THE MONTEREY CONIFERS. 
BY THOMAS H. MACBRIDE. 
A little peninsula projecting but slightly from the coast of California 
and forming by its northern front the south shore of the Bay of Mon- 
terey has for botany-lovers many attractive features. The little city, 
named of the Bay, was the first capital of this western commonwealth, 
long before Sacramento, or San Francisco even, had a place in the 
geography of the world. This little town was accordingly the port of 
entry for all this western coast. To it came traders in slow-sailing ships ; 
to it also came the enthusiastic naturalist still stirred perhaps by the 
impulse of Linnaeus; Douglas, 1832; Coulter, 1830; Don in 1837 and 
Hartweg in 1846. 
In consequence of the activity of these early collectors, type-specimens 
of many of the flowering plants must be sought on the sandy or rocky 
slopes of this little peninsula, or in the immediate neighborhood. As 
it happens several of the rarest conifers in the world have here their 
habitation, and a note as to their present state and distribution may be 
of interest to members of this academy. 
The peninsula above referred to, about 10 or 12 square miles, shows 
four coniferous species. 
Cupressus macrocarpa Hartweg. 
- Cupressus goveniama Don. 
Pinus muricata Don. 
Finns radicuta Don — ( Pinus insignis Douglas) . 
Of these the first is the famous Monterey cypress, now planted all over 
California for hedges and wind-breaks, and even common in Europe and 
in other parts of the world. This tree occupies a narrow stretch of sea- 
coast, a slender grove on each side of the little stream by courtesy called 
the Carmel river. Some of the trees on Point Lobos, the south bank of 
the Carmel estuary, are possible sixty feet above the sea level, but the 
greater number of trees are near the shore at an average altitude of less 
than 50 feet above the tide. 
