Lake 



