494 SUEGEOXS REPORTS CALIFORNIA MIDDLE DISTRICT. 



feet. Its loaves grow iu threes at the end of the branches, and present a peculiar, tufted appear- 

 ance. The color of the loaves is a dark green. This tree is found in great abundance near the 

 snow-lines of the Sierra Nevada. 



Tlie nut-pine, Finns sahiniana, is remarkable for its wide-spreading branches, aud large cones 

 filled with edible seeds. It is not a large tree, scarcely ever attaining a circumference greater than 

 twelve feet, and a height of sixty or seventy feet. The seeds are about the size of a common white 

 bean, and are quite palatable, with a slight terebinrhine taste. 



The red-fir, Abies flouglasii, is a noble aud majestic tree, often reaching the height of three 

 hundred feet, with a diameter from eight to twelve feet. The wood is strong, with coarse and 

 uneven grain, and is much used for rough work on buildings, and for fencing. These ti'ees grow in 

 dense forests high up in the Sierra Nevada. 



The yellow-fir, Abies icilliamsonii, bears a close resemblance to the red fir, and they are usually 

 found together. 



The madrona, Arbutus menziesii, is an evergreen, with brightgreeu, oval-shaped leaves, and a 

 bright-red bark. The bark is smooth, and peels off', like that of the sycamore, at regular seasons. 

 The new bark is a light-green, which turns to red. The wood is very hard, and susceptible of a 

 high degree of polish. This tree bears a bright-red berry in clusters. The wood is used in the arts 

 to a considerable extent. The Mexicans use it for the manufacture of stirrups. The United States 

 steamship Saginaw was built principally of this wood, but I am not informed in regard to its dura- 

 bility. 



The raanzanita, Arctostapliylos glauca, is quite a feature in the forests of this district. It grows 

 to be about ten or twelve feet iu height. The trunk divides uear the ground into many branches. 

 Tiie wood is of a dark -red color, very hard and dense, and is used to some extent in the manufacture 

 of walking canes, but it is of little use in the arts, as its growth is generally very crooked and un- 

 even. This shrub bears a red berry, which grows in clusters, and has rather a pleasant acidulous 

 taste; it is eateu by the Indians and grizzly bears. 



The white-oak, Qnercus Jiimlsii, is a characteristic tree of California. It resembles the white- 

 oak of the Atlantic States in the color of its bark and shape of its leaves, but its growth is differ- 

 ent. It seldom, reaches a height greater than fifty or sixty feet, and is often wider than it is high. 

 The trunk throws out large horizontal branches from six to twelve feet from the ground, and all 

 appearance of its trunk is soon lost in its branches. This tree is principally useful for fuel, being 

 too brittle to be used for any other purpose. The tree is very beautiful, however, aud the open 

 groves' of it in the valleys and foot-hills of the mountains give to the country a quie't beauty which 

 adds greatly to the attractiveness of California. TLe acorns of these trees constitute the principal 

 food of the Indians during the winter season. 



The evergreen-oak, Quercus agrifolia, is a low-spreading tree, aud its foliage is of a dark- 

 green color, and very dense. The bark is extensively used by tanners, and is said to be very 

 good for their purpose. It is found in the foot-hills and along water-courses. The acorn is small, 

 sharp-pointed, and bitter. The wood is hard, crooked, aud gnarled, and is not used much for any 

 purpose except fuel. 



The poison-oak, Bhus toxicodendron, grows abundantly iu the foot hills and along water courses. 

 It is found growing invariably as a shrub, aud never as a creeper or parasite, as in the Atlantic 

 States. The touch of the leaf is exceedingly i)oisonous, causing an eruption which is olten com- 

 municated to all parts of the body. 



The buckeye and sycamore grow iu abundance along the water-courses, but differ in some 

 respects from the same class of trees iu the Atlantic States. 



A few walnut trees grow along the Sacramento River, but the walnut cannot be classed as indig- 

 enous. We have the wild cherry and wild plum, but they only grow as bushes or shrubs ; the fruit, 

 however, resembles that of the Atlantic States. There are also wild grapes, blackberries, goose- 

 berries, and strawberries. 



Of nutritious grasses there is quite a number, but their roots do not form a living sod. The 

 drought of the summer and fall kills the roots, but the ground being seeded from year to year the 

 grasses are perpetuated in that way ; but as the country becomes settled, and the grass is eaten off' 

 by domestic animals, it will disappear. Wild oats grow abundantly, and are cut extensively for 



