104 



Cupressus Fragraxs. 

 Among the timber trees of the Pacific coast 

 the White Cedar, as it is commonly called, of 

 Southern Oregon, is among the most interesting 

 for the beauty of its foliage and utility of its 

 wood. It is found in almost every situation con- 

 tiguous to the coast and for several miles in- 

 land, but most abundant in moist ground and 

 low hills kept moist by the density of the forest. 

 It nearly fills sections of the extensive forests 

 in the maratime districts of Southern Oregon, 

 latitude 52° to 44°. It is mingled with Abies 

 Canadensis, Abies Donylassii, Abies Menzsiesii 

 and a Silver Fir that I could not designate, it 

 having neither fruit nor flower at the time, 

 (May 25th,) resembling Pinus Grandis of Doug- 

 lass. The trees stand so thick that the light can 

 hardly penetrate the evergreen foliage, and in 

 their gloomy shades spring at every step Rho- 

 dodendrons, Dwarf Bay, Vacciniums, bearing a 

 delicious red berry, and other shrubs and plants. 

 This tree growes straight, six feet in diameter, 

 150 feet in height, and nearly destitute of 

 branches for 50 to 70 feet ; but whsa found sin- 

 gly, its long, slender, pendulous branches are re- 

 tained down nearly to the ground, making the 

 general outlines columnar, surmouuted by an 

 elongated pyramid. The bark on the young 

 stocks is thin, but as they grow old becomes 

 thick, furrowed, and of a soft, iibrous tex- 

 ture, not unlike that of Taxodium Sempivirens, 

 of a chocolate color. The color of the wood is 

 white, rather heavier and firmer than white 

 pine, (Pinus Strobus,) which it much resembles ; 

 is strong and durable, fine grain and easily 

 wrought. It has a strong, fragrant, spicy odor, 

 which it retains for a long time. This charac- 

 teristic has suggested the name of Fragrant Cy- 

 press. The lumber made from it is of the best 

 quality, being very clear from knots. It is ex- 

 tensively used in San Francisco for joiners' 

 work, and commands the highest price in the 

 market. It is preferred for clothes-presses, 

 chests, etc., having the same properties in this 

 respect as camphor wood (Laurus Camphora) 

 in keeping away moths and other insects. It 

 has been used in boat-building, and is highly 

 recommended by those who have used it for this 

 purpose. It would make excellent timbers in 

 ship-building, where extra durability is required. 

 There is no more valuable timber found on the 

 Pacific coast — the famous sugar pine (Pinus 

 Lambertiuna) not excepted. From the latitude 

 in which it is found, it is unquestionably hardy, 

 and its cultivation would be a valuable acquisi- 

 tion to Atlantic States and Northern Europe. 



San Francisco, Dec. 7, 1857 

 A letter was read from Mr. Swallow, State 



Geologist of Mississouri, acknowledging his 



election to membership. 



Dr. J. A. Veatch read the following paper : 



Notes op a visit to the "Mud Volcanoes" 

 in the Colorado Desert, in the month 

 op July, A. D., 1857, by John A. Veatch, 

 M. D. 



Among the numerous objects in California 



inviting the investigation of the scientific and 

 the attention of the curious observer, none are 

 more conspicuous than the " Salses" or "Mud 

 Volcanoes" of the Colorado Desert. Hidden 

 midst the burning sands of a frightful waste, 

 few persons have had the temerity to encounter 

 the labor and risk of visiting them. Even the 

 Indians, inhabiting the border of this Western 

 Sahara, do not willingly venture so far into its 

 midst, unless it be during the annual rains. At 

 any other period, to miss one of the few springs 

 of brackish water, or to find the place occupied 

 by drifting sands — a not unusual occurrence — 

 would entail the certainty of the horrors of 

 thrist, if not loss of life. From personal expe- 

 rience I cannot blame the repugnance of the 

 natives to visit a district, which, in addition to 

 its physical repulsiveness, they suppose to be 

 the abode of dark and malignant spirits. 



The striking peculiarities of this wild region 

 are, however, too striking to remain long un- 

 ~.u'iected to thorough exploration. The entire 

 desert is supposed to have been the bed of a 

 great brackish or fresh-water lake, and is said to 

 lay many feet below the level of the ocean. The 

 part I lately visited showed deep lacastrine de- 

 posits, inclosing, in myriads, the conchological 

 records of the former sea. 



It was the month of July of the present year 

 that I had occasion, in the progress of a minera- 

 logical excursion, to visit one of the above 

 named salses. It is situated about one hundred 

 and fifty miles from San Diego, and sixty miles 

 in a north-easterly direction from the Indian 

 village of San Filipe — the nearest inhabited 

 habitable place. The exact locality, as reported 

 by the U. S. Surveyors, is Township 11 South ; 

 range 13 East, San Bernardino meridian. The 

 distance from San Felipe as above given is in an 

 air line, but by any practicable route is, at least, 

 thirty miles further, owing to the necessity of 

 making a detour to the South, to find the only 

 water on the route. 



At the above named village, at the trading 

 post of Messrs. Smith & Brill, we — myself and 

 son — made preparation for our desert excursion, 

 by procuring fresh horses and a guide, and pro- 

 viding provisions, and goards and leathern bot- 

 tles for carrying water. Our guide, Jose Serano, 

 who was one of the Captains of his village, 

 spoke Spanish, and was the only one of his peo- 

 ple who had ever been actually at the spot we 

 wished to visit. The weather was intensely hot, 

 and the guide advised starting late in the after- 

 noon, so as to have the advantage of a night's 

 journey, and thereby reach the watering-place 

 early the next day, — before the heat became op- 

 pressive. The following I extract from my 

 notes : 



" Left San Felipe at i o'clock, p. m., July 17. 

 Crossed the sharp Porphyritie Mountain Ridge 

 separating San Felipe Valley from the desert. 

 San Felipe Creek cuts through the ridge here 

 and run* off in a narrow canon towards the 

 desert. It is a bold, running stream, but never 

 emerges from the canon in summer, being liter- 

 ally drank up by the first breath of the thirsty 

 desert wind. The bed of the stream is not 

 practicable for horses, so we climbed the moun- 





