96 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



The other locality to which my attention has been spe- 

 cially called is in the Coast Kange. Its drainage is partly 

 to the Bay of San Francisco, partly into the ocean. The 

 elevation varies from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above the level of 

 the sea. 



I have several statements from inhabitants of this district, 

 all agreeing as to the fact of an increase of rattlesnakes, but 

 'differing in regard to the causes. The informant upon 

 whose statement I chiefly rely has seen a great deal of bor- 

 der life, some military service, and has made explorations 

 in Mexico and the Indian Territories. His observation is 

 keen and is the more reliable because not influenced by 

 preconceived ideas. 



The lower part of this district must have been originally 

 a dense forest of redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) , Douglas 

 spruce (Pseudotsuga Douglasii), madrono (Arbutus 3Ienziesii). 

 and chestnut oak (Quercus densiflora); the upper part, chap- 

 paral (Cea)wthus and Manzanita) and chemisal (Adcnostoma) , 

 varied occasionally by groves or forest strips of Pinus in- 

 signis and Pseudotsuga Douglasii, live-oak (Quercus agrifolia), 

 and Kellogg's oak (Quercus Eellogii). 



At this day tracts of cultivated land, chiefly vineyards 

 and orchards, form frequent interruptions of the original 

 forms of vegetation. There is still game enough to cause 

 much inconvenience to the vine-growers, but it has, accord- 

 ing to the statements made to me, perceptibly diminished. 

 The hills are steep, but not so much so as to prevent the 

 growth of chapparal upon them; the gulches accessible, but 

 not broad enough to be of much use to the agriculturist; 

 and though there are no large Avater-courses, there are plenty 

 of springs. 



Among reptiles, Gerrhonotus and Phrynosonia are the most 

 common. The serpents are not well represented. I have 

 not seen Ophibolus; the blue racer (Bascanion) has been only 

 occasionally seen; Pityoplds is exceedingly rare, and even 



