PICEA BRAG TEAT A. 
3 
the fea-coaft, by the worft trail that I ever travelled in this or any other country. After paffing the divide, and defending to the weft, I 
fell in with the tree, occupying the mountain-fides as well as the ravines, and not ‘ exclufively the ravines,’ as defcribed by Hartweg. I was 
greatly difappointed in finding the cones too ripe to be able to obtain a fupply of feed. I tried cutting the top off; but a few ftrokes of 
the hatchet fhattered the cones in pieces, and fcattered the feeds to the winds. The only plan was to climb to a moft dangerous height 
and pick off the few cones which could be reached. They went to pieces in my hand the moment they were touched. The cones only 
occupy a few feet of the top, hence the difficulty and danger of obtaining them. I have never feen any defcription that does juftice to this 
moft beautiful of all the firs. It rifes to the height of 130 feet, ftraight as a line, the trunk tapering regularly from the ground to the top; 
clothed with branches, which are Aim and graceful, down to the ground; the outlines of the branches taper almoft as regularly as the trunk, 
giving the appearance of an 1 elongated pyramid,’ as Hartweg defcribes it; but I would rather call it a tall fpire, with a pyramidal bafe of 
two-thirds of the lower part of the tree. The pencil of the artift could not give it a more regular fhape than it appears in nature. I faw 
no tree deprived of its lower branches, except in thickets where it was impoffible for them to grow; there was none, with the above 
exceptions, that I could not ftep from the ground on to its branches. Not the leaft remarkable thing is, that thefe branches bear fine foliage 
down to the ground, and the branchlets often touch the ground. I have found it occupying exclufively the calcareous diftrihls abounding with 
ledges of white, veined, and grey marble. We encamped for the night on the point of a ridge, the only place to be found level, and large 
enough to make down our beds; in the evening it commenced raining, and increafed into a regular driving ftorm. We paffed the moft 
horrible night that ever fell to my lot to experience ; we were totally unprovided, as there was no appearance of a ftorm when we lay down 
a fhort time after dark. We had provided wood only to cook with, and we were obliged to get it with great labour, and at the rifle of 
breaking our necks, to keep from freezing. With great difficulty we kept our fire up until morning. The mountains here are as fteep as 
the laws of gravity will admit, and in a ftate of decompofition; rocks from the ledges above were fet at liberty by the rains, and came tumbling 
down paft us, making a fearful crafhing among the trees, increafing in fpeed until they landed among the rocks at the bottom of the ravine 
below us, with a noife which fent its reverberations up among the hills like peals of thunder. The impenetrable darknefs of the night, the 
howl of the tempeft, the crafhing of falling rocks, together with the feverity of the cold rain, almoft fnow, made the night truly awful. 
We faw a large grizzly bear juft before dark, and plenty of frefh tracks everywhere, which added nothing to the enjoyments of the night. 
Daylight came at laft, and with it a clear fky, which I hailed with more gratitude, I think, than I ever did in my life, thankful that I was alive. 
“ I had intended to have fpent a portion of the day in collecting what few feeds I could; but the ftorm had beaten them off, fo that 
the attempts in this vicinity were ufelefs. After paffing the firft ridge, I defeended into a deep gulch where there were a few trees, and 
found the feeds all gone. I defeended again on the north fide, and found one fmall tree that had a few fhattered cones left, and obtained 
a handful. I attempted to cut off the top, but the firft few ftrokes of the hatchet knocked them all off, and I was obliged to give it up for 
the feafon. We reached Monterey after an abfence of nine days. We had killed on the trip four deer, three antelopes, one hare, one wild¬ 
cat, and feen two grizzly bears.”—(Murray, in Edin. New Phil. Journ., loc. cit. fuprcP) 
Mr Lobb again vifited this diftridt in 1857, to procure an additional fupply of feeds, but was not fo 
fuccefsful as on the former occafion. He found that the feeds were, like thofe of Pinus nobilis , fubjedf 
to the attacks of an infedl in their green ftate, from which, of courfe, no precaution in the way of gathering, 
drying, or packing, can protedf them. 
The laft expedition to procure feeds, of which we know, is one in 1858, undertaken by Mr William 
Peebles; but his expedition produced little more than the preceding ones. Notwithftanding that he was 
a month earlier than Beardfley, he was ftill too late. He returned on September 17. Pie found that 
the cones were fo ripe that the trees could not be cut (which was the ufual method adopted in procuring 
cones from the Pines in former expeditions), without fcattering all the cones to the winds; fo that all 
he got was obtained by climbing the trees and carefully picking the cones. This difficulty in reaching 
the fpot at the right time is explained by a remark of Plartweg’s in regard to other plants. “ Being now 
aware of the rapidity of Californian vegetation, I loft no time in colledting fuch feeds as were worth taking, 
and returned to my head-quarters by the beginning of May. Moft kinds had, during the fortnight after 
I firft faw them in flower, ripened their feeds.” 
Thefe, we think, are all the attempts to introduce feeds into this country which have been made. 
It will be feen that the quantity introduced has been very trifling, and the plants are confequently ftill 
fcarce. Nor is there a probability of their being more plentiful, for it is not likely that any frefh expedition 
will be tried until the country is more opened up. The expenfe, danger, chance of bad feed, and 
fmall returns, will deter any one from trying it as a mercantile fpeculation ; and there is little in the diftridt 
to induce an explorer to try fuch difficult ground, particularly now that it has been already examined. 
Properties and Ufes .—Mr Peebles mentions that the padres of the Miffton ufe the reftn of the tree 
for incenfe. It melts very eaftly under heat. A package of it fent to this country, wrapped up in cotton 
[ 13 ] b cloth, 
B 
