382 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



in such a manner as to give the top the form of an 

 inverted pyramid. From the ends of the branches 

 hang the cones or seed-vessels, from twelve to fifteen 

 inches in length, and egg-shaped. The seeds are as 

 large as a good-sized bean, and furnish a common arti 

 cle of food to the Indians, who collect large quantities 

 of them in the autumn, and pound them into a kind of 

 cake, which is baked on heated stones. The wood is 

 very fine-grained, and contains a great quantity of 

 resin. 



The Pinus Sabinii, P. Lambertiana, P. noblis, 

 and P. resinosa, are also fine species, though less in 

 size than their gigantic relative. The former is, how 

 ever, a large tree, being often found one hundred and 

 ten feet high, and from ten to twelve in diameter. 

 Among the elevated plains of Upper California it 

 grows quite plentifully, as also on the low hills, near 

 the coast, where it attains a larger size. The natives 

 frequently build their fires against these trees to save 

 the trouble of collecting fuel. By this means, also, a 

 sweet gum is made to exude from the trunk, which 

 serves them for sugar. 



Mr. Farnham also mentions among the trees of 

 California, the White Oak, Live Oak, Maple, Ash, 

 Beech, and Chestnut. 



The flowering shrubs and plants of California are 

 very numerous. Mr. Farnham says : 



It is impossible to give a full description of the 

 flowering shrubs and plants of Upper California, so 

 great is their variety and beauty. We have only 

 space to notice a few of the most conspicuous. A 

 species of Raspberry, Ribes speciosum, is one of the 

 most elegant flowering shrubs of the country. It is 

 exceedingly abundant in some localities, and, with its 



