, . hel hb 
: z : BES tree 
February 28, 1907 25 
it is more at home in a moister region than that usually consid- 
ered as the Upper Sonoran area. . 
The sagebrush area extended before cultivation over a very 
large portion of the valley, and it now covers the entire foothill 
region on the slopes of the eastern Sierras to an altitude of about 
6000 feet, where pockets and strips of greater or less extent 
creep in among the yellow pine forests to elevations of 7000 and 
even 8000 feet. Unfortunately at the prefent time many square 
miles of these once luxuriant stretches of timber present only 
denuded areas save for the countless stumps which still remain 
to testify to the past conditions of the mountains. These trees 
were largely used in the early days of the Comstock to timber 
the mines. Since that time a second growth has been produced, 
more especially in the canyons, which is just beginning to bear 
cones. It will be a very difficult matter to reforest the high 
ridges, as there is no opportvnity for seed to get there, and the 
soil, for lack of a forest cover, has been severely washed. Another 
tree typical of the Upper Transition area is the Douglas spruce 
(Pseudotsuga mucronata). It is found scattered throughout the 
yellow pine belt with apparent indiscrimination, but adhering 
more closely to the higher slopes. Observations in the canyons 
seem to indicate that this species is better able to reforest the 
denuded area than the yellow pine. The sugar pine (P:xus 
Lambertiana) is also met with in this area, but it is never 
abundant, and more frequently only two or three or at most 
twenty trees can be found in these canyons. The incense cedar 
(Libocedrus decurrens), although more plentiful in granite re- 
gions of the eastern Sierra to the south of the Truckee Valley, 
is quite scarce here, only a few specimens occurring in well 
sheltered and rather moist situations in the deep ravines. 
The most important shrubs found associated with the yel- 
low pine forests are: 
Arctostaphylos pungens Cercocarpus ledifolius 
Arctostaphylos Nevadensis Ceanothus velutinus 
Ribes cereum Ceanothus prostratus 
Castanopsis sempervirens 
