80 PITTONIA. 
the natives, who press it into cakes about nine inches square 
and one inch thick; it is then dried and smoked and be- 
cornes an article of barter between the various tribes under 
the name Hocx-rHrLEIGH. It is usually the final dish pre- 
sented to guests at their feasts, the method of preparation 
being to break the pressed cake in small pieces into a large 
wooden dish containing some water. "The coutents are then 
beaten into a froth which is eaten by dipping a wooden 
spoon (made for the special purpose) into the mass and 
then drawing the spoon across the tongue, which is loudly 
smacked to show a proper appreciation of the feast. It is 
certainly the most villainous-tasting of any of the native 
foods which I have tried. 
LvcoPoprUM sELAGO (?) This occurs from sea level up to 
about 1,000 feet elevation, on moss-covered rocks and logs, 
in coniferous woods and sometimes on the borders of beaver 
ponds, but not in the sphagnous marshes, where its three 
congeners, L. annotinum, L. clavatum, and L. dendroideum, 
are fairly common. It is employed by all the tribes along 
the coast to produce a sort of intoxication, which is induced 
by simply chewing the stems and swallowing the juice. 
What the active principle is I am at present unable to say- 
SPHAGNUM is very common throughout this whole 
region, being the prevailing plant of the marshes, where it 
covers alinost the whole surface like an immense superficial 
sponge and retains the water in large quantities, even where 
the ground slopes considerably. It is apparently on the in- 
crease, growing thicker and retaining more water as time 
goes on, as is evidenced by the many dead and dying trees | : 
(mostly pines) still standing about, while such as have fallen — 
are being slowly but surely buried out of sight. For some 
reason it is rarely if ever found in flower or fruit in the body _ 
of these marshes. It is only in certain small patches on the _ 
borders or in isolated spots near the seashore that fructifica- _ 
tion is developed. 
