Influence of Pollen upon the Quality of Fruit: G. E1sexw:
_ The Common Shrubs of Southwest Colorado: ALICE

5 ye

SB 2L0LOGICAL FOURNAT.

Vor. II. | JULY, 1891. No. 2.

NOTICES OF SOME CALIFORNIA BIRDS.
BY L. BELDING.

I believe the first specimen of the blue-winged teal ( Anas discors )
that was taken in California was a male in spring plumage that I
found in the Stockton market late in February or early in March,
1881. This was forwarded to Prof. Ridgway for identification, and
was mounted and exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution.

In April following, Mr. J.C. Parker, of San Diego, showed me
another fine adult male which he said had been recently shot by a
Mr. Hill in Cajon Valley, about fifteen miles from San Diego. The
San Diego specimen was as much of a puzzle to the sportsmen of
San Diego as my specimen had been to me. I had probably never
seen the male in breeding plumage until I saw the Stockton speci-
men, but having shot a great many of these ducks in the fall in the
Mississippi Valley, I supposed I was well acquainted with the blue-
winged teal, and for that reason did not compare my bird with the
description of the species. Had I done so its identification would
have been easy.

___ Mr. F. Stephens secured a pair at Agua Caliente, San Diego
_ County, in March, 1886. These are all the California records that
I know of, although Dr. Newberry, in Vol. 6, Pacific R. R. Rep.,

says it is common throughout California and Oregon—referring es-

pecially to the central and northern part of California—but he must
_ have intended to say this of the cinnamon teal (A. cyanoptera).
Another of the very few species which I have collected and failed
to identify was the harlequin duck ( Histrionicus histrionicus )—a
__ boreal species hitherto supposed to only winter in the State, which I
_ first discovered in the Sierra of California in the summer of 1879,
_ and probably the first specimen that was collected in ‘California was a
_half-grown juvenile I shot in the Stanislaus River in 1880, and sent

98 Notices of some California Birds. [ZOE

to Prof. Ridgway for identification. In the summer of 1879 Dr.
Fred. J. Huse and myself spent three very fatiguing days in follow-
ing the deep rocky cafion of the north fork of the river, in search
of new fishing ground, and in stocking the river with trout. I had
stopped by a large deep pool, and he had gone a short distance up
stream in a rocky gorge. While we were separated, a strange duck
which he had probably frightened, but did not see, flew down the
cafion and alighted within twenty yards of me, bent its neck for-
ward close to the water, lifted its wings and uttered a scream I had
never heard. A mountaineer who had not long before joined us
was between me.and the much-coveted duck, and I was unable to
shoot at it until it had floated down the rapid stream so far as to
be out of effective range. I yearned for a specimen of that duck
until about a year later, when I visited the same locality and found
a brood of half-grown young and shot three or four of them, in-
cluding the above-mentioned juvenile which Prof. Ridgway identi-
fied. Since that time I have often seen these ducks in the
Stanislaus River, and have occasionally seen them on other streams
in that neighborhood, but have seen the young ducks only on the
Stanislaus River, where they are latterly becoming rare, owing to
their destruction by fishermen. Dr. Huse saw a female harlequin
with a brood of ducklings on Griswold Creek in 1881 or 1882, and
J. Clarence Sperry and Horace Pillsbury caught a juvenile from a
flock of the same, which could not fly, on the same creek, in the
summer of 1889. The most southern point where it has been cap-
tured in California is the south fork of the Tuolumne River, where
I got two fine specimens—a male and female—May 15, 1891. .
The ovaries of the female were small—no larger than number one
shot. The adult male breeding plumage I had not seen in the field
until I got the specimens in the south fork of the Tuolumne River,
near Crocker’s Station. Latterly I thought these ducks might be a
southern differentiated form of the harlequin duck, but these
specimens—which now are a part of the California Academy collec-
tion—prove that such is not the fact. The only California Coast
specimen that I have heard of is a fine male that was shot by Mr.
Lewis Locke in Bodega Bay. Mr. F.H. Holmes, who informed
me of it in 1885, said he had seen the specimen and examined ae
label, but had forgotten the date of its capture.

Dr. Coues, in Birds of the Northwest, published in 1874, says

sy

VOL. I. ] Notices of some California Birds. 99

it is found south in winter to California, but he gives no authority
for the statement.
These ducks are very expert swimmers and divers, frequenting
rapid mountain streams, where they are secured with great difficulty.
They feed mostly upon aquatic insects; and the young ducks are
quite palatable. I think they nest in rocks in this State, and per-
haps in trees also, as they are said to do so elsewhere.
Probably the whooping crane (Grus americana) visits north-
ern California in winter. In the fall of 1884, I suppose I saw a
flock of about twenty of these birds flying over the tules on Butte
Creek, Sutter County, and another flock of about the same number,
April 15, 1891, near Gridley, Butte County. Both flocks were large
white cranes, with black wing tips, and the latter flock was soaring
in the manner of sand-hill cranes.
Mr. S. C. Phillips, who was with me when I saw the flock of
this year, said he had several times seen the same kind of birds
when hunting.on Butte Creek. Mr. Anthony, in the dzé of April,
1886, mentions the occurrence of this species in Oregon.
Heretofore the Texan nighthawk ( Chordetles texensis) has not
been found in California north of San Bernardino Valley, as noted
by Mr. F. Stephens, who considers it a rare summer resident there,
but I saw about a dozen of this species in the hills opposite
Knight’s Ferry, Stanislaus County, June 5, 1891, and shot and
preserved one, which is in the collection of the California Academy
of Sciences. I anticipated finding it here, as ever since June, 1885
—when I think I got (but lost) one of this species in the foothills
below Grass Valley, Nevada County —I have thought it might be
found occasionally to near the head of the Sacramento Valley.
_ The most satisfactory result of about a month’s collecting along
the Knight's Ferry, Big Oak Flat and Yosemite road, in May and
_ June of this year, was the taking of three specimens of the Big Tree
thrush ( Zurdus seqguoiensis) in Yosemite Valley. I think—and
Mr. Bryant agrees with me—that these specimens, with the types,
put the species on a good basis. It arrives in this State in spring,
after the dwarf thrush leaves it; is much more timid than the
_ dwarf thrush; never jerks its wings as the latter does; never has
_ been heard, by me, to utter the “chip,” or “chip-chip,’’ that the
dwarf thrush so frequently utters when observed; is fleeter of

100 Notices of some California Birds.

wing, less terrestrial, and is larger, paler and slenderer than fee
dwarf thrush.

I heard the song of the Big Tree thrush at Crocker’s and in
Yosemite Valley—suppose they breed at both localities.

At Crocker’s a pair of Lincoln’s sparrows ( Melospiza lincolnt)
were probably breeding, as they were often in and about the garden
during about three consecutive weeks.

I saw flocks of the evening grosbeak ( Coccothraustes vespertinus
montanus )at Crane’s Flat, Gentry’s, and in Yosemite Valley. One
flock at the latter place contained about thirty individuals of both
sexes as late as June I.

I found the white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys )
rather common in Yosemite Valley, where it appeared to be a sum-
mer resident, but it and some other birds I found there may have
been driven down to the valley by recent snow storms on the sur-
rounding mountains. I was in the valley but five days.

I often saw a pair of the pygmy nuthatch (Sita pygmea) at
Crocker’s, where they were probably breeding in a dead oak limb.
About June 25 following I saw two more in southern Oregon,
near Klamath River. Iso seldom see this bird on the west slope
that I think these worthy of mention, and also the scarcity of the
sparrow-hawk (Falco sparverius) wherever I have traveled this
season. I counted but four between Stockton and Knight’s Ferry
—a distance of nearly forty miles—and about the same number
between Knight’s Ferry and Yosemite Valley. I have seldom seen
it anywhere since the beginning of the year, though hitherto I have
thought ita very common bird. Perhaps it has become rare by
death from some disease.

ACOMYCES ON THE ALDER. The Acomyces mentioned on page
87 of the previous volume as abounding on the buckeye (Zsculus _
Californica) has been observed recently in Redwood Cafion, Tam-
alpais, on the leaves of A/nus Oregana, which was growing in close
proximity to diseased buckeye. H. W. K.

THE INFLUENCE OF POLLEN UPON THE QUALITY
UF THE FRUIT.

SBY;-GUSITAV EISEN,

In.1884 a friend who follows the vocation of druggist suggested
to me the cultivation of colocynth, the object being to supply the
home market with the home-grown drug. I accordingly procured
from a drug store several imported colocynths ( Gitrullus colocynthis )
containing fertile seeds. In size these colocynths resembled small
oranges, and were otherwise characteristic of the species. The seeds
were planted, and the plants grew and produced fruit. Within a
few feet of these colocynths I had also planted seed of the water-
melon variety known as the citron-watermelon. When the colo-
cynths bore I found that nearly all the fruit were hybrids between
the colocynth and the citron-watermelon. That this hybridization
had not been produced by a previous pollination between the two
species was evident. The fruits on the colocynth plants were not
equally affected. Some were small, almost like their parent colo-
cynths, others again two or three times larger, and some again as
_ large as the citron-watermelons, all partaking more or less of the
characteristics of the citron-watermelon. The new fruit was neither
sufficiently bitter, nor would it dry readily, and it was accordingly
worthless as a drug. :

As the seeds came from imported colocynths, and as the fruits
were unequally affected, there remains only one explanation of the
cause of the hybridization. The pollen of the citron-watermelon
had been transferred to the colocynth flowers and affected the fruit
the same season.

Similar instances are not very rare. A friend informs me that at
some places in San Diego County it is difficult to produce good
muskmelons, on account of the number of native wild cucurbita-
_ ceous plants abounding in the vicinity. These native gourds are
probably Cucurbita palmata and C. perennis, very different in ap-
pearance from the cultivated muskmelons. The melons produced

on the latter are affected by the pollen from the wild species, pro-

ce ducing unpalatable fruit.

THE COMMON SHRUBS OF SOUTHWEST COLORADO.
3 BY ALICE EASTWOOD.

At all seasons of the year the shrubs are the most noticeable part
of the vegetation through Southwestern Colorado. Most of them
are conspicuous not because of brilliant flowers and beautiful foliage,
but for the reason that over large sections of country they form
about the only vegetation that is not dried into dust by the hot
summer days.

For miles and miles the adobe plains are covered with a carpet of
bluish green which at a distance might be mistaken for grass, but
upon a nearer view it is seen that black sage ( Artemisia tridentata)
almost monopolizes the soil. However, greasewood ( Sarcobatus
vermiculatus ), rabbit brush (Bigelovia graveolens ), and salty sage
(Atriplex canescens ) become almost as common in scattered spots.
Generally they are not much more than a foot high, but in favor-
able localities they often become eight or ten feet. In the winter,
when the ground is covered with snow, they form the main subsist-
ence of the cattle that roam at will over the land.

Early in June, however, the hills and mesas seem suddenly to
burst into bloom and the air is perfumed with the fragrance of my-
triads of flowers. Peraphyllum ramosisimum is one of the earliest.
Its beautiful clusters of pinkish flowers are followed by the queerest
little bitter apples, commonly called ‘‘squaw apples.’’ This year
the small bushes were loaded with fruit, but last year the late frosts
destroyed almost all. Towering above every other shrub Fendlera
rupicola exalts its flowery stems as if the delicate white flowers and
pink buds were too etherial for the common air below. All its
beauty is for the sun and stars. The earth looks upon rough scrag-
gy stems, without even a leaf to cover their ugliness. The wood is
exceedingly hard, dark colored and susceptible of a high polish. It
is named ironwood, and may some day be used in the arts. Service
berry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is also in bloom at this time and adds
its snowy flowers to the hillside bouquet. Purshia tridentata and
Cercocarpus parvifolius are common, but their flowers being almost
the same color as the foliage, escape general attention. Owercus
undulata, however, has already put forth its early leaves and the
dense thickets glisten in the sunshine, the fresh light green foliage,
with its glossy sheen, seeming almost transparent. Philadelphus

Shrubs of Southwest Colorado. 103

microphylius, which looks like a small-flowered, diffusely-branched
Fendlera, is found upon rocky hills and abrupt cafion sides.
: Along the river bottoms, though the shrubbery is dense, the
flowers are generally dull in color and small. Cvategus coccinea,
however, rivals any of the hillside plants. Its lovely corymbs of
white flowers with red stamens are very fragrant, and the brilliant
scarlet berries that succeed them are set off to perfection by the
shining leaves. Alders and willows are abundant. I noticed four
kinds of willows—Sa/ix lasiandra, S. longifolia, S. cordata and S.
cordata var. Mackenziana. Occasionally clumps of Rhamnus Cal-
ifornica are met with. An ordinary observer would pass them by
if they were not in fruit. Some years they are very prolific, the
purple berries compensating by their beauty for the dullness of the
flowers. I have examined berries on every bush as | passed, and
have found none with three seeds, though they are described as two
or three-seeded. Rhus aromatica is found everywhere and is com-
mon to both the eastern and western slopes of the Rockies. But of
all the river shrubs there are none to compare with the Buffalo berry
(.Shepherdia argentea). Far in the distance it can be discerned with
its silvery leaves shimmering on the swaying branches. It blooms
in early spring, but does not owe any charm to the beauty of its
flowers. In fruit it is gorgeous. The bright red or yellow berries
surround the stem and form a vivid contrast with the pale green fo-
liage. In early days, before fruit- raising was an assured success
through this region, the buffalo berries were a great luxury to the
pioneers. Even now, with an abundance of strawberries, blackber-
ries, raspberries and currants, they are prized by the housewives
for jelly and wine.

Among other wild fruits common in the section the choke-cherry
( Prunus demissa) and the currant ( Ribes aureum) are most widely
distributed.

