20 
BOTANY. 
of longitude. Mine extends from tlie Llano, 103°, to the Cajon, 118°, a range of 15°. I have 
also seen it south as far as the mountains of the Limpia, in about latitude 31° ; and Dr. Parry 
has collected it still further south, in the canons of the Rio Grande, below Presidio del Norte. 
Pinus flexilis. —Pocky Mountain White Pine. 
We fownd this tree at the Sandia mountains of New Mexico, at an elevation of about 12,000 
feet above the level of the sea. Dr. Engelmann observes, that it was collected about Santa Fe 
by Mr. Fendler. In its cones and habit it is closely allied to Pinus strobus, which is the 
white or Weymouth pine of the North and East. On the authority of Dr. James, who first 
discovered this species, it is asserted that the seeds are large and edible. The pinones in use 
about Santa Fe, however, Dr. Engelmann remarks, are the produce of the P. edulis. 
At an elevation of the San Francisco mountain nearly equal that of the Sandia mountain, it 
was found again forming a large and beautiful tree one hundred to one hundred and thirty feet 
in height. These are the only two localities on our route where this pine was detected. I was 
not high enough on any of the points of the Sierra Nevada to know whether it grows there ; but 
at the proper elevation, there can be little doubt that it may be found there also. 
With the quality of its wood, either for lumber or for railroad ties, I am entirely unac¬ 
quainted ; but from its close affinity (as before intimated) with the Weymouth pine, which is a 
most valuable species, I have no doubt this tree will yet prove to be one of the most important 
on our route. 
Juniperus virginiana. —Bed Cedar. 
In places along the Canadian river, near Sans Bois creek, and even as far west as Old Fort 
Arbuckle, this tree grows quite large, and in abundance. Large specimens of it, however, were 
not seen further west. Although it would be as durable as almost any other timber that could 
be procured, yet it is said to be too brittle for railroad ties. 
On the bluffs of the Llano Estacado, and from that point west as far as the Cajon Pass, occur 
in many places, and sometimes in great abundance, two or three other species of cedar. Of a 
collection made by Dr. Woodhouse, Dr. Torrey, in the ‘‘Report of an Expedition down the 
Zuni and Colorado rivers, by Captain Sitgreaves,” observes “that one may be Juniperus occi¬ 
dental^, (Hook ,) the second J. tetragona, (Schlect .,) while the third is probably new.” Mine 
are probably all included in his list ; and if so excellent a botanist as Dr. Torrey is in doubt in 
reference to the species and varieties of these plants, it would be folly in me to attempt to 
reduce or determine them. 
The trunks of the western varieties are too short to render them of much value for timber. 
The berries of most of them (especially those of J. occidentalis, which has a large, slightly 
tuberculate fruit) are sweet and nutritious, affording sustenance to bears, wolves, and a variety 
of other animals, if not the Indian himself. 
Algarobia glandulosa . — Mezquit. 
Trees of this species are found considerably east of the Pecos and Rio Grande valleys, but mostly 
in a shrubby state. In the valleys of the Colorado Chiquito, San Maria, Colorado Grande, and 
Mojave, this tree grows to a considerable size. In Southwestern Texas and in the eastern 
regions of Mexico it is considered invaluable from its extreme durability. Fences made of this 
timber in that part of Texas have been known to stand in a perfect state of preservation more 
than fifty years. From its hardness and durability, there can be no doubt but that it would 
make ties equal to the lignumvitie of tropical climates ; to which it is, indeed, closely allied 
botanically, belonging to the section Mimoseaa of leguminous plants. 
Besides the Strombocarpa Pubescens, (Mexican tornillo,) a genus closely allied to Algarobia, 
