BOTANY. 
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America. It very much resembles the nutmeg—so much so, indeed, as at one time to deceive 
some pretty well informed persons, and make them believe it was not a “ ivooden nutmeg ,” hut 
a nutmeg in fact —in quality as well as in appearance. It is a great pity that dame Nature 
should amuse herself by playing such pranks, and endanger the monopoly of our good Yankee 
friends in the manufacture of this aromatic luxury ! 
This tree grows from forty to fifty feet high, with very slender, drooping branches, and a 
thin, light foliage. The hark is smooth, somewhat resembling that of the common black mul¬ 
berry, and the wood hard and firm. Very little is known with regard to its durability or fitness 
for timber for railroad or domestic purposes. It is closely related to the Podocarpus of tropicaq 
regions, and yews, which are common to the temperate regions of Europe and America. Ac¬ 
cording to Professor Lindley, these, and kindred genera, yield “timber which is unsurpassed 
for durability and elasticity from which we may safely infer that the timber of this tree, when 
it comes to be known and tried, will prove to be truly valuable. 
Unfortunately, we were not in California at the season for collecting the nuts, all of these 
having been long before destroyed by squirrels, rats, and other vermin, which are said to be 
exceedingly fond of them. According to the statement of Dr. Randall, the nut is too bitter 
and terebinthiuate to be of any use in domestic economy ; but no doubt it would make an ex¬ 
cellent remedial agent in many diseases. 
The true nutmeg is a native of the tropics of India and America, and widely separated from 
this tree in its botanical relationship. 
Taxus canadensis. — Yew. 
I much regretted being unable to obtain the fruit of this plant. It grows in the forest, with 
the giant Washingtonia, and also at Downieville, about a degree and a half further north. 
Mr. Lobb, while there, pronounced it (without seeing the fruit, however) the Taxus baccatus, 
which is the European species. The tree is small, but the wood is very tough and elastic, being 
much prized by the Indians for making their bows. On examination of its fruit and seeds, it 
may turn out to be quite a distinct species from its Eastern congener. 
Pinus sabiniana. — Sabine’s pine. 
This tree is so called by Dr. Randall and other California botanists, who have paid special 
attention to this department of botany. From not having proper books at hand for reference, 
we are unable to determine by whom it was first noticed or described. It is found on the lower 
western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, about Sonora, Mokelumne Hill, Grass valley, and Nevada 
city. On ascending the mountains its place is taken by Douglas’ spruce, sngar-pine, balsam- 
fir, white cedar, and the yellow pine, of that region. It bears a very large ovate cone, the 
scales of which are armed with large upturned, hooked spurs. The nut is said to be large and 
edible. This tree has not the erect and rigid appearance of most other pines, but is flexuous 
and crooked, like many deciduous-leaved trees. The foliage is also thin, of a very light green, 
giving it a very peculiar aspect, different from that of all other species of pine in California. 
The wood is tough and elastic ; but with regard to its durability, when exposed to the weather, 
no means of determination were had, from the fact that it is seldom or never used in the dis¬ 
tricts where it grows. This results from the sugar and yellow pines being abundant, and 
much superior to it for lumber. 
Pinus insignis. —Seal pine. 
This pine, which I have named on the authority of Dr. Randall, is found along the Coast 
mountains, in the neighborhood of the city of San Francisco. It is found also on the Yuba 
river, in the vicinity of Nevada city. As it is not a very large tree, and neither used nor 
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