In the high mountains the shrubs are neither peculiar to the re-
gion nor so noticeable as the trees and herbs, but among those
found near the base of the foothills are some that are uncommon or
wanting in other sections. Berderis Fendleri is most conspicuous
and most beautiful. Its upright stems seem to be in bloom all at
once, and the clusters of yellow flowers extend from near the ground
to the very top without any interruption. It is a golden wand cov-

ered with tiny bells that send forth faint music with every breath of

704: | Nesting Place of Empidonax. ZOE

air. Berberis repens is also found here and is common through the
entire Rocky Mountain system. Pachystima myrsinites carpets the
ground under taller shrubs, almost concealing its tiny purple flow- |
ers by its glossy leaves. Ceanothus Fendleri is common in open

spots on rocky slopes, but Ceanothus ovatus is less often met with.

These low plants with small clusters of white flowers do not begin

to compare in beauty with their California relatives.

These observations have been confined chiefly to the valleys and
cafions of the Mancos and Animas rivers. Undoubtedly there are
many other shrubs which I have never seen’ that ought to be no-
ticed, but from a careful comparison of Mr. Brandegee’s descrip-
tive ‘‘Flora of Southwestern Colorado’’ with my own observations, |

I think that I have included those that have the widest distribution.
DENVER, COLO.

UNUSUAL NESTING PLACE OF AMPIDONAX |
HAMMONDI.

BY DR. -J..G... COOPER,

The tendency to seek the protection of human habitations during
the season of nest-building is well known to characterize many
kinds of birds of very different families, and in other respects, dif-
ferent habits. The motive impelling them to seek shelter in human
habitations for their progeny is, doubtless, a feeling of greater
safety there, both from the weather and from living enemies, than
they can find elsewhere.

Wild birds seem to have no fear of man until they have learned
by experience that he is sometimes dangerous, and visitors to lonely
islands tell wonderful tales of the tameness of the birds, both on
their nests and off of them.

There are also other motives for choosing houses to nest in. Such
species as have been accustomed to building in caves and hollow
trees find the best substitutes for such homes in or around houses.
Others find their food most abundant in the gardens or orchards, |

and sometimes may be attracted by the flies and other insects, such _

as spiders, which nearly all feed to their young, even if unnoticed
at other seasons.

It has been observed also that in some Eastern States whee the ;

killing of small birds is forbidden in populous districts, the birds _

soon find out where such laws protect them and flock to the country

VOL. I1.] Nesting Place of Empidonax. 105

towns especially to build, even deserting the woods, and building

nests in most unusual and unexpected places about houses. An in-

stance of very extreme departure from original habits is that of the

European. stork, which for several centuries has built on the chim-

ney-stacks of cities, being driven to them by the increasing scarcity

of suitable tall trees, and protected by a commendable superstition,
as the bringer of good luck to the inhabitants.

There is no doubt that with some protection, many useful birds
will become thus semi-domesticated, and be really sources of good
luck through their destruction of insects, as well as giving pleasure
by their songs.

The instance I now describe is one in which the bird is among
our rarest species near the coast, and also of a timid, shy, nature,
being generally found in retired shady groves.

The family of flycatchers to which this bird belongs is, however,
known to have some very sociable members, which build in barns,
under porches, bridges, etc., as substitutes for the hollow trees and ~
caves which they occupy in favorable places. These belong, how-
over, to other genera, containing larger species, and probably never
build in or on branches of trees, or in their forks, like those of this
genus. The arboreal residence characterises nearly all of the genus
Empidonax, of which nine or ten species and subspecies inhabit
the United States in summer.

The chief exception is in the western yellow-bellied flycatcher
(E. difficilis), which often builds in a hollow tree or branch,
a slight cavity in the bark, a hole in the bank of a stream,
under a bridge, or in a shed or barn; probably never in a forked
branch. This then is the most likely to resort to houses to build,
and as it is the commonest summer species in the coast counties,
such an event may be expected, though not yet reported. All the
numerous nests of it seen by me were near running streams, and in
well-shaded spots. That it is not more familiar in such localities
_ makes the occurrence here reported still more remarkable.
-Hammond’s flycatcher seems to be the most timid as well as

Vee enialiens of the genus found in California (smaller than the so-called

“‘little” flycatcher). Its most frequent residence appears from all

. a oe accounts to be the pine woods of the most eastern ranges of mount-
ae _ains: (west of the Mississippi), but it has been collected at Monterey.
ie In the ey of California I confused it with the little fly-

106 Nesting Place of Empidonax. [ZOE

catcher ( #. pusillus ), their habits being very similar and the birds
- not distinguishable at gunshot distance in a shady grove. It doubt-
less builds at times in the pine woods near Santa Cruz, where my
collections of nests and eggs were made in 1866, but at that time
the difference in the eggs of the two was unknown. In Proc.
Cal. Acad. Sci., vol. vi, p. 199, 1 made some corrections of this
error, but think the nests and eggs collected were partly of the
yellow - bellied as well as of the little flycatcher, their eggs being
scarcely different, either in size or pattern of spots.

As is now well known, those of Hammond’s species differ in
being pure white, and I may state that during four years, when I
collected nests and eggs around Haywards, I never but once ob-
tained a probable egg of the species, and then the positive evidence
of the bird itself was wanting, as a boy brought me the egg and
could give no account of the bird.

In the present instance I noticed a pair of birds about the garden
for a week or more before finding the nest. As no creek is within
300 yards of the house I did not suspect the birds of building there,
but now think they may have chosen the location on account of its
dryness and also the presence of several pine and cypress trees.
As if to escape all chance of wetting by the rather late rains, they
chose the driest spot they could find for the nest, for on June 11 I
found it, by seeing the bird fly off. And for a very timid bird it
built in a strange place, on top of a pilaster supporting the roof ot
the porch close to the front door frame and only eight feet high!
A flat ledge there, four and a half inches square, formed more than
enough room for it though a few straws hung over the edge. Un-
fortunately the eggs were hatched .already, and two young only
were in it, not a fragment of egg-shell to be found.

The base of nest measures 4% inches long and 3% wide; the
cavity 2 wide and 1% deep, which is much smaller than those of
the other species I measured. It is 2 inches high, the base of coarse
grasses, cobwebs, a bit of lace and one green leaf, then some stiff
plant-stems, green and dry grasses, a few feathers, leaves and more
lace, with a thick lining of finer grasses and thread-like fibers, from
decayed pine leaves. Unlike the nests of the other two species men-
tioned, no green moss was used in this. Neither was there any
earthy material, which sometimes becomes wet and looks like mud
used in their construction.

a a Ma

VOL. I.] Mosses of the Yakima Region. 107

-I had by close observation of both the birds become nearly
satisfied by this time of their being Hammond’s flycatcher, but to
make sure I captured one of them at night on the nest, and taking
it in the house compared it with the description in the ‘‘ North
American Birds.’’ To avoid frightening them away I did not make
any measurements, but satisfied myself of its identity in colors.
Only one item was badly marked, as noticed then and by daylight
also, the almost entire absence of a yellow tint underneath, though
this is mentioned as very faint in summer adult birds. A decided
notch in the tail could be seen at some distance, a character best
marked in this species. For greater certainty I afterwards exam-
ined the fine series of west coast species in the Academy’s collec-
tion, including the two new ones lately described from Lower Cal-
ifornia, and was convinced that my birds could be no other than £.
hammondi.

To my great regret the parents were both gone the next day, and
near night I found that the young had been deserted and were al-
most dead. Asa last chance I put them in a nest of the Arkansas
goldfinch in which three young were just hatched, but they dis-
appeared next day. I heard the old birds a few times afterwards
in the vicinity, but not later than about July 1. Their few faint
chirps and lisping calls resembled those mentioned by authors,
who have described the species.

LIST OF MOSSES COLLECTED BY T. S. BRANDEGEE IN
THE YAKIMA REGION OF WASHINGTON, 1882-3.

(Determined by L. M., Underwood and O. F. Cook.)

Gymnostomum calcareum Nees & Hornsch.
Dicranum fuscesceus Turn. Cascade Mountains.
Dicranum montanum Hedw.
Dicranum strictum Schleich.
Pottia cavifolia Ehrh.

Leptotrichum tortile Mill.

_ Barbula amplexa Lesq.

Barbula ruralis Hedw.
Grimmia anodon Br. & Schimp.

Grimmia apocarpa Hedw. Cascade Range.
Grimmia alpestris Schleich.

108 _ Stock and Scion. | [ZOE )

Grimmia Donniana Smith.

Grimmia Montana Br. & Schimp.

Grimmia Scouleri Miill.

Racomitrium patens Hiibn.

Fledwigia ciliata Ehrh., var. leucophea Schimp.
Orthotrichum sordidum Sull. & Lesq.
Orthotrichum speciosum Nees. :
Orthotrichum Texanum Sull. Cascade Range.
Encalypta vulgaris Hedw.

Tetraphis pellucida Hedw. Cascade Range.
Funaria hygrometrica Sibth.

Bartramia ithyphylla Brid.

Philonotis fontana Brid.

Philonotis fontana Brid. var.

Leplobryum pyriforme Schimp.

Webera cruda Schimp.

Webera nutans Hedw.

Bryum cespiticium L.

Bryum cirrhatum Hoppe & Hornsch.

Lryum Hendersoni Ren. & Card.

Bryum pallens Swz.

Mnium affine Bland. Cascade Range.

Mnium punctatum Hedw.

Timmia megapolitana Hedw.

Polytrichum piliferum Schreb. Cascade Range.
Polytrichum juniperinum Willd. Cascade Range.
Fontinalis Lescurii Sull.?

Fontinalis Neo-Mexicane Sull. &*Lesq.? :

THE RECIPROCAL INFLUENCE OF STOCK AND SCION.
BY GUSTAV EISEN. ich

The following instances of the influence of stock upon scion, or
vice versa, have come under my personal observation. They clearly
show that there exists a strong reciprocal influence between scion _
and stock, which, when more fully understood, may be of practical —
value in the artificial production of new horticultural varieties,

Some ten years ago I had in my garden a Mandarin orange _
tree, budded on sweet California stock. This stock is simply pro- —

VOL. I. | Stock and Scion. 109

duced by sowing the seed of any of the commercial oranges, and
the seedlings are afterwards budded with improved kinds. If any
of these seedling are allowed to fruit as seedlings, the fruit will be

_ found to more or less resemble the parent orange; that is, it will be

of fair or large size, with sweet meat and thick skin—the seedling
orange of our markets.

The Mandarin orange in question was a little tree, nine feet high
and quite bushy, and had borne a good crop of oranges for at least
five years. Its oranges were characteristic of the Mandarin vari-
ety—small, round, compressed, and with the skin peeling off like a
glove—hence the name “ Kidglove orange,’’ under which this and
similar varieties are known.

One winter we had a heavy frost and the Mandarin was greatly
. injured. When the time for making new growth came I found the
top almost dead, and only one feeble shoot coming out above the
bud. The remainder of the top died, and was cut off in order to
save the new shoot. This grew rapidly, and at the end of the
season had attained the full height of the old tree, with several
large side branches. But the leaves of the new standard did not
resemble the leaves of the old Mandarin tree, but were quite sim-
ilar to those of a common sweet seedling orange. So much did
they resemble the sweet stock that I thought, and continued to
think for some time, that all of the. Mandarin part of the tree had
been killed, and that the new tree was produced from below the bud.

Next year the tree produced fruit in size and quality intermediate
between a sweet seedling and a Mandarin—much more resembling
a sweet seedling, only distinguished by its smaller size; which, how-
_ ever, was several times larger than a large Mandarin orange. The
_ meat and skin showed every characteristic of the common sweet

orange. The year following the leaves became smaller, and the
oranges almost identical with the original Mandarins. The third
year the fruit and other parts of the tree had regained all their
Mandarin characteristics. Ever since, this tree has produced Man-
darin oranges of the same size and quality as before it was injured
_ by frost.

My theory of the change from one variety to the other is simply
this: The frost killed the largest part of the Mandarin tree, only
one bud surviving. The shoot produced by this bud was so influ-
enced and overpowered by the strong sweet ‘seedling root that it

IIo Stock and Scion. [ZOE
lost part of its own characteristics, which were only regained grad-
ually as the Mandarin shoot became more vigorous and could exert
its old influence over the root.

About twelve years ago my attention was called to a very large
grapevine of the variety known as Flaming Tokay, which had been
grafted on the wild grapevine of California— Vitis Californica.
The vine must have been some ten years old, and covered part of a
veranda with luxuriant foliage, and large annual crops of its char-
acteristic and magnificent flame-colored bunches. From the root
of this vine, and as it was afterwards ascertained, several inches
below the graft, a shoot had sprung up which partook of the pecu-
liar characteristics of both the graft and the root. The new shoot
was, as regards leaves, intermediate between the Flaming Tokay
and the Californica. The next year this shoot-branch produced .
fruit which also showed characteristics of both varieties, but which
much more resembled the Californica than the Tokay, and accord-
ingly proved of no particular value. Some cuttings of the new
sport were propagated and produced a similar hybrid grape, but
as far as I know no attempt was made to seed the new grape. Ac-
cording to my theory the old Flaming Tokay grape exerted a large
influence on the Vis Californica root on which it was grafted, and.
the sport produced was a sap-hybrid between the graft and the
stock.

