16 



WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 



baeidae beetles of two kinds, Ligyrus and 

 Polyphylla. These were two species that he 

 had been hoping to collect, therefore the un- 

 expected find afforded him no small amount 

 of satisfaction. During the remainder of the 

 evening Ed kept up a watch for other beetles 

 that might be attracted by the bright lights 

 burning outside, and was rewarded by the 

 collection of several specimens; besides, he 

 caught a couple of monster moths which when 

 flying looked as large as small birds. 



In making notes of what we saw on one of 

 our tramps to Tahquitz we recorded sixteen 

 different kinds of birds, to-wit: Audobon 

 Warbler, Bullock Oriole, Wilson Snipe, Dove, 

 Meadow Lark, Robin, Western House Wren, 

 Say Phoeby, Yellow Warbler, Junco, Califor- 

 nia Goldfinch, House Finch or Linnet, White- 

 crowned Sparrow, Humming Bird, Little 

 Green Heron and Western Gnat-catcher. 

 With the exception perhaps of the last, all of 

 these birds are common in our part of the 

 state and consequently were not new to us. 

 The Gnat-catcher is to be found north, but is 

 not so much in evidence there as the others 

 named. It is quite a small bird, no larger 

 than a California Goldfinch. It has quite a 

 musical song which the male bird persistently 

 keeps up throughout the day during the 

 nesting season. 



We had a dozen or more different flowers, 

 some of which I was able to classify. A con- 

 spicuous flower was one called by the natives 

 Belleperona. It grows on a small shrub and 

 has clusters of honeysuckle-shaped scarlet 

 blossoms. It answers to the description of 

 the Pentstemon cordifolius, by Margaret Arm- 

 strong. Another beautiful flower was the 

 scarlet Mallow, a species of wild hollyhock. A 

 plant attracted our attention, not so much 

 on account of its minute simple flower as for 

 the peculiarity of its flowering stem and 

 branches, which were swollen between the 

 nodes ■ or joints, with the larger part of the 

 swelling toward the top. At first we thought 

 the enlargement was due to injury or the pres- 

 ence of an insect, but an examination soon 

 disproved that, and, moreover, all plants of 

 the kind were in the same condition. It was 

 nothing more than one of nature's provisions 

 for the welfare of the plant. It is known as 

 the Eriogonum inflatum, or bottle plant. The 

 radical leaves which form a rosette around 

 the base of the plant are very pretty, looking 

 something like the handsome foliage of hot- 

 house Begonias. We found a single plant of 

 the thistle poppy, Argemone hispade. It 

 grows between two and three feet high and 

 bears a number of beautiful white flowers not 

 unlike in size and appearance to those of the 

 Matilija poppy. The stems and even the 

 leaves are covered with the sharpest kind of 

 thistle points. At a distance the plant has an 

 attractive appearance, but the "stickers" 

 defy one to take the flowers by any ordinary 

 process. In truth, I think the majority of the 

 perennials as well as many of the annual 

 plants of the desert are armed with thorns 

 and "stickers," and one is soon impressed with 

 the advisability of closely examining the char- 

 acter of all plants there before entering into 

 too familiar relations with them. 



A plant that is also a feature of the desert 

 flora at this time of the year is the Yerba 

 Santa, Eriodictyon tomentosum. It is differ- 

 ent from the Yerba Santa, Eriodictyon Cali- 

 fornicum, growing in the northern section of 

 the state. The leaves, while of the same shape 

 and texture, are covered with a gray, velvet- 

 like pubescence. This dressing gives the plant 

 a handsome appearance, and it is especially 

 attractive when in bloom. The flowers, of lilac 

 color shading to purple and white, are a little 

 over a half-inch long. The clusters of these 

 flowers, with the gray, velvet buds and leaves 

 with the peculiar gray foliage, is an exhibi- 

 tion of one of nature's most pleasing color 

 schemes. 



Another remarkable plant belonging to the 

 pea family, just beginning to show color in 

 its flower buds, was called to our attention. 

 This is a shrub peculiar to the desert known 

 as Parosela Emoryi. Its flower is dark purple, 

 the foliage grayish green. The flowers are 

 quite small, pea blossom shape, gathered in 

 a head not unlike the clover. A strange and 

 interesting feature of the plant is that by 

 bruising the stems or flower head upon the 

 hands or other objects a profuse and deep 

 orange color is produced. The discovery of 

 this property in the plant led some people to 

 think it might be valuable for the production 

 of a dye, and some experimental work to de- 

 velop it was attempted, but with what success 

 I could not learn. 



Referring to the English Snipe mentioned 

 among the birds seen on the trip to Tahquitz, 

 I might add that they were flushed while pass- 

 ing a moist bit of ground made so by leakage 

 from a nearby irrigation ditch. Ordinarily 

 these birds are very shy and after being 

 flushed alight only at a place that gives them 

 immediate cover, but these snipe flew off for 

 a short distance, then back, coming to the 

 open ground within a few feet of where I was 

 standing, where they remained long enough 

 for satisfactory observation. Their long bills 

 and eyes set so far back in their heads that 

 they appear out of place give the birds a very 

 odd appearance. 



During the latter part of our stay, when the 

 weather became more summer-like, some male 

 wasps belonging to the Elis family put in an 

 appearance. They looked very much like the 

 slim-bodied •"warmtailed insect" so common in 

 the country districts of the north, but these 

 wasps had no stings, consequently could be 

 handled with impunity. However, if I should 

 have captured a female of the species, I would 

 have been made aware that the power to in- 

 flict a sting was not altogether absent in the 

 species, but this difference is true with all 

 kinds of wasps. It is only the females that 

 are armed with the stinging weapon, which is 

 absent in all males whether bees or wasps. 

 With the Elis it is the males that are gadding 

 about while the females remain at home. 

 But with our common wasps, the Polistes and 

 Yellow Jackets, it is the lady wasps that make 

 themselves so conspicuous, and the gentle- 

 men, where there are any, remain at home 

 and are seldom seen. 



As to the common wasp, the Polistes, which 

 is represented during the spring and summer 



