NEVADA FORESTS 



woods, where all seemed so desolate, adorning 

 the hot foothills as well as the cool summits, 

 fed by cordial and benevolent storms of rain 

 and hail and snow; all of these scant and rare 

 as compared with the immeasurable exuber- 

 ance of California, but still amply sufficient 

 throughout the barest deserts for a clear mani- 

 festation of God's love. 



Though Nevada is situated hi what is called 

 the "Great Basin," no less than sixty-five 

 groups and chains of mountains rise within 

 the bounds of the State to a height of about 

 from eight thousand to thirteen thousand feet 

 above the level of the sea, and as far as I have 

 observed, eVery one of these is planted, to some 

 extent, with coniferous trees, though it is only 

 upon the highest that we find anything that 

 may fairly be called a forest. The lower ranges 

 and the foothills and slopes of the higher are 

 roughened with small scrubby junipers and 

 nut pines, while the dominating peaks, to- 

 gether with the ridges that swing in grand 

 curves between them, are covered with a 

 closer and more erect growth of pine, spruce, 

 and fir, resembling the forests of the Eastern 

 States both as to size and general botanical 

 characteristics. Here is found what is called 

 the heavy timber, but the tallest and most 

 fully developed sections of the forests, growing 



165 