In 1886 I had occasion to assist a friend in grafting a number,
one hundred or more, of Sultana grape vines which he desired to
change to Muscatel Gordo Blanco, like the remainder of the vine-
yard. The Sultana vine has large pale green leaves, long slender
shoots, and large compact bunches of very small berries’ The
Museat is the opposite of this: leaves medium, deep green, short
branches, and bunches compact and berries large. The Sultanas
were cut down several inches below the ground and the Muscatel
graft inserted, leaving no branch of the Sultana. The work was
all very carefully done, and the grafts all “took.” Two months
later I went over the vines, only to find to my astonishment that all
the tops of the vines were Sultanas, or apparently so. Upon exam-
ination, however, I found that all the grafts had taken, and that —
there were few if any shoots from the roots. My idea was then that
the grafts had been mixed up, and that we had inserted Sultana
grafts in Sultana stocks. However, as the vines grew I found a_

VOL. I1.] Stock and Scion. III

_ few months later several bunches of berries which in shape and size
exactly resembled the Sultana, but which had a distinct and strong
Muscatel flavor. Everything else about the vine, such as color and
shape of leaves, size of branch, distance between the leaves, etc.,
was entirely characteristic of the Sultana. The following year the
grafts began to regain their Muscatel characteristics, and the third
_ year they had done so entirely, producing a good crop of Muscatel
grapes.

I had in the meantime inquired among the other grape-growers,
and inspected a large number of lately grafted vines. The variety
that had been mostly grafted were Zinfandel vines, and the grafts
were uniformly those of Muscatel. I found that several parties
had made observations similar to my own, and saw here and there
young vines which partook of the characteristics of the stock and
the graft. Muscatels grafted on Zinfandel resembled that variety as
to leaves, branches, and shape and size of berry and bunch, but
never as regards color of berry and aroma. The color was always
green, and the aroma Muscatel-like. In one or two seasons later
these grafts had all lost their Zinfandel characteristics and produced
regular crops of Muscatel grapes.

An explanation I believe is hardly necessary. The sap from the
Zinfandel and Sultana roots respectively had during the first season
so influenced the graft that it had partaken of most of the charac-
teristics of the stocks. Only as the scions grew did they gain in
strength, throw off the influence of the stock, and regain their
characteristics as Muscatel grapes.

It is needless to say that the reciprocal influence between stock
and scion may bé taken advantage of in producing new varieties
with valuable qualities. The hybrid grafts may either be propa-
gated by themselves, if sufficiently valuable, or the fruit produced
on them may be seeded and the new seedling watched for valuable
characteristics. The frequency and facility with which grape scions
partake of the characteristics of the stock is especially interesting,
and should greatly facilitate the production of new varieties of
greater economic value. I will here only point out the desirability
of getting a hybrid between the ‘‘Muscatel’’? and the ‘*Malaga”’
grapes, and the possibility of producing it by sap hybridization.

THE FERTILIZATION OF GERANIUMS.
BY ALICE EASTWOOD.

There are three species of Geranium common in Colorado — G.
Fremontii, G. Richardsonti and G. cespitosum. The first two are
found through the mountains and valleys of the whole State and
vary considerably; the last seems to be restricted to Southwestern
Colorado. When the flower expands the pistils are erect and some-
what convolute, while the stamens curve backward, the versatile
anthers hanging downward so as to discharge the pollen at the
bottom of the petals, instead of on the stigmas. When the anthers
are empty, the stamens become straight and the pistils curve back-
ward. The styles are stigmatic along the inner and afterwards the
upper edge, so that self-fertilization would seem impossible. How-
ever, the hymeneal insect comes to its relief, and whether it is a
bee, beetle or fly seems not to matter in the least. Between each
petal, at the very base, is a small gland on the receptacle from
which a drop of honey can be seen to exude. In seeking the
sweets, the insect unavoidably becomes a bearer of pollen to the
next flower that it visits. I have seen flies alight first upon the ex-
panded pistils with legs dusted with ‘pollen, and again I have ob-
served them crawling at the base of the flower, with difficulty mak-
ing their way among the viscid hairs on the corolla and uncon-
sciously gathering the grains of pollen that had fallen from the
open anthers. On the same plant may be found flowers in all stages
of development, so that undoubtedly cross fertilization prevails ex-
clusively among the wild Geraniums of Colorado,

DENVER, Coto.

-

NOTES ON THE LAND MAMMALS OF CALIFORNIA.
BY WALTER E. BRYANT. ;

_ Since the publication of the Provisional list of the land mammals
of California, which was intended as a beginning for a catalogue of
the known mammals of California with their life histories, several
important changes have occurred and are to be noticed here. Sey-
eral species were included upon the authority of the earlier writers,
and in the present imperfect state of our knowledge upon the dis-

vou. .] _ Land Mammals of California. 113

tribution of the species it would be inadvisable if not unjust to elim-
inate as yet such species as Didelphys virginianus californica (Ben-
nett) Allen, and Hesperomys ( Vesperimus) aztecus (De Saussure)
Allen.

The Forest and Stream notices an oversight by which the mount-
ain or white goat (azama montana Ord) was omitted. This spe-
cies was found as late as 1868 in Inyo County by Capt. Charles E.
Bendire, and Dr. Merriam has obtained evidence of its occurrence
on Mt. Kearsage. Probably some of the parties from the Depart-
ment of Agriculture now at work in that region will obtain new in-
formation regarding the present existence of the white goat in Cal-_
ifornia.

Messrs. John Fannin and George Bird Grinnell, in their exhaust-
ive account of the species, cite the probably occurrence of this goat
in eastern Lassen County (Granite Creek Mountains), near the Ne-
vada line. If such should prove to be correct, it adds an impor-
tant link to the chain which probably once connected the extreme
southernmost known point (Inyo County) of the animals’ range
along the Sierra Nevada Mountains into Oregon. The deer which
the Forest and Stream believes should have been included is
perhaps the unestablished variety of Cariacus macrotis from the
Coast Range of southern California, mentioned by Judge Caton as
‘differing in important particulars from those found east of the
Sierras.’’

Some species will probably have to be eliminated, as Sciurus hud-
sonius fremonti, Dipodomys phillipsi, and others not yet determined,
while the following three have since been described: Alalapha telio-
tis H. Allen, from a specimen supposed to be from southern Califor-
nia; /7istiotus maculatus Allen, taken in Ventura County, and Pero-
gnathus ( Chetodipus) femoralis Allen, from Dulzura, San Diego

_ County. There is also to be added Sorex pacificus Baird, now

_ known to occur in California, and I have several specimens of an-
other unidentified Sorex from the vicinity of San Francisco, which

will require to be added. Neurotrichus gibbsii (Baird) has been

taken in Marin County by Mr. C. A. Allen, so Prof. T. S. Palmer
informs me.
The lynxes found in this State, Dr. Merriam considers, are Lynx

_ fasciatus Raf., and Lynx baileyi Merriam, which was first described

“tA | Blastophaga Psenes. [ ZOE

in North American Fauna, No. 3, from the lynx of San Francisco
Mountains, Arizona. ;

For reasons for changing the generic name Hesperomys to Ves-
erimus, and the specific name leucopus to americanus, consult Dr.
J. A. Allen in Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., III, 2, article xx.

THE INTRODUCTION OF BLASTOPHAGA PSENES
INTO CALIFORNIA.

BY GUSTAV EISEN.

One of the most important events in the history of California
horticulture has just taken place. The living Blastophaga psenes
was received in California the 25th of July this year, and was at
once placed on the caprifig trees in Mr. James Shinn’s orchard at
Niles. _

In 1882 I first called the attention of the fig-growers of this State
to the real cause of the failure of the true Smyra fig to mature its
fruit, and since that time I have had occasion to refer to this fact
repeatedly.

The cultivated edible figs contain, with a few and very rare ex-
ceptions, only female or pistillate flowers. The majority of fig vari-
eties mature their fruit without being pollinated by male flowers, but
a few—and among them the Smyrna varieties, the best ones for
drying—do not, or only rarely, mature fruit without having previ-
ously been pollinated. As the cultivated fig varieties have no
male flowers, the wild or caprifig (/%cus carica), which possesses
such flowers in abundance, has been made use of to furnish the
pollen necessary to bring the female flowers to development. This
practice is very old, and is as yet in vogue in Asia Minor, Sicily and
other Mediterranean countries, As the male flowers and their pol-
len are enclosed in a large receptacle, it is evident that the pollina-
tion cannot take place by the aid of the wind or by insects gener-
ally. As far as the caprifig is concerned, only one variety of insect _
is of any practical value in transmitting the pollen to the female figs.
This insect is the minute wasp known as Blastophaga psenes, which
inhabits the caprifigs, and here produces three broods yeatly, or «
one each for the various crops of caprifigs. The caprification of
the figs consists in hanging caprifigs on the branches of the culti-

VOL. II. | Blastophaga Prenes. II5

vated figs. Soon the Blastophaga hatches out, and, seeking for
new figs in which to lay its eggs, enters the female fig, and in
so doing conveys the pollen from the male to the female flow-
er, which causes the latter to develop seed and produce perfect

fruit.
The insects just received were sent directly to Mr. James Shinn
from Lokia, in Smyrna, by Mr. J. Bliss, a missionary. The little
box containing a dozen caprifigs, of the size of a very small walnut,
left Smyrna the 2d day of July. They must have been picked at
least two or three days previously. The box arrived in New York
the 18th of July, and the 25th of July in San Francisco. The next
day Mr. Shinn called on me and I at once started for Niles. The
largest caprifig tree in the State grows there. It was imported from
Smyrna some ten years ago by the San Francisco Bulletin Co., and
has borne fruit for years. Upon opening the box of caprifigs I
found that thousands of Blastophagas had already hatched, the
greater number were dead, of course, but many were alive and
lively, and some were just hatching out. I cut the figs open in
order to assist the insects in their exit. This I found was very
necessary, as the figs had been somewhat compressed and it had
become impossible for them to escape. One-or two figs which
had not been injured showed a small round puncture in the eye,
through which the Blastophaga were escaping. A great many had
not hatched. The box had been suspended in the caprifig tree by
Mr. Shinn already several hours before my arrival and many Blas-
tophagas had escaped. That they already were hunting for new
quarters was evident, as in opening several young Smyrna figs in
adjoining trees I found that the insects had already entered them.

From our present experience it is safe to say that the importation
of Blastophaga into California is easy, or not by far so difficult as we
first had imagined. In twenty-five days from Smyrna the capri-
fig reached us safely, and during that time numerous galls _re-
mained unhatched. ‘

Blastophaga psenes is about a line long and looks much like a
slender ant with wings. The caprifig is, when dried without pres-
sure, less than an inch in diameter, and the mouth is more promi-
‘nent and open than in cultivated figs.

NOTES ON CALIFORNIA PLANTS.
2S
TUBERIFEROUS ROOTS OF HYDROCOTYLE AMERICANA Kellogg.
BY S. B. PARISH.

Three of the North American species of Hydrocotyle within re-

cent years have been ascertained to be tuberiferous. Attention was
first directed to this character in HW. Americana by Dr. George
_Vasey,* and subsequently these organs were thoroughly studied
and described by Mr. Theodore Holm.t Recently Dr. Coulter, in
characterizing H. umbellata and H. prolifera, states that their roots
are tuberiferous.{ No account, however, is given of the manner
in which the tubers of these two species are produced.

The method of their development in ¥. prolifera is quite differ-
ent from that of the same organs in H. Americana, although in fact
essentially similar. The latter species grows by means of terres-
trial runners from which arise the flowers and leaves and whose ax-
ils develop slender subterranean stolons, consisting of a few inter-
nodes, bearing at each node a scale-like leaf and terminating in an
oblong tuber. Both runners and stolons emit at the axils thready
roots.

The stems of H. prolifera, on the contrary, all creep beneath the
soil. They occupy the sandy or muddy margins of streams and
ponds, or other wet places. From the nodes arise solitary short
petioles, supporting a peltate blade. The plant is very floriferous,
nearly every axil producing its umbel on a stem usually shorter
than the petioles. The stolons themselves are slender whitish or-
gans, the internodes seldom more than half an inch long, and the
nodes sending out abundant capillary roots. If these are removed
from a growing plant the node is seen to consist of a narrow annu-
lar enlargement, not exceeding one-quarter the diameter of the
stem. So long as the plant continues to vegetate this condition is

maintained, and no further nodular enlargement ensues. In this.

climate, according to my observations, if the ground remains suffi-
ciently wet it never occurs,

the plant continuing to grow through-

“Bull. Torr. Club, xiii, 28,
tProc. U.S, Nat. Mus., xi, 455.
tRev. Umb., 134. Manual Western Texas, 149.

Votes on California Plants. -I17

out the year without the production of tubers. When, however, by
reason of the drying of the soil as summer comes on, the growth of
the plant is checked, the annular process of the nodes rapidly in-
creases, becoming eventually an irregular spheroidal tuber, some-
times a quarter of an inch in diameter. The leaves now turn yel-
low and wither away, the substance of the internodes is absorbed
and they decay, and the tubers alone remain to produce a new
growth with the coming of another wet season. The tubers consist
of an aggregation of starch cells contained in a thin cuticle and are
without odor or taste other than the peculiar starchy flavor of raw
potatoes.

While, as has been said, there is an apparent difference in the
manner in which the tubers are produced by the Eastern and the
Western species, a closer examination shows that they are essen-
tially the same. In the latter case they are enlargements of the
nodes of the stolons, while in the former they are terminal at the
extremity of thread-like stolons emitted by the superficial runners.
But, as Mr. Holm has pointed out, the thready stolons are merely
modifications of the creeping stems, as is shown by their nodular
scales which replace the normal leaves. The terminal tuber itself
is an agglutination of two or more enlarged nodes, as is indicated
by the bracts at the more enlarged portion, the less swollen part
representing the internode, while the bud at the apex shows that the
growth of the stolon has simply been arrested. From this it results
that the form of the tuber of H. Americana is oblong, or fusiform,
while in the Western species it is spherical. Moreover, in H. pro-.
“ifera all the internodes perish, while in the other species a single
one is shortened and enlarged, and makes a part of the tuber. To
the tubers of the former plant, also, the scales and the terminal bud
are lacking, the first because the leaves which they represent have
developed and decayed, and the latter because the tubers do not
include the germinal apex.

