affair, which was finally effected to my satisfaction. I 
shall now endeavor to give you a brief sketch of my 
walks in California. 
Upper California extends from the Port of St. Diego, 
lat. 32° 30' to lat. 43° N., a space of six hundred and 
ninety miles from north to south. The interior is but 
partially known. Such parts of the country as I have 
seen are highly diversified by hills, covered with Oaks, 
Pines, Chestnuts and Laurels; extensive plains, clothed 
with a rich sward of grass; but no large streams. Well 
does it merit its name! The heat is intense and the 
dryness of the atmosphere invariable, 29° not infre- 
quently, which, if I mistake not, is not exceeded in 
Arabia or Persia. In this fine district how I lament 
the want of such majestic rivers as the Columbia! * * 
Early as was my arrival on this coast, spring had 
already commenced; the first plant I took in hand was 
Ribes speciosum Pursh (Bot. Mag. t. 3530; Bot. Reg. 
t. 1557), remarkable for the length and crimson splen- 
dour of its stamens; a flower not surpassed in beauty 
by the finest Fuchsia; and for the original discovery of 
which we are indebted to the good Mr. Archibald Men- 
zies, in 1780. The same day I added to my list Nem- 
ophila insignis [=N. Menziesii] Bot. Reg. t. 1713; 
Bot. Mag. t. 3485), a humble, but lovely plant, the 
harbinger of California spring, which forms as it were 
a carpet of tenderest azure hue. What a relief does this 
charming flower afford to the eye from the effect of the 
sun’s reflection on the micaceous sand where it grows. 
These, with other discoveries of less importance, gave 
me hope. From time to time I contrived to make ex- 
cursions in this neighborhood, until the end of April, 
when I undertook a journey southward, and reached 
Santa Barbara, 34° 25', in the middle of May, where I 
made a short stay, and returned late in June, by the 
same route, occasionally penetrating the mountain val- 
leys which skirt the coast. Shortly afterward I started 
for San Francisco, and proceeded to the North of that 
port. — From the Journal of David Douglas, Monterey, 
Upper California, Nov. 23rd, 1831. 
