201 



mouutain coverings, so as to maintain the tax-paying power of the com- 

 munity, which can not exist here if the springs become dry. 



For the forest maps of these counties, comprising an empire of land, 

 I am indebted, for Los Angeles, to Mr. George E. Jackson, and, for San 

 Diego, to Mr. T. E. Vandyke and Mr. M. G. Wheeler. 



Gupressus maorocarpa and Guadalupensis are not found in Los An- 

 geles County, to my knowledge, in a state of nature. Some of the 

 Sumacs, as the one with edible berries, do not extend to us. 



The Pinus Torreyana is confined to one little nook of San Diego 

 County. On the other hand, the Yucca hrevifolia^ or tree cactus, seems 

 not to be known in San Diego County, and the beautiful, fragrant, Bay- 

 tree does not extend south of the Los Angeles canyons. 



In the second Sierra Madre range of Los Angeles County there are 

 about two hundred Eedwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens — a fact not 

 generally known, owing, doubtless, to the inaccessible character of the 

 mountains where they are. 



In this connection it is proper to call attention to the considerable 

 number of trees and shrubs perpetuated in California that have long 

 become extinct elsewhere. One may well think it probable that the 

 mild and equable climate where this has happened may be as favorable 

 to man as it has been to vegetable growth. 



The necessity of the hour is the intelligent supervision of the forests 

 and brush lands of California, with a view to their preservation. The 

 cutting and use of the forests should be so reasonably regulated as to 

 insure their reproductive power, and, above all, maintain the forest influ- 

 ence on the climate and secure to the farmer the perennial character of 

 the springs and streams necessary in the dry season for irrigation j also 

 to protect the low lands against floods and torrents that occur here 

 whenever the mountains are denuded. 