Furthermore, the production of tubers in A. Americana is regu-
lar, and all the other parts of the plant are destroyed by the rigors
of winter. In H. prolifera, at least in this mild climate, it is occa-
sional, and dependent upon the supply of moisture, so that they are
produced only when the plant is unable to continue its growth.
This special provision for its preservation is the more remarkable
since our species is an abundant seed producer.

THE VEGETATION OF “BURNS.”
BY -T.S.-BRANDEGER,

The forests of the States west of the Mississippi River are com-
posed mainly of Coniferee, a family of trees so constituted that
they furnish much inflammable material for a forest fire, when once
under full headway. In the western part of Washington and
Oregon, the woods are almost entirely made up of cone-bearing
trees, among which the Douglas fir usually predominates, and the
undergrowth is composed largely of Ericacee with species of
mosses covering the ground beneath. Forest fires are not unknown
there, but on account of the damp climate and its consequent vege-
tation they are much less common than in the drier regions of Cali-
fornia and the interior.

The open forests of Colorada and Montana are composed of
yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa ) with a sprinkling of the Douglas
fir, and are often endangered by fires which run through them,
burning the grass, the underbrush, the fallen dead limbs and trunks,
but without injuring the trees themselves, excepting the thin-barked
young ones. The Douglas fir, yellow pine, and a few others,
will stand without injury a fire hot enough to blacken them many feet
up their trunks, while the hemlocks and spruces ( 7sugaand Adies ),
are killed by a slight fire at the surface of the ground about the |
base. Their inability to withstand heat arises from the fact that
their bark is much thinner than that of the Douglas fir, yellow pine,

Sequoia, etc. The trees of these forests, killed by a fire and be-
coming dry afford abundant material for a much hotter conflagra-
tion in succeeding years, when everything that may have escaped ©
destruction at first is burned to the ground. ae

The redwood trees of the forests of the northern coast of Cali-
fornia when killed or burned to the ground, send up a multitude of ©
new shoots from their roots and soon surround the old stumps with
a new luxuriant growth, from the center of which the parent stump
in time entirely disappears leaving only the beautiful circular grove —
characteristic of this species of Sequoia.

The destroyed forests of Douglas fir of the coast region of Oregon
and Washington are after a time replaced by a host of young seed-
lings that grow rapidly; but in the interior, a dry climate, the
destructiveness of cattle and sheep, the sensitiveness of the young >

The Vegetation of Burns. LIQ

trees to slight fires, prevent a renewal of original forest growth.
In the high, mountainous portions of these regions, the forest con-
tains much hemlock or spruce and small trees of Douglas fir—
trees easily killed by the fires which readily ascend the steep slopes.
These mountainous regions, excepting where the soil deprived of
the protection afforded by vegetation may have been washed away
by rains, are more certain to be covered with a new tree growth
than regions of less altitude, but the new growth is not always at
first that of the original forest. Fire usually seems to destroy, in
the mountain regions, the seeds of conifers, for certainly seedlings
do not appear immediately upon the locality of a burned forest, but
gradually the original growth is replaced under the shade and pro-
tection of bushes, aspens, etc., but the ground of a forest cut by
the axe soon produces young trees, unless, as so often happens, fires
burn the debris left by the wood-chopper.

The Coast Range of California, south from San Francisco, except-
ing the redwood forests and occasional groups of other conifers, is not
distinctively a forest region, but its hills and mountains are covered by
a thick, almost impenetrable growth of Adenostoma fasciculata, com-
monly called ‘‘ greasewood ” or ‘“‘ chamis,’’ manzanita, Garrya, oak,
Ceanothus (California lilac), etc., which seems to be periodically
destroyed by fire. Indeed, it is almost impossible to find a hill or
mountain covered with bushes, even of great age, where some old
charred ends of roots may not be seen, showing that at some pre-
vious time they had suffered from fire.

This year, on Mt. Tamalpais, near San Francisco, an extensive
fire destroyed again the vegetation of part of the mountain slope,
from which everything green had been burned several years ago,
and to-day, in the burned district, not a single bush or plant can be
found, excepting along the edge of the wagon-road; in the damp
gulches and on the northern slopes. Last year a similar fire swept
through the vegetation upon that part of the mountain known as
Bolinas Ridge, destroying everything green, leaving the ground

black and with only upright remnants of charred manzanita and oak
to show where the larger bushes had grown. This year, during
the early part of the season, this ground was green with a rank
annual vegetation, composed mostly of species common in the
neighborhood of San Francisco, all growing much larger and
ranker than usual. The perennial plants and bushes are re-appear-

120 The Vegetation of Burns. [ZOE

ing, and in a few years, doubtless, the mountain side will be clothed
with its former vegetation, and the annuals now so abundant will be
found only along trails and in openings under the shade of bushes.
The nutmeg ( Zorreya California), manzanita and the huckleberry
( Vaccinium ovatum) send up new shoots from the old roots, as does
also the madrofio (Arbutus Menziesti), which requires more heat
to injure it than oak bushes. “ Chamis,’’ which formed a large part
of the original ‘‘chaparral,’’ comes up from the old roots so strong
that the new shoots often blossom the first year. Oaks, chinqua-
pin ( Castanopsis chrysophylla), hazel ( Corylus rostrata), Christmas
berry ( Heteromeles arbutifolia ), all renew themselves in the same
manner, and almost all the woody plants seem to re-appear from
their blackened roots. The tree poppy ( Dendromecon rigidum ),
however, seems to spring from the seed, and I saw none excepting
seedlings, still retaining the early lobed form of leaves, although
some of them had grown toa height of two feet. Helianthemum, a
low perennial from a woody base, is killed by fire, but its seeds
spring up everywhere, and the young plants bloom freely as
annuals. The painted cup ( Castilleia ), the wild morning-glory, the
wood balm (Sphacele calycina), Hosackia glabra, yerba santa ( Erio-
dyction glutinosum), somewhat woody perennials, also spring again
from the old roots. The latter certainly also becomes conspicu-
ous as a seedling, and probably many seeds of most of the peren-
nials begin to grow, but do not become large enough in one season
to benoticed. Cascara sagrada (Rhamnus Purshiana) grows again
from its old roots, but I saw none of its near relative, the California
lilac ( Ceanothus), excepting hosts of seedlings two or three inches
high. Zygadenus Fremonti is so abundant and rank that, as it is”
not an annual, the question arises: where was it before the fire ?
The most interesting part of the vegetation is the annual growth.
The Mayweed ( Anthemis cotula ), Claytonia perfoliata, Stsymbrium
reflexum, Silene Gallica and S. antirrhina, Barbarea vulgaris,
Ffosackia, etc.,are common and large. Some others, such as the milk
thistle ( Silyum Mariannum ), abounding in the State, are not present,
and the native Composite, considering the facility for distribution
that their seeds afford them, are poorly represented. Campanula
exigua is a small plant discovered by Mr. Rattan on the summit’ of
Mt. Diablo, and since then a few specimens have been collected on
Mt. Hamilton, Mt. St. Helena, and along the wagon-road near the

VOL. I1.] The Vegetation of Burns. 121

top of Mt. Tamalpais; and now, amongst other annuals, it is fre-
quently found in the loose soil of the ‘‘ burn,’’ and grow to a much
greater size than usual.
_ Another most interesting and somewhat rare plant which makes
its appearance here is the Californian poppy (Papaver Califor-
nicum),* and it grows abundantly in two or three localities. It
was discovered only a few years ago upon the Santa Inez mount-
ains, near Santa Barbara, and I have since seen it growing in quantity
there on mountain slopes recently burned over and on the soft earth
along trails. It has been rarely collected since its discovery, and
why this year it should appear in this region in several dif-
ferent places is difficult to explain. One locality in which it has
been found, is along the new trails on the side of Mt. Tamalpais,
near Mill Valley, a dozen miles from the “‘ burn” on Bolinas Ridge,
where it is most abundant.

Nearly as much interest is attached to the presence of Ca/andrini@
Brewert, a rare plant of the southern portion of the State. Upon
Bolinas Ridge and on the sides of the new trails of Tamalpais, this
year, apparently for the first time, magnificent plants appeared
spreading over the ground and forming mats three feet in diam-
eter.

Silene multinervia is a plant especially abundant on Santa Cruz
Island, and has also been found in several localities of the southern
parts of the State and as far northas Monterey. It was described
as a new species by Dr. Watson a few years ago, and it is not yet
a common plant although it must be spreading throughout the
State. This year it appears in great abundance upon the Bolinas
“burn” of the seaward slope of Mt. Tamalpais.

The simultaneous unexpected appearance of these three recently
discovered southern plants under such circumstances gives rise to
many interesting questions. Mt. Tamalpais, only a few miles dis-
tant from San Francisco, is a region that has been frequently visited
by botanical collectors during many years, and is as well known
botanically as any other part of California, and yet no one has
before this recorded the presence of these plants, so it seems prob-

|. nee these notes have been in type an interesting article by C. R. Orcutt, re-
cording similar instances of the appearance of this and other plants in burned over
districts of Southern California, has appeared in Garden and Forest.

122 _ The Vegetation of Burns.

able that their first appearance has been made at a recent date.
These plants produce numerous small black seeds that are not
furnished with appendages of any sort, and cannot be carried
by the wind or attached to the coats ofanimals and thus distributed
far and wide. Of course these plants spring from seed, but was
the seed deposited upon the soil recently, or had it remained
there many years and sprouted when the conditions were favor-
able? If the seeds were dormant in the soil at the time of the
fire, which burned to the ground all dead leaves and branches, they
must have been covered by earth so as to have had their vitality
preserved from the heat. It seems most probable that they were
brought in after the fire, but in what manner, it is difficult to say.

These three plants, the poppy, the Calandrinia and Silene, in the
southern part of California, are especially fond of recently burned
or cleared localities. A burned region of the Santa Inez mountains
soon produces innumerable specimens of Papaver Californicum.,
and the hillsides of Santa Cruz Island, from which the Manzanita
and Ceanothus have been cut, are immediately covered by large
specimens of Silene multinervia.

Another unexpected plant is Avynitzkia micromeres, which
abounds in this burn, as it has been found to do in similar situa-
tions in Lake County and near Ione in Amador County.

The young Ceanothus, the hosts of Gilias, Krynitzkias, Phace-
lias, Hosackias, etc., common in the region, may have come from |
seed dormant in the soil, fallen into cracks, or may have been in-
troduced in various ways from the surrounding neighborhood.

The remarkable luxuriance of the vegetation succeeding fires
may be due in part to the admixture of wood ashes it receives, but
the loosening of the soil probably has much more to do with it.
Every botanical collector in California has observed a similar lux-
uriance in the growth of certain species of plants on recent enbank-
ments or in deserted fields that had at some time been plowed.

NoTE.—Dr. Sereno Watson writes me that Astragalus coccineus,
published in the May number of this journal, is probably the same
as his A. grandiflorus, the description of which I had in some man-
ner overlooked. In this he is probably correct, although one is
described as having “7 to 9 leaflets,’’ and ‘‘ peduncles shorter than
the leaves”; the other, ‘‘ 12-1 5 leaflets,’’ and ‘*peduncles consider-—

ably surpassing the leaves.’’ Vegetative characteristics are, how-
ever, of minor importance. 1.3.0

NESTING HABITS OF THICK-BILLED SPARROWS.
BY HARRY R. TAYLOR.

At Blue Cajion, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, early in June,
1891, I found the thick-billed sparrow. ( Passerella iliaca unalasch-
_ censis) quite common. They were especially numerous on a low,

brushy slope grown with young fir and pine trees, just above the
railroad station.

The weather in the mountains had been very variable, marked at
this place by late rains, which seemed to me to account for a striking
diversity in the time of nesting of many pairs of different species—
numerous nests containing far advanced young, while others of the
same kind were in process of building.

The thick-bills were found to be very tame, some of them occa-
sionally alighting on the veranda of the hotel. They were constant
in song during the nesting season, and their pleasing notes seemed to
be the most characteristic ones of that mountain region. I have
listened to them singing cheerily at dusk, during a shower of rain.
On June 12 I saw a young bird trying to fly, and two days later J
discovered a nest containing three young; it was about two anda
half feet above ground in a low pine tree, compactly built of shreds
of bark and lined with dry grass stems. Another nest found

June 18 also contained three young. It was built on a horizontal
limb in a low growth of willows, somewhat over two feet from the
ground, and was compactly constructed of dry twigs, with small
shreds of bark, the innermost layer being of fine grass stems. The
parent bird flew excitedly about near me, and then trailed in the
grass to entice me from her nest. ae

The thick-billed sparrow has a habit of frequenting some favorite
spot, as the top of a bush ora telegraph wire, where it sings its
cheerful song untiringly, doubtless near where its mate broods
patiently on the nest.

On the rst of July I found three fresh eggs in a nest built near
the ground on a mass of thorny vines beneath a clump of fir trees.
I took another nest of this species with two eggs, which was all
that would have been laid as I waited several days for the full com-

plement. This particular bird must have had its own peculiar no-
tions of the hygienic necessities of a household, for it built its nest
among some low weeds and vines in a pretty spot right over the
edge of a rippling stream.

NOTES ON INTRODUCED PLANTS OF SANTA CLARA.
BY B. FRANK LEEDS.

