50 HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



and so rigid and sharp are its leaves that one has to approach them about 

 as cautiously as he would a spiny cactus. The leaves when crushed emit 

 a strong odor very much like that of the tomato vine, as is the case with 

 the Florida species. 



The tree from which the accompanying sections were taken was the 

 largest we have any record of, and its dimensions might be cited as per- 

 haps the maximum attained by the species. This tree, which stood in 

 Mendocino Co., Cal., a few miles from the coast, had but a few days pre- 

 vious to our visit fallen in consequence of an almost unprecedented 

 freshet, which had so weakened its footing that it fell, a monarch which 

 had withstood the storms of centuries heretofore. As it lay with its roots 

 in air and foliage still fresh we had an excellent opportunity of noting 

 it dimensions. The extreme top was dead and had been broken off at a 

 point where it was 5 in. (12.7 c. m.) in diameter, probably a loss of several 

 feet, but measuring from the roots to that point we found it to be 85 ft. 

 (25.90 m.) and its straight columnar trunk was 4 ft. (1.22 m.) in diameter 

 at 18 in. from the ground line and densely overgrown with moss and 

 ferns, as is common in those shady canons, nearly its entire length. At 

 35 ft. from the ground, where we took out the material for the accom- 

 panying sections it was 33 in. in diameter. The handsome log that was 

 left we were told would be taken to the saw-mill (of the Union Lumber 

 Company) at Fort Bragg. 



HABITAT. An uncommon and rather local tree, being found along 

 the streams and bottoms of the canons of the mountains near the coast, 

 from Mandocino County southward to the Santa Cruz Mountains, and 

 also on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Yuba to 

 Tulare Counties. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood light, soft, compact, very durable in 

 contact with the soil, with fine close grain, easily worked and susceptible 

 of a smooth polish; of a clear light-yellow color with whitish sap-wood. 

 The heart-wood possesses the same strong peculiar and somewhat tere- 

 binthinate odor which we have noted of the Florida species. Specific 

 Gravity, 0.4760; Percentage of Ash, 1.^4; Relative Approximate Fuel 

 Value, 0.4696; Coefficient of Elasticity, 40146; Modulus of Rupture ,583; 

 Resistance to Longitudinal Pressure, 351 ; Resistance to Indentation, 

 122; Weight of a Cubic Foot in Pounds, 29.66. 



USES. Too rare a wood to be popular for any particular use, but of 

 excellent properties for skiff-building, etc., where a light and durable 

 wood is desired, and for cabinet-making, fencing, etc. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. None are known of this species. 



