Briefer Articles. gl 
Islands. Its wood takes a good polish. From the Birch family 
we find the Western Birch (Betula occidentalis) very common in 
the Columbia Valley. The Dwarf Birch (Betula glandulosa) a 
small shrub, abundant all over the mainland; and the Canoe 
Birch (Betula papyrifera) which grows on Vancouver Island and 
in the region of the Fraser and Peace rivers, It is used by the 
Indians for baskets, boxes, canoes, etc. 
Except a few small trees, a mile and a half above Yale, on the 
Fraser, the only oak in the province is the Western White Oak 
(Quercus carryana), which is found on Vancouver Island, chiefly 
in its southeastern part. It is sometimes seventy feet high and 
three feet in diameter, though many of the trees are scrubby. 
The Westering Flowering Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) is very 
common in the neighborhood of Yale and areund Victoria, Van- 
couver Island. Cornus pubescens is abundant also at Victoria 
and in the Fraser River valley. The wood of the dogwood, or 
dogberry as it is sometimes called, is used for inlaying and orna- 
mental work. The Arbutus or Madrona (Arbutus menziesii), 
sometimes fifty feet high and twenty inches in diameter, is chiefly 
found on Vancouver Island and neighboring isles; in the vicinity 
of Victoria, on the Esquimalt road, the arbutus is very common. 
It is a beautiful tree, with evergreen leaves and reddish bark. 
The Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is a small trailing and 
evergreen shrub, growing in dry and rocky places, chiefly in the 
northwest of the province. The berries are mealy and form a 
principal part of the food of bears, grouse and prairie chickens. 
Arctostaphylos tomentosa grows in dry and rocky localities of 
southern British Columbia and on Vancouver Island. 
From the Poplar family, the American aspen or Tremulus. 
poplar (Populus tremuloides) abounds inthe interior, and also in 
the north. It reaches sometimes a thickness of two feet. The 
other varieties of poplar in British Columbia are commonly 
called the cottonwood. Populus trichocarpa is common in 
Columbia and Fraser River valleys. Populus monilifera and 
Populus balsamifera are to be found in the northern and north- 
eastern parts of the province, and also in the valley of the Lower 
Fraser. 
Herewith IJ conclude this article on some of the trees in British 
Columbia. It is only a general outline I give to the readers of 
the West AMERICAN SCIENTIST,though at some future time I in- 
tend to furnish a careful description ofall the plants,if possible,which 
are to be found in this magnificent province. M. LoPpATECKI. 
BRIEFER ARTICLES. 
PRESENTIMENTs— From an article by Rev. J. M. Buckley in 
the July Century on“ Presentiments, Visions and Apparitions’’ 
we quote the following: “Since that experience, in many voy- 