Rumex acetosella is a lively plant at Santa Cruz, both in irrigated -
lawns and in fields that are quite beyond the reach of water in sum-
mer. Single plants of it seen by me in 1883 on the narrow-gauge
railroad, a third or half a mile from the town station, were as much
as 30 inches across and half as high, exhibiting hundreds of branches
and thousands of leaves, all of which came from one central stem
and root, and not from a number of radiating underground stems.
Such plants I never met with elsewhere, and supposed them to
show the results of two or three years’ continuous growth, free
from disturbance by track-cleaning employees, the passing boy and
the tramp, who seem, for some unguessable reason, to have avoided
them. Here in Santa Clara I have knowledge of but one specimen
of this species, and that is—or was until my last attempt to destroy
it—between planks of the broad - gauge station platform. For two
or three years I have kept it from maturing seed, but the inaccess-
ible root doubtless still remains alive.

At San Jose I saw this Rumex once in lawn grass, and several
days since noticed it near the station at Los Gatos—only one plant, _
which should have been lifted and destroyed, but the thought to do
so did not come to me until too late. a

Franseria tenuifolia is, according to the Brewer, Watson and Gray
Bot. of Cal., a native of the southeastern corner of the State, ex-
tending thence beyond the State line southwardly and eastwardly.

This species has, somehow, reached Santa Clara. About three
years ago I observed it covering thirty or more lengthwise feet of
_ surface along the fence of a cultivated lot and a parallel line of it in
the adjoining street gutter, where it had evidently been for some
time. :

Bits of root were transferred to my yard, where they have thriven
finely, and still continue, but need frequent pruning, both above —
and below ground, to keep within bounds. This is another spreader |
by underground stems. Its usual hight is, perhaps, not over three
or four feet, but in the frequently moistened soil about my house its
a rough and grayish stem has reached quite eight —
eet.

Eighteen months ago the same species appeared at the Santa |

Plants of Santa Clara. 125

Clara broad-gauge station, amongst cinders, by the side of tracks
passing in front of the freight house. Seed in quantity I at once
suspected, and still believe, had been swept from two roofless and
sideless freight cars, or had fallen from lumber or other goods taken
therefrom upon this coarse and fine locomotive furnace refuse, as
the plants were growing along the rails for just the length that two
such cars would measure, and nowhere else. I advised the exter-
mination of this visitor to save a neighboring seed farm from inva-
sion, but, though several attempts have been made to do so, that
desirable end has not yet been accomplished.

Another species approaching the above in shape of leaf and gen-
eral aspect, though reaching a height of not over 30 or 36 inches,
and apparently -. Hookeriana, has also come into this valley. This
is an annual plant, gray-leaved and rough-stemmed like F. éenuifo-
“ia, and a bearer of fruit furnished with flat, thin and broad spines.

It seems to belong principally along the eastern border and
southern section of the State. Hereabout, I know of it at but one
point, which is three miles east on the Berryessa road and opposite
brick-making and cattle-yards. The latter enclosures I especially
mention, as they seem to furnish an answer as to how this station
for the species was established, though it is possible that birds,
rather than the soiled hairy coats of horned stock, were the convey-
ors of the seed. The two seaside growers of this genus, though
never wandering away from the petty hillocks of the beach or the
higher dunes immediately at their rear, succeed as well on the up-
_ lands, in irrigated soil, as in their own respective homes. Sheep
and woolly dogs must frequently pass over these’plants, and, catch-
ing the spiny fruit in their clothing, carry it miles back to heavier
soil and higher ground. Why should not such naturally sown seed
occasionally germinate, and, in favorable situations by perennial
streams, for instance, or in continuously moist meadowy ground,
thrive and spread into noticeable plantations?

One of these species, the very variable /: dipinnatifida, grew for
two years at least, in the yard of a house I occupied at Santa Cruz;
and here at Santa Clara the other species, /. Chamzssonis, has for
three years spread itself attractively over a border’s edge, and, scat-
tering its fruit, has become the center, each spring, of a gay and
gray group of its kind.

During the same visit to the oceanward border of the Golden

126 Plants of Santa Clara. [ZOE

Gate Park that yielded me the seeds of 2 Chamissonis, | procured
fruit also of the Huron tansy ( Tanacetum Huronense ), and that, too,
I find is quite as well pleased with the soil and treatment I have given
it at Santa Clara as it could have been with the sands, winds and
fogs of its native seaside. It is a rapid grower, beneath the ground
as well as above it, has Jarge, handsome, silvery leaves, always
looks trim because never exposing its faded foliage to sight, and is.
altogether, as bright as anything I can think of in civilized gardens
Why should it not have a place within garden fence or park paling,
where, in either case, the area is large and trees and shrubbery are
features ? 7

Single specimens of purple salsify, 7; ragopogon porrifolius, are
to be seen at a number of points along roadsides, in this vicinity
evidencing recent establishment. Its occurrence, however, is rare
enough compared with its near but very dissimilar and unattractive
relative, the ox-tongue helminth, Pieris echiotdes, of Central and
Southern Europe, England and Ireland. It would be interesting
to know when this latter came and how far it already extends. It
is a conspicuous object on the main roads from Alviso to Santa
Clara and San Jose, and spreads laterally some distance from these
toward the east and west sides of the valley. Two other composites
of this same tribe, very prevalent here and well established per-
haps all over the State, Sonchus asper and S. oleraceus, though
not greatly better looking, are liked by horses and rabbits and, —
doubtless, cattle and sheep, but not a single good word that I know
of can be said for the thoroughly rough, coarse and crabbed new-
comer, the helminth. Blue- flowered chicory ( Cichorium intybus) —
last year appeared upon the footways of the Alameda, which is the
broad drive connecting Santa Clara and San Jose, and this summer |
I find a group of it just beyond the northwest corner of Santa Clara,
on the San Francisco road. This plant is likely, before very long,
to give the roadways of the State what they now so conspicuously
lack—a touch of cool, clear blue to lessen, to the driver's fancy at
least, the soaring temperature so frequently experienced during our |
summer, and a something to contrast with the continuous marginal _
— of yellow, the dead and faded grasses and the ash-gray road |
itself,

My garden borders have Euphorbia peplus and Veronica Bux-
daumit as occupants. The former came to them, by intention, from

.

VOL. ut.) Plants of Santa Clara. 127

Fox’s Nursery to which it had certainly been introduced with seed
or plants from the Eastern States or Europe. For the latter my
borders are indebted to a dooryard at Watsonville, in which town
this speedwell is quite a fixture. I have also seen it at Santa Cruz.
E. peplus is not uncommon at Rochester, N. Y., where it is to be
Seen occasionally on the inner edge of footways, oftener in yards
and still more frequently in the nurseries and seed-growing grounds
of several well-known firms. Of course, it is from these last that
it has ventured beyond upon streets and private grounds. «It is not,
however, a wanderer, for its seed is too heavy to travel far except
by aid possibly of our feathered friends, or our own wet or muddy
shoes.

Though it is all over my yard I have never seen it upon the
abutting streets, nor isit in Rochester anywhere away from the gar-
den fence sides, so that I am disposed to think the birds have little
if any liking for it. The plant is a bright little thing and matures
its fruit so quickly that it is sure to leave one crop behind though
the wet season that prompted its quittance of the seed state be but
ashort one. Bauxbaum’s speedwell is quite as smart as the spurge
at lengthening its stems, which are prostrate, at flowering and at
seed sowing and is like it too, in its stay at home habit.

Both these plants are doubtless in California to stay. The seed
of thyme-leaved spurge, Exphorbia serpyllifolia, came to my yard
in loam, with many other plants, from the river-side. This is so
neat a thing, asks so few favors, and covers the earth at edges

_of beds so attractively that I have encouraged it to stay though
I will say but few hints in that direction were necessary.

Another speedwell, sent me from Massachusetts ( . officinale ),
does well on the north side of my house where it gets a part of the
afternoon’s sun. The one plant I possess is two years old and
covers two feet by three of surface, has recently flowered and at
this writing, after three or four days of unusually warm weather, is
apparently in as good a condition as anything within my palings.
V. Americana is visible in spring in a roadside ditch two miles

away, where later appear Botsduvallia densiflora, Eryngium pe-
tiolatum and Mimuluses cardinalis and luteus.

A half mile beyond, upon this same road—the Kifer—there is a
station of the Philadelphia fleabane, (Zrigeron Philadelphicus), and
upon the Homestead road, and again as we near Saratoga village,

128 Certain C alifornian Birds.

there are groups in season of Evodium dotrys, the former group, as
it is the smaller of the two, presumably the more recently estab-
lished. Between Saratoga village and the Springs Hotel Szdadcea
diploscypha and Ranunculus muricatus are at home. The latter,
if one may indulge in a guess with its very rough and hook-
terminated achenia in view, is likely to plant stations rapidly, and
may in a few years be as numerously represented in our less fertile
fields as some of the native species are in those surfaced with richer
soil.

Within a fortnight I have discovered the presence near by of a
tall grass with 9 to 12 inch long panicles the divisions of which are
pale green and closely appressed.

This is Beckmannia eruceformis, which is credited to the northern
part of the State, and a vast region beyond.

NOTICES OF CERTAIN CALIFORNIAN BIRDS.
BY WALTER E. BRYANT.

The black swift ( Cypseloides niger) has been noted by but few
observers in California. Most of the information has been obtained
by Mr. Belding, but usually from the interior of the State; he, how-
ever, saw a flock of about twenty near San Diego on May 21, 1881,
and Mr. Emerson saw thirteen of these birds at Haywards on April
19, 1885. Dr. Cooper saw a bird which he supposed to be this
species at Santa Barbara in May, 1863. In the first week of July.
1889, I saw several black swifts flying above the bluff, along the
coast, ten miles southward from Monterey, and this year Mr. F. H.
Holmes secured several specimens in the same locality and reports
having seen them near Santa Clara, in both of which localities he
believes they were breeding. No nests have actually been found in
this State, but the eggs have been taken near the coast northward
(Seattle).

Notes upon the o¢currence of the blue-winged teal (Anas discors )
in California are given by Mr. Belding in the present volume. An-
other specimen (male) was taken near Napa this year and presented —
to the California Heatiemy of Sciences.

THE FERNS OF TAMALPAIS.
BY MARY ELIZABETH PARSONS.

Marin County, California, has been said to consist of ‘‘ Mount
Tamalpais and its skirts.” Although less than three thousand feet
in height, constantly visited by naturalists, and within a few miles
of a great city, Tamalpais is still very imperfectly explored. This
is largely owing to its wild and rugged character and to the dense
growth of chapparal which covers a large part of it, making ex-
ploration away from the roads and trails, slow and difficult. In its
fastnesses, not only the wild deer, but bear still linger, though the
latter are seldom seen.

It may be that future and fuller knowledge of the region will add
one or two ferns to the following list, but they are all that have been
noticed so far, and nearly all that are to be expected in Central
California, near the coast. Our State is not rich in ferns.

1. POLYPODIUM VULGARE. “ Common Polypody.” This species
needs but a passing mention, as it is so well and widely known.

2, PoLYPODIUM FALCATUM, which is peculiar to this Coast, is
given as a variety of P. vulgare in Synopsis Filicum. I have found
it in cafions about Tamalpais Station. It differs in its somewhat
larger size, and in having pinne tapering to a long and slen- _
der point. Both vulgare and falcatum are found in wooded
spots, though the former often nestles in the crevices of exposed
rocks, while the latter may be seen hanging in great masses over
rocks bordering a shaded stream, having a very elegant appearance.

3. Portypopium ScCouLERI may be readily distinguished from
our other species by its thick leathery fronds, broad blunt pinnz
and magnificent fruit. It is peculiar to the Western Coast. Ac-

cording to the Botany of California, it is found ‘‘on trees and
"stumps, more rarely on rocks or on the ground.’’ These remarks
must apply to more northern districts, for in this region it is found
only on rocks exposed to the sea winds and fogs. I have found it
at Point Reves, near the light-house, and it grows in crevices of
the rocks which crown the hills behind Sausalito.

4. ASPLENIUM FILIX-FazMINA, “ Lady-Fern,’’ occurs in both
broad and narrow forms. It is of a tender and beautiful green, and of

*

130 Ferns of Tamalpais. [ZOE

- graceful form, and there seems an exquisite propriety in its common
name, as one sees it fringing the cool streams, and mirroring itself in
their brown depths.

5. WoopwaRDIA RADICANS, popularly known as “ Chain-Fern ”
from the interrupted chain-like appearance of its sori, is our largest
fern, attaining a hight of seven or eight feet in this region. It re-
quires a great deal of water, and usually sends up its great crown ot
leaves along the water-courses; or, if found upon a hillside, it isa
certain indication of subterranean springs. It is one of our most
valuable ferns for decorative purposes.

6. LOMARIA SPICANT, ‘‘ Deer-Fern,” also loves the water. It
haunts springy, marshy spots, and may be easily known by its two
kinds of fronds—the barren and the fertile—the pinnz of the latter
narrowly contracted and thickly covered with its dark-brown spor-
angia. It has been found in Wildwood Glen, near Sausalito, in a
marshy spot high up on the hillside; in Tennessee Valley and in
Bear Valley, near Olema. It is the only one of the species here
enumerated which has not been reported from Tamalpais proper.

7. ASPIDIUM ACULEATOM, which is a very cosmopolitan species,
grows here, in its normal form, though very sparsely. I have found
it but once, in a wooded cafion on the north slope of Tamalpais.

Variety CALIFORNICUM, with its long narrow fronds, and pinnze
cut but slightly above the middle, is more plentiful, growing along
shaded streams at very low elevations. The gradations from this
form to the next species, 4. munitum, are often very puzzling.

