THE WEST-AMERICAN SCIENTIST. 



General Notes. 



Twenty-six varieties of ferns are found 

 in San Diego county. 



We hope soon to receive a microscope for 

 magnifying this little journal. 



Pinones, a nut from a small species of 

 pine, were very scarce this fall. 



The Scientist and 25 varities shells to 

 any member of the A. A. for $1.00. 



The California fan palm is named Wash- 

 ingtonia in honor of our first president. 



Seed of the blue palm is said to some- 

 times sprout in three years after planting. 

 Fourteen kinds of land-snails are known 

 in Southern California; one still unpub- 

 lished, 



A specimen of Columbella fuscata, a com- 

 mon and pretty Panama shell, has been 

 found at San Diego. 



Deschampsia gracilis, Vasey, is the name 

 of a new and beautiful grass peculiar to the 

 San Diego mesas. 



One of the new species of grasses recent- 

 ly collected in the mountaius of San Diego 

 has been since found in Oregon. 



The ostriches in Florida are reported as 

 not doing well, but on the California farms 

 they seem to be still flourishing. 



Our early flowers, butterllies and snails 

 send a Merry Christmas greeting to their 

 snow-bound friends throughout the world. 

 Nickel ore is found in great abundance 

 in the northern part of Lower California, 

 — but the Mexicans have had enough of 

 nickels! 



About seventy-five new species of plants 

 and animals have been found within a ra- 

 dius of fifty miles of San Diego, during 

 th i p Lst fev year-. 



The west oast of America, north of 



Mexico, has been credited with about 800 



; lusfes. v 'in i < sp'Miuence is 



requested regarding their distribution and 



■ ■ v i . , v . 



Another apparently new and curious 

 mollusk has been found on the shores of 

 San Diego bay which closely resembles the 

 garden slug in general appearance. 



A large deposit of tufa has been found in 

 Lower California: where the water from 

 the spring ran over a growth of mosses it 

 formed beautiful masses of "fossil moss." 

 similar to that of Michigan. 



Fouquiera splendens, the desert candle- 

 wood or "hocotillo, " is now budding and 

 blossoming in this city. Stalks have been 

 known to blossom six months after being 

 cut and placed in a museum. 



The rain? for this season (1884-5) com- 

 menced in earnest on the 7th. Early show- 

 ers during the first part of October were 

 sufficient to bring out blossoms of Saxifra- 

 ga Parryi Torr. 



The list of Southern and Lower Califor- 

 nia plants, now in press, will include the 

 marine algce of San Diego, about 150 spe- 

 cies, which have been collected by D. 

 Cleveland. Price of the list will be 25 

 cents. 



A large bed of fossils, several feet thick 

 and extending for more than a mile along 

 the bluffs of All Saints' bay, Lower Califor- 

 nia, and composed almost wholly of one, 

 new and curious species, has recently been 



ington. 



ed also. 



d y 



Four smaller species were detect- 



O. R, ORCUTT, 



DEALER IX 



Native Seeds, Bulbs I Plants 



I^ZEZR-lSrS;, ETC. 

 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. 



Museums supplied with specimens representative 



of the fauna and flora of Southern and Lower Cali- 

 fornia, and scientists supplied with material for 

 study. 



Amateurs' desiderata and Herbarium specimens, 

 shells and curios a specialty. 

 Publisher of The West- American Scientist, con- 

 en upbn various subject-, 

 issued monthlv, at 50 cents per annum. 



3 and shells wanted in exchange; terms, one- 

 . hall ca where racre books are offered. 