8. ASPIDIUM MUNITUM isa wonderfully variable fern, changing
its form and size with every change of habitat. Perhaps its most
typical form is that from which it takes its popular name, the
“ Sword Fern,” long,slender and plume-like. It grows in our wooded

cafions luxuriantly, its great plumes giving an almost tropical air
to the scene, :

9. ASPIDIUM RIGIDUM var. ARGUTUM is one of our most com-
mon species, growing everywhere in dry woods. It varies a good
deal in size, but not so much in aspect, and its fronds havea strange _
fashion of bifurcating at times, which is rather interesting. :

10. CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS, “ Bladder - Fern,’’ the most deli- :
cate and fragile of our species, is of filmy texture and small size,

*

VOL. 11.] 3 Ferns of Tamalpais. 131

ashy grower, and may be found sparsely in moist places in La-
gunitas Cafion, the cafions at Larkspur, Mill Valley, etc.

11. ADIANTUM EMARGINATUM ‘‘ Maiden Hair,” our more com-
mon species, grows everywhere in shady woods and on the banks
bordering old wood roads at small elevations, sending up its beau-
_tiful black polished {stems and tender fronds abundantly in tufts
from its fibrous, thread-like roots.

12. ADIANTUM PEDATUM, “ Five-fingered Fern,” seeks its home
here at usually a greater altitude, and in very secluded nooks. This
is the common species of Adiantum in the Atlantic and Western
States, and it may be that it finds a more closely corresponding
climate here at an elevation. Nothing could be more beautiful than
a mossy bank covered with this fern, with the cool water trickling
through the moss, as it may be seen in the higher mountain gulches
on Tamalpais. It is found in many places: Wildwood Glen at Sau-
salito, the cafions facing oceanward on Bolinas Ridge, the Laguni-
tas branch cafions, Redwood Cafion; no doubt, too, in Bear Valley.

13. CHEILANTHES CALIFORNICA has herbaceous fronds of a
bright green, smooth and most delicately cut, and the usual dark-
brown polished stalks. It has recently been found in the upper
part of Redwood Cajion, growing in rather dry soil, on cliff-like
rocks—shaded, however, and not far from the stream.

14. CHEILANTHES GRACILLIMA is found near both summits of
Tamalpais, in crevices of the rocks. Its fronds are slender, and
covered on the under surface with rusty, matted wool.

15. CHEILANTHES MYRIOPHYLLA grows at somewhat lower
altitudes. The fronds are covered beneath with ovate scales. I
found, in 1883, a small, dwarfed variety of myriophylla growing
upon rocks on Mr. Liberty’s ranch, and sent them to Professor
Eaton, who wrote me that he had received similar specimens from
Mount Diabolo, Yosemite, Bartlett Springs and Pacheco Pass.
Several years after I found the large form growing with the small
one in the same place.

The last two species are commonly called “‘ Lace Ferns.’’ They
are of the same grayish color, and the ultimate segments of the
fronds are minute and bead-like, but are readily distinguished by
‘the covering of the under surface. They are found only about
dry rocks— never near water.

132 Ferns of T amalpais. [ZOE _

16. PELLAA DENSA, with its finely-divided segments, is found
on rocks near Mr. Liberty’s house, so near the road that they may
be plucked in passing. It is found in similar dry, rocky localities
on that side of Tamalpais, especially below the higher summit.

17. PELLAA ANDROMEDAFOLIA, with its reddish stems and
small pinules, has been popularly, but erroneously, called ‘‘ Red
Maiden Hair.’’ It usually seeks its home under the partial shade of
some shrub or tree, which affords its brittle fronds protection as well.
It is to be found at low elevations, while P. densa and P. ornithopus —

seek height; the former usually growing a thousand feet or more
«above sea level.

18. PELLAA ORNITHOPUS, with its finely-divided, stiff, grayish
and erect fronds, seeks the dryest and most barren rocky places,
fully exposed to the sun. It is found at various places on the rocky
ridge leading from Tamalpais to Bolinas Ridge, and is an ex-
tremely variable fern. One can find forms of widely differing widths

according to habitat, but the very long and narrow forms have been _

placed in a separate species and called P. brachyptera, which, how-
ever, in its typical form, is not, to my knowledge, found in the
county.

The Pellzas are all rock lovers, with coriaceous leaves, and are
commonly called “‘ Cliff’ or ‘Rock Brakes.”

19. PTERIS AQUILINA, knownas “ Brake,” “ Bracken,” or ‘‘ Ea-
gle Fern,’’ may be found everywhere—on open hillside, in field or
meadow. It usually seeks good soil, and luxuriates in it. In some
other counties it attains a great height, spreading in a manner most |
alarming to the farmer, who is unable to get rid of it in any way.
This must be the black sheep of this charming order of plants, |

whose characteristics are to be described by only the most agreea-
ble adjectives in most other cases.

20. GYMNOGRAMME TRIANGULARIS I have left to the last.
This little plant is distinctively Pacific, and dear to the heart of
every lover of ferns. Everyone knows the ‘‘ golden-back,’’ and ~
knows where on shaded banks to seek it. Its beautiful little tri-
angular fronds of glossy green, with their powdered under surfaces

and elegantly polished black stipes, are familiar to most of us.

A second form of it is found in Yosemite and in the southern part

Miteried Cactus Wren. gt. -

of or State. This form has silver-white powder, or farina, and the
lobes of the frond are blunter, giving the fern a coarser aspect

z _ than the golden-back. The difference in appearance of the two

forms seems to me quite as great as that in many another instance
where it has formed the basis for elevating a new variety, at least.

NOTES ON THE CACTUS WREN.
BY A. W. ANTHONY.

I first made the acquaintance of the cactus wren ( Campylorhyn-
chus brunnetcapillus), in southwestern New Mexico, where they
were abundant in all suitable localities, their large covered nests
forming quite a conspicuous feature of the landscape wherever cac-
tus or other thorny growth offered suitable nesting advantages.

As these nests were usually seen in groups of from four or five to
a dozen, frequently six or seven being seen in one mesquite bush,
the first impression obtained was that the birds nested in colonies.
As the season advanced, however, and the collections of nests were
found to be used by but a single or at most two- pairs of birds, a
question of what the rest of the nests were for, frequently presented
itself. It was very evident from even a casual examination that
nearly or all of the nests had been built at about the same time, and
from their uniform fresh and unbroken appearance I concluded that
they could not have been subjected to the driving storms and win-
try winds that sweep that country from October until April.

It was not until the winter of 1889, however, that a possible ex-
planation presented itself. On October 24 of that year, while hunt-
_ ing antelope near the Mexican boundary, I availed myself of the

protection of a small thicket of mesquite scrub to observe the move-

ments of a herd of game in the plain beyond. I had scarcely con-
cealed myself when I saw flying toward me a cactus wren, with its
mouth full of dry grass. Alighting in a bush near by it immediate-
ly entered a nest within thirty feet of me, and after a moment reap-
peared without the grass and started for another load. An exam-
ination showed that the grass had been used as a lining and to fur-
ther thicken the walls. The long horizontal tunnel-like opening
_ also gave evidence of having been lengthened. Five or six other
nests within a radius of fifty feet all showed equal evidence of hav-
ing been refitted and strengthened. Here at last was a possible

134 Edible Mollusks. [ZOE

clew to the many empty nests seen during the summer, and, hoping
to gather further information, the locality was frequently visited
until December 16. The work of rebuilding the old nests continued
during pleasant weather until about the first of December. By this
time all of the nests of the vicinity were so thoroughly repaired that
they had every appearance of new nests. At no time was there
more than one bird to be seen. I think, however, that a pair were
interested in the improvements, as the notes of a second wren were
heard at no great distance. During storms or cold windy weather
I frequently found cactus wrens in the very near vicinity of these
and other nests, and while I never succeeded in catching them in
the nests I am confident that they were made use of at such times
as shelters from the storm and probably also as roosting places. It
would also appear that several of the nests were repaired and used
during the winter by the same pair of wrens.
Upon coming to the Pacific Coast I was immediately impressed
with the difference in the nesting habits of the species as seen in
Southern and Lower California, and in the higher regions of New
Mexico and Arizona. I am unfortunately without a series of meas-
urements of the nests of the two regions, but am safe in saying the
bird of the coast region buiids a smaller nest, especially noticeable
in its much shorter covered opening, which in fine specimens from
the interior (New Mexico and Arizona) frequently measures from
twelve to fourteen inches in length and is supported by being built
along a horizontal branch of chol/a cactus or thorny bush. Califor-
ma nests are seldom or never, as far as my experience goes, found
in colonies. Two or more nests are sometimes seen in the same :
thicket of cactus, but in such case each nest is used by a pair of
birds, there being no supplementary nests to be used as lodging-
houses, as would appear to be the case in the interior, nor have I |

any evidence of the nests in mild coast region being rebuilt for use
In winter. :

EDIBLE MOLLUSKS OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA.
BY HENRY HEMPHILL.

In the January number of the Nautilus, Professor Josiah Keep,
of Mills College, published an article on the “Edible Mollusks ot
San Francisco Markets’’; and in the July number of the same.
journal, Mr. R. E. C. Stearns, of the U. S. National Museum, adds

VOL. It. | Edible Mollusks. | 135

some notes on other West Coast ‘‘ Edible Shells’’— and as food
supply is always a question of great importance to the people of
_ every country, I have made out and offer the following list of West
Coast mollusks that I have eaten, or know to have been eaten by
others. Besides those listed there are, undoubtedly, many others
on our coast that are edible. I believe a large majority may be
used as food, but care should be taken in collecting and preparing
them. All univalves (periwinkles, etc.) found adhering to rocks
containing copper, and all mollusks adhering to the bottoms of ves-
sels, should be rejected as articles of food, for they are more or less
poisonous. It should be remembered that the bottoms of all ves-
sels not sheathed with copper plate are coated every few months
with copper paint.

In preparing mollusks for food the indigestible parts —such as
the byssus of the mussels and the opercula or trap-doors of the
periwinkle, and other univalves — should be removed or rejected.
To all I would say, eat lightly of mollusks at all times, for some are
supposed to contain a large amount of phosphorus, which may oc-
casion nausea, or sometimes serious sickness.

OSTREA LURIDA Cpr. ‘‘ California Oyster.’’— From Puget
Sound to San Diego and southward’ Abundant on the mud-

flats, between tides, adhering to everything. It is small and of a
moderately fair flavor. Those offered in the San Francisco mar-

kets are brought from Shoalwater Bay, Washington, where they
grow larger, and perhaps are better flavored than elsewhere on our
coast. Morgan’ & Co. was the first and principal firm to enter into
the trade, and for several years employed a number of schooners
in transporting them to market; but since the introduction of young
Eastern oysters into the Bay of San Francisco the trade in our
West Coast bivalve has greatly diminished.

PECTEN A:QUISULCATUS Cpr. ‘‘Scallop.’’—From San Pedro to
San Diego, and southward into Lower California; inhabiting mud-
flats, between tides, where it is found in abundance. The scal-
lop is well known and highly prized as a delicate morsel by many
people along the Eastern Coast. Its fame has extended to San
Diego, where it is offered in the markets and largely eaten.

MyTILus EDULIS L. ‘“ Black Mussel.”—From Puget Sound to
San Diego. Usually found inside bays and where more or less fresh

136 Edible Mollusks. : (9m,

water mixes with the salt. Generally attached to the piling along
wharfs, where it exists in abundance. Highly prized along all sea
coasts where it is found as an article of food. It is offered in San
Francisco and Oakland markets.

Myti.us CaLirornicus Conr. “ Large Mussel.’’—This, which
is the largest mussel known, is found all along the California
coast, attached to points of rocks subjected to the full force of the
surf. It is eaten by many persons, and said to be excellent boiled
and pickled in salt and vinegar and served cold. It is found in
great quantities in the Indian mounds.

CARDIUM ELATUM Sby. “Cockle.’’—San Diego and south to
the Gulf of California, on mud-flats at low tide. The largest known
cockle. Excellent for chowder, soup and pies.

CARDIUM CoRBIS Martyn.—Puget Sound to San F rancisco Bay.
On mud-flats between tides. Occasionally offered in San Francis-
co and Oakland markets with other clams.

TAPES STAMINEA Conr. Small Hard-shell Clam.—Abundant at
many places along the coast of California. The common clam of
San Francisco market.

TAPES STAMINEA var. LACINIATA Cpr.—San Diego, on the mud-
flats; rare. Excellent cooked in any manner.

TAPES TENERRIMA Cpr. “ Hard-shell Clam.’’—Puget Sound
to Lower California. Outside sandy beaches, below extreme low

tide, and on mud-flats in Puget Sound. Of a rather strong flavor,

and not as desirable for eating as the other members of the genus.

AMIANTIS CALLOSA Conr. “Large White Clam.’’—San Pedro
to Lower California. Sand beaches at extreme low tide. Very nice

cooked in any manner.

TIVELA CRASSATELLOIDES Conr.—From San Luis Obispo Coun- ;
ty to Lower California, and very abundant on sand beaches at ex-
treme low tide. This is the common large edible clam of our south-_
ern coast. Itis highly flavored, but tough when cooked, and good
only to flavor soups and chowder. It is used largely at San Diego

for fish bait.

CHIONE suUCCINCTA Val.—San Diego and south. Abundant on

mud-flats near low tide.

}!

Crone SIMILLIMA Sby. Bie pew and south. Abundant on
"the mud-flats between tides.

- CHIONE. FLUCTIFRAGA Sby.—San Diego and south into Lower”
California. Abundant on sandy beaches between tides.
_ All three of these Chiones, commonly known as hard-shell clams,
are occasionally offered in the market of San Diego, and are highly
_ esteemed for their flavor and tenderness.

Saxipomus NutTTauui Conr. Intermediate between the hard
and soft shells.

Puget Sound to Lower California. In gravel-beds, between
tides, where it is found quite plentiful. Sold in the markets of
Portland, Oregon, and the towns on Puget Sound. At San Diego
it sometimes figures conspicuously at clam-bakes, and is highly es-
teemed by the clam-bakers.

SAxXIDOMUS ARATUS Gld.—San Diego. Mud- flats, between
tides. Very nice for chowders, soup and pies.

MacoMA NAsuTA Conr.— From Puget Sound to Lower Cali-
fornia. Inhabiting mud-flats, at low tide; not rare, but difficult to
find. Excellent eating when made into any kind of clam fixings.

_, Abounding in the shell mounds about San Francisco Bay.

Macoma sEcta Conr.—From Bolinas Bay to Lower California;
sandy mud-flats, between high and low tides; not rare, but, like the
preceding, hard to find living. Excellent cooked in any manner.

__ The shells of the Macomas being thin, they are often called soft-shell
_. clams.
GARI RUBRORADIATA Nutt.—Monterey to San Diego. In gravel
beds; rare. Very nice eating. Occasionally found with the follow-
_ ing. :
-SEMELE DECISA Conr.—San Diego, south into Lower Califor-
nia. Gravel beds. It is said to be a very superior clam for cook-
SOME Sr
_ ScuizoTHa@RuUS NuttTaLyi Conr.—Bolinas to Lower California.
In gravel beds at low tide.
a ‘Beats any clam yet discovered for chowder, soup and pies.
The mere memory of the soup and chowders I have eaten at
- various times, where Schizothzerus was the grand staple, is like a

»

Le 2 _ Baible Mollusks. ee. “137, ok

138 Edible Mollusks. [ ZOE

gleam of sunshine through a London fog.’’— R. E. C. Stearns, in
Nautilus for July.

This fully establishes the reputation of my friend Stearns as a
man of great taste, as well as a poet. I can confirm all he says in
regard to the edible qualities of this noble clam.

MYA ARENARIA L. ‘“ Soft-Shell Clam.’’— From Puget Sound to
Santa Cruz, California. The spawn of this well-known shell-fish was
introduced into San Francisco Bay with the young Eastern oysters,
but, unlike the oysters, it took kindly to its new home, and now
has full possession of almost every foot of the mud-flats along the
bay. I was the first one to detect its presence in the bay, and
young specimens were named Mya Hemphilli Newcomb.

Mya TRuNcATA L.—Puget Sound. Occasionally offered in the
markets, with other clams, at Port Townsend, Washington.

PLATYODON CANCELLATUS Conr.—Bolinas to San Diego. Abund-

ant between tides, burrowing in hard clay and soft sandstone rock.
Said to be excellent eating.

PANOPZA GENEROSA Gld.— Widely distributed, from Puget
Sound to Lower California; three feet deep on the mud-flats at
extreme low tide. If Schizothzerus beats all other clams for chow-
der, soup and pies, this queen of all edible clams beats all
others, not excepting the choicest Eastern oysters, for delicious
flavor and fries. Some years ago, while collecting shell on Puget —
Sound, I found the boys at Olympia collecting this clam for the
Portland restaurants, where it was justly esteemed for its delicious —
flavor and tenderness. From the Indians near by, whom I found
drying and smoking clams for future use, I learned that they called
them Geoducks, and valued them highly—probably more for the
quantity of food they furnished than for their flavor or tenderness.
I called the attention of the late Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian
Institute and Fish Commission, to the edible quality of this mol-
lusk, and he determined to introduce it on the Eastern Coast. Mr.
Stearns was entrusted with collecting and carrying out the experi-
ment, but I have not learned what success attended his efforts.

SILIQUA PATULA Dixon. “Razor Shell.”— Astoria, Oregon,
to Santa Cruz, Cal. Found on sandy beaches at low tide, and sold
in the markets of Astoria and Portland; Oregon. Equal, in every

VOL. 11.] Edible Mollusks. | 139

respect, to Mya arenaria, for any kind of clam pies, chowder or
soup. Burrowing in sand at extremely low tide.

HALIOTIS RUFESCENS Swains.—Mendocino County to Lower
California. Among rocks at extreme low tide.

HALIOTIS CORRUGATA Gray.—Santa Catalina Island to Lower
California. Among rocks at extreme low tide. Somewhat rare.

HALIOTIS SPLENDENS Rve.—Santa Barbara Islands to Lower
California. Among rocks at low tide.

HALIoTIs CRACHERODII Leach.— Monterey to Lower Califor-
nia. Among rocks between tides. ;

All four of these abalones are edible, and their fine flavor has
long been known to the sailors, fishermen and ranchers along the
coast of California, notwithstanding a recent writer in Forest and
Stream asserts—on the authority of, perhaps, some San Francisco
market huckster—that: “Americans do not understand the art of
preparing them, while the Mexicans make of them a dish that is
admirable.”

My experience among American sailors and ranchers, while col-
lecting shells along the coast of California, satisfies me that they are
experts in preparing fresh abalone chowder and fries.

The Haliotis, or Abalone, as it is commonly called, is largely
collected on the southern coast of California and along the coast of
Lower California. The animal is dried and sent to China for food,
while tons of the shells are yearly sent East and to Europe, where
they are manufactured into ornamental and useful articles.

Octopus punctatus Gabb.— Almost everywhere along the
coast of California this mollusk is collected and dried for food
by the Chinese. I am informed the Italian fishermen eat the arms,
or tentacles. The flesh is white and delicate looking, but I am
satisfied to allow the Chinese and Italians to eat all of them.

There is a report that one of the land shells, He/ix arrosa,
has been offered for sale in the San Francisco markets.

I have also been informed that Ariolimax Columbianus Gould,
the large slug which is such a pest about San Francisco, has been
eaten by various persons, after removing the slimy outer covering.
The gardeners would probably be pleased if such a taste were more
widely spread.

.

CHIA.
BY EDWARD PALMER.

The family of Labiates furnishes few food plants to mankind.
Some few, like sage, thyme, sweet marjoram, etc., are used for flavor-
ing, and several others as aromatic teas with more or less reputed
medicinal virtues, but I believe among civilized people, only the
Mexicans use them to any extent as regular articles of diet.

Chia, a name associated both with food and drink, occurs in the
early histories of Mexico, but no clue is there given to the plants
which furnish it. I have given some time in my botanical travels in
Mexico to the investigation of the matter and find that several
species of the genus Salvia are commonly used, both by Indians
and Mexicans, in the preparation of various forms of food and drink.

That the use of Chia is of much antiquity is proved by finding
large quantities of it with ancient Indian remains; the custom of
burying food with the dead evidently prevailing as it does to-day.
Among the aborigines it is known by names in their own tongue—
the Pimo Indians call Salvia Columbarie “ Dak ’’—but in inter-

course with Mexicans or Americans, only the Spanish ‘‘ Chia ”’ is
heard.

As a food both nutritious and palatable it deserves to be better
known. The white races are, perhaps, too apt to look with con-
tempt upon the contents of the Indian granary, and though Chia is
never likely to take rank as one of the great staples, it may come
to be as universally esteemed among civilized as it is among the
aborigines of the region where it grows.

In preparing Chia for use the seeds are roasted and ground, and.
the addition of water makes a mucilaginous mass several times the
original bulk, Sugar to the taste is added, and the result is the
much prized semi-fluid “‘pinole” of Indians and others—to me
one of the best relished and most nutritive foods while traveling
over the deserts; the ground meal mixed with sugar being very —

_ portable and fasy to prepare while journeying. The taste and ap- ;
pearance is somewhat that of flaxseed meal. One readily acquires

_a liking for it, and learns to eat it rather as a luxury than on account _
of its exceedingly nutritious properties. - ae

Salvia Columbarie, a very common plant both in California and o
Mexico, grows so abundantly in some localities that it can be cut,

Chia. 141

threshed and cleaned like grain, finds purchasers in the markets
_ and drug stores of Southern California, Southern Arizona, Sonora,
Sinaloa, Lower California and the gulf side of Mexico. In these lo-
-calities it is the basis of one of the most popular drinks used, not
only by the Mexicans and Indians, but by many Americans.

Salvia carduacea, of more limited range than the preceding,
extending from Central California to the northern part of the pen-
insula, is used in the same manner and under the same name.

Salvia Hispanica grows about Guadalajara, in the State of Jalisco,
and in the neighborhood of the City of San Luis Potosi.

Salvia tiliefolia grows about the settlement known as Noroga-
chic, inhabited by the Tarahumares, in the Sierra Madre.

Salvia Chian, inhabiting the central table-lands of Mexico, has a
wide distribution.

Each of these plants is prized by the inhabitants of their locali-
ties for the uses which can be made of them. S. Columbarie and
‘S. Chian are the best adapted to cultivation, large crops of these
species being grown and harvested with profit, the seeds being a
staple article and in constant demand.

One of the most refreshing drinks known is prepared by infusing
the seed-like nutlets in water. The mucilagious drink resulting
retains the aromatic properties, which are lost in the roast-
ing, which is the preliminary step in preparing it for food; and
when sweetened and flavored with lemon juice, is especially grate-
ful in the hot days of summer, even to the sick, as it is easily borne
by the most delicate stomach, and at the same time affords consid-
erable nutrition.

Chia meal is often mixed with the meal of roasted corn, or other
grains. If used without further cooking, it is called as above,
‘“pinole.’’ If cooked in water as gruel or porridge, it is “ atole.”
It is a very agreeable food, particularly if sugar or flavoring is
added. The Pima Indians are especially fond of Chia ‘‘atole,’’
and consume large quantities of it.

The seeds of Salvia are useful in gastro-intestinal disorders, and
it is often used in the manner of flax-seed as an emollient, or for
cataplasms.

CHIA GRANDE is Liyptis suaveolens, a very common plant in the
State of Colima. The seeds are gathered in large quantities from
_ wild plants as weil as from those cultivated as a crop by the Indians,

142 Reed Birds of the Markets. [ ZOE

and they are used in the same manner as the seeds of Salvia, devel-
oping apparently even a greater quantity of mucilage when wetted.
Among the Indians it is called “ Chan,” and to the attolle or gruel
made by mixing it with corn they apply the name “Bate.’’ Its ar-
omatic properties are destroyed by cooking, but the mucilaginous
property is largely developed. It makes a rather tasteless dish un-
less a little salt is added, or, as the Indians remedy the defect, a
syrup made from sugar is sprinkled over it.

Both the drink and the attolle prepared from Chian grande, are ©
sold in the markets, the Indian women keeping it in large gourds,
covered over the top with banana leaves for cleanliness. In sup-
plying customers a small gourd is used as a dipper, and water is
added whenever the attolle becomes too thick.

Tea made from the roots of Ayptis suaveoleus is used to purify
the blood, and it is also used as a remedy for the diseases of women.

THE “REED BIRDS” OF THE SAN FRANCISCO
MARKETS.

BY WALTER E. BRYANT.

For an indefinite number of years there have been exposed for
sale in the markets of San Francisco, particularly during the sum-
_ mer, small Californian birds, picked, and six of them ranged side by
side with a skewer running through them. The entire bird, al-
though picked and drawn, requires more than a passing glance to
determine to what one of several species it belongs, for the ‘‘reed .
bird’’ of San Francisco, it is almost needless to say, is not the true
reed bird or rice bird of the Atlantic Coast which is presumably the
bobolink ( Dolichonyx oryzivorus ), although occasionally other spe-
cies may be substituted. I have made it a practice never to pass a
stall where so-called ‘‘reed birds”’ are offered for sale without stop-
ping and noting the species, or at least the genus to which they be-
longed, and have been surprised to find to what extent harmless if
not positively beneficial birds are slaughtered that the scant morsel
of flesh on either side of the keel of the breast - bone may be served
as an entrée in the better class of San Francisco restaurants.

First it will be interesting to know what is a San Francisco “reed
bird?”’ Generally speaking, it is a horned lark ( Ofocoris), known —
to the market men and pot-hunters who furnish them, as ‘‘bean

VOL. I1.] Reed Birds of the Markets. | 143

birds,” the flesh of which is rather light-colored, tender, and the
_ birds often fat. They may be known from others by the long claw
to the hind toe. Fifteen years or more ago this bird was almost
the only species killed for this purpose, but the long-continued, per-
sistent slaying of this species, together with the increase of settle-
ment, making it necessery to journey farther after them, has result-
ed in the substitution of most any other species of about the same
size in place of them, and as the birds are always dressed before
being brought to the dealers, who cannot distinguish between Ofo-
coris, Zonotrichia and others, they answer the contemptible purpose
for which they were killed —a fashionable dish in a cosmopolitan
restaurant, or on a foreign family’s table.

It is directly due to foreign taste that this slaughter of small birds
has existed and to the game and fish commission of California that
it continues, for surely no one who has often visited the ,markets
can have failed to notice one to ten dozen small birds upon the
marble counters of game and poultry stalls.

Among the species which are destroyed by pot-hunters are horn-
ed larks ( Ovocoris), several species of sparrows belonging to the
genera Zonotrichia (two species), and more rarely Melospiza and
Ammodramus, house finches ( Carpodacus) are notable victims, and
occasionally goldfinches (.Spznus ) belonging to two or three species
have been seen in one lot with birds as large as blackbirds ( Agelaius
and Scolecophagus ), which represent the maximum size of a ‘‘reed
bird,’’ while goldfinches are as small as any that have yet been
sold.

It is somewhat surprising that the detested house sparrows from

Europe have not shared the same fate with native birds, but the so-
called English sparrow is a wary bird (when his destruction is de-
sired) and is confined more to the limits of cities and towns, and
moreover his flesh is not considered as dainty and delicate as the
others, while a knowledge of his feeding habits may prejudice some.

More rarely sandpipers ( 7ringa minutilla and Ereunetes occi-
dentalis ) are resorted to in order to supply the markets with “reed
birds,” but the dealers say that the ‘‘sandpeeps’’ are ‘‘too strong”’
and do not give satisfaction to their patrons.

The prices at which these birds sell are from twenty-five to fifty
cents a “stick” in the markets, being at the rate of fifty cents to a
dollar a dozen, although I have known them as low as thirty-five
cents a dozen and they rarely exceed one dollar.

144 Reed Birds of the Markets. [ZOE

The demand for them is not very great, yet at this time of year
the daily sales in San Francisco probably range from one or two
dozen a day to ten dozen or more.

About two or three are served to one person, sometimes more,
according to the supply and price and the standing of the restau-
rant. The annual destruction must amount to many thousands and
has only the extenuation on its side of being carried on most ex-
tensively when the birds are not breeding but congregated in more
or less mixed flocks in open fields, or along roadsides and patches
of chaparral. The hunting is almost exclusively done by French-
men well advanced in years, and may be considered under two
heads: First, the solitary individual, afoot, who keeps just without
the jurisdiction of city police, and with a muzzle-loader of small or
medium bore, fires murderous charges of fine shot with small loads
of powder into the mixed flocks of linnets, canaries, etc., feeding in
the grass and weeds, or rakes them from the top-rail of a fence or
telegraph wire. If in a field he marks closely the spot, and depos-

iting his hat or something else for a mark, circles about the fatal

area, picking up the dead and wounded. Hints or threats from
suburban citizens are always and promptly acted upon, and he will
be seen no more for several days if at all in that locality. It is not
his policy to question his right or privilege to shoot in any particu-
lar neighborhood, and in this respect he differs markedly from the
average sportsman. The particular delight of this individual is to
follow up flocks of horned larks, for they are usually many and
command the best price. Secondly, there is the old Frenchman in
a cart or light wagon drawn by a wreck of a horse. His method is
to keep moving along country roads and do most of his killing from

the fences and telegraph wires on either side of the road. He is

invariably accompanied by a small boy, probably an apprentice,

who does the retrieving. His policy also distinguishes him from —

the average sportsman, inasmuch as he will not fire when another
team 1s near, not so much from a dislike to risk frightening the

horse of another but rather to prevent attracting attention to his ne- —

farious occupation.

Formerly the man on foot was accompanied by an ill-trained dog:

but now he usually travels alone; probably the dog was found of

little use in retrieving and a great deal of a nuisance when traveling |

on cars and ferry-boats.

ee

VOL. II.] Plants of Baja California. 145

The very light reports made by the guns used by these bird en-
emies, suggests that white powder may be in use by them; it cer-
tainly has the merit of little smoke and light report, two cestiicrs
considerations for semi-illegal gunners.

The principal collecting grounds are the suburbs of San Fran-
cisco, along the line of the railroad into San Mateo County, and in
the vicinity of Berkeley, Alameda County. One party informed
me that many of the birds were taken by netting.

The tendency of this phase of bird destruction is to steadily in-
crease in severity, and it has long since arrived at that stage of im-
portance which should bring it to the notice of the authorities inter-
ested in bird protection.

There has already been some talk upon the subject of introducing
European song birds into California, and some day it may be de-
sirable to do so, but the first step should be protection to those we
now have, and this protection may be begun by legislating in favor
of the persecuted ‘‘reed birds,’’ and the extermination, if possible,
of the English sparrow.

FIELD NOTES ON THE PLANTS OF BAJA CALIFORNIA.
BY T. S. BRANDEGEE. |

LYROCARPA XANTI growsa much larger plant in the south, than at
its northern limit about San Gregorio. This increase in size, going
southward is common and was especially observable in such species as
_ Aplopappus spinulosus, Aster spinosus, Bebbia juncea, etc. In other

species, however, the reverse obtains, the species depauperating as _
they go southward, as in the case of Atamisguea emarginata, Schep-
fia Californica and Maytenus phyllanthoides.
_ The apple tree as it grows about San José del Cabo affords a fine
example of a different habitat upon a species. At first I failed to
recognize a familiar friend, its habit being so very unlike that to
which I was accustomed. It grew about ten feet in height, the
small and slender branches erect and closely surrounding the stem,
giving it somewhat the appearance of a compressed Lombardy pop-
lar. I was told that the fruit was always worthless.
THYSANOCARPUS ERECTUS, Watson.—This name should replace
in part J. /acinatus, Pl. Baja Cal. 128. This species was orig-

146 Plants of Baja California. [ ZOE

inally collected by Dr. Palmer on Guadaloupe Island, and he has
since found it on Cerros Island.

FOUQUIERIA COLUMNARIS is certainly a queer looking tree. It is
often hollow within and becomes a convenient hive for wild bees. —
The honey bee is slowly traveling southward in Lower California
and is now more than half way down toward Cape St. Lucas.

SIDA XANTI opens its flowers in the afternoon and so also does
Abutilon Californicum and some other Malvacee; they are very com-
mon in the Cape region and their numerous blossoms add much to
the beauty of the afternoon flora, compensating for the Ipomzas
closed by the hot sun.

PROSOPIS JULIFLORA ‘‘mesquit’’ affords much food for horses
and cattle in the middle latitudes of the Peninsula. On our long
overland journey in 1889 two mules that had acquired a bad habit
of straying away even when *‘ hobbled,’’ were usually tied at night
to a mesquit tree so that they could eat the leaves and tender twigs
from the lower branches, or sometimes the boughs were cut for
_ them; and although they lived at times entirely upon this, at the end
of a long journey of two or three months, they appeared as fat and
strong as the well behaved animals that were allowed more liberty
and consequently had a greater choice of food. The mesquit trees
are highly valued by the cattle men for the food they furnish their
stock.

CASALPINIA PULCHERRIMA, “‘tabachin,”’ is found only as a cul-
tivated plant. It is very handsome and showy, especially when in
bloom, its mass of color visible at a great distance. Its large
leaves made up of many leaflets are graceful and its red and
yellow flowers are magnificent; it grows tall enough to overtop the
fences and hedges and is certainly an ornament to the gardens of —
San José del Cabo.

CRESCENTIA ALATA, a queer looking garden tree is planted for
the gourd-like fruit which is credited with medicinal properties.
This fruit is about four inches in diameter and when used, is filled
with “mescal’’ through a hole made at one end, then persons im-—
agining themselves affected with chest diseases drink out the liquor
from time to time expecting to become cured.

Another cultivated tree about the Cape is the cocoanut palm.
The palms are the tallest trees in San José and the leaves of the ©
cocoanut palm growing out more nearly horizontal than those of

VOL. II. ] Plants of Baja California. 147

the Washingtonia furnish a prominent perch for some birds. The
turkey buzzards of San José when not busy, either sit securely upon
the roof of the church or unsteadily swing on the waving leaf of a
cocoanut palm.

CYCLANTHERA TESTUDINEA. This species is peculiar to the sum-
mits of the mountains of the Cape Region. In its description the
manner of disseminating the seeds was not fully described. While
gathering specimens, I noticed that as soon as the plant was
moved, the ripe fruit would burst and shoot the seeds into my face
and about in all directions. Other species of the genus are said to
have ‘‘ explosive ” fruits.

ARRACACIA BRANDEGEI was described from specimens collected
upon Magdalena Island, where the main stem of the plant is very
short. In some locations of the high mountains of the Cape Re-
gion, this stem or stalk is often four or five feet high and leaf-bear-
ing only at the top or near it.

CASTELA TORTUOSA abounds, especially within a mile of the
ocean, from Magdalena Bay along the shore to Cape St. Lucas and
around to La Paz. At San José del Cabo, it began to bloom in
August, but although the numerous bushes were continually and
carefully examined only staminate flowers could be found during
September and October. Finally early in November pistillate flow-
ers were found at La Paz. The bright scarlet fruit is rather hand-
some and when ripe the whole bush somewhat resembles a thorny
Lycium, but children easily distinguish them and avold the bitter
_ tasting fruit of Castela and eat the berries of Lycium.

CYRTOCARPA PROCERA is described in Engler’s Anacardiacee as
a very large tree growing in the warm regions of Southern Mexico.
The tree referred to this species in the Flora of the Cape Region is
much smaller, but otherwise seems to be the same. Since the notes
concerning it have been printed, flowering specimens have been re-
ceived from the Cape Region and the flowers agree with those of
Cyrtocarpa. Possibly comparison with specimens of Cyrtocarpa
from Southern Mexico might prove it to be a distinct species. The
ripe fruit is usually very pleasant to the taste, although on some
trees it is always bitter ; the difference in taste is caused by some in-

dividual peculiarity and such peculiarities are not uncommon

amongst wild fruits of various genera. On a hot afternoon, far
from water, it is always delightful to find the shade of one of these

148 Plants of Baja California. [ ZOE.

trees and eat the juicy, ripe fruit with which the ground under
them, in. September, is in most cases plentifully sprinkled.

FRANSERIA is a genus composed mostly of low shrubs or herba-
ceous plants, sometimes prostrate, like those which help to stay the
sands of our dunes, and to find a species becoming tree-like, was
quite unexpected. Between Triumfo and La Paz, one of the species:
grows so tall, that it was with difficulty I could secure specimens
from the lowest branches, although I was on horseback. The small
trees are fifteen or more feet high with ascending branches, and
probably belong to F. flexuosa. The same plant was seen north of
Comondu growing four or five feet tall, in large clumps.

Ipom#a is exceedingly well represented in the southern part of
the Peninsula; there are red, scarlet, purple and white ones, but the
large yellow flowers of Z aurea are the handsomest of all. Its
woody stems climb over the bushes and hedges, blooming profusely,
and the flowers remain open most of the day in the bright sunlight.
I. bracteata bears small flowers, and the plant is more conspicuous
when the large bracts become red, as they do on the Sierra de la
Laguna, after their flowers have fallen. The well known cypress:
vine (Z Quamoclit) is common, and it is pleasing to see this com-
mon garden flower growing wild. For producing quantity of color,.
Jacquemontia abutiloides far excels any of its near relatives, the
Ipomeas. It is usually low but sometimes spreads out over bushes:
a length of ten feet, and when in full bloom seems to bear more
flowers than leaves; it is then a mass of blue.

MIRABILIS TRIFLORA is nota common plant and is one that could:
not be overlooked. I saw it in but two localities, once in a deep
cafion on the Sierra de la Laguna and once on a steep bank by the
.side of a road near the mines of Triumfo. The plant repeatedly
branches, has weak stems, and grows into a large, prostrate, en-
tangled mass. It bears numberless bright scarlet flowers and becomes:
a blaze of color, and would be an ornament to any garden. A Mi-
rabilis from the high mountains is also a handsome species but can
not compare in beauty with JZ #iflora. This mountain ‘‘ four-
o’-clock ” grows erect two or three feet high, has large leaves and
nearly white blossoms that are two or three inches long with exserted
stamens twice that length. It loves a rocky habitat.

TECOMA STANS grows in the Comondu region only in gardens"
where it has been planted, but in the Cape Region it is abundant in

VOL. II.] Plants of Baja California. 149

all cafions along the base of the mountains and its large yellow flowers
are very handsome and conspicuous.

BELOPERONE CALIFORNICA and &. Hians as well as /usticia
Palmeri \ook very much alike in the field, and it requires some
botanical skill to collect them intelligently. Their red blossoms
are seen in most localities south of Magdalena Bay.

HIMANTOSTEMMA PRINGLEI is fond of the sandy soil near the

ocean at the Cape, and grows in great abundance amongst the
dwarfed bushes. At this place it is associated with some plants that
re known from no other locality and some that, although they have
an extensive distribution, were seen in the Cape Region only close
to the ocean. Huphorbia leucophylla, the handsomest of the pros-
trate ‘“‘golondrinas,” grows in clean sand between the bushes and
high tide line, and so does also the showy Aplopappus arenarius,
‘Sczevola, Martynia and others. Phaulothamnus is one of the dwarfed
bushes, that in the south seems to grow only on wind swept shores.

JATROPHA CANESCENS is known by the name “lomboi.” Some-
times the leaves are glabrous. It is one of the most common bushes
-of the southern region and large specimens reach a height of ten or
twelve feet. The flowers are either ochroleucous or dull red in color.
Its presence is soon missed when one begins to ascend the high
mountains; it is then replaced by another species, / cordata, ot
‘similar habit, but having sticky leaves, that glisten in the sunlight as
if varnished.

Ficus PALMER! is found from San Ignacio to the Cape, especially
among rocks and upon the face of cliffs. The trunk is very white,
and on the perpendicular rocks flattens out at the base and assumes
various fantastic forms, some of them even when the trees are small,
becoming four feet wide while only two or three inches thick, and
finally branching out in all directions seeking crevices for a foothold.
In good soil, in the bottom of cafions or about springs, it is a fine,
well-shaped, large tree and affords an agreeable shade from the hot
‘sun. The small figs are edible, but I think no one eats many of
them, and certainly would not eat any without a good appetite. The
trunk never grows tall enough to be made into boats or canoes and
all the “ dug outs’’ so common about Magdalena Bay, San Jose and
La Paz are fashioned from the fig trees of Mazatlan on the main-
land. When the small figs are ripe the tree is full of animal life ;

- numerous insects are buzzing around, attracted by the sweet exuda-

150 Plants of Baja Caltfornia. [ZOE

tions of the fruit, and humming-birds are continually flying through
the branches. Sometimes in cafions this fig bears numerous aerial
rootlets, but generally the trunk is smooth and light-colored. Along
trails and thoroughfares the trunks are marked with crosses, intitials,
etc., following a custom too common for the beauty of our madrofios,
alders, etc., in Alta California.

EUPHORBIA MAGDALEN& is not the only species which has its
involucres distorted into galls, though they appear to have been
seldom noticed. They occur in nearly the same form in plants from |
Todos Santos, referred by C. F. Millspaugh to. &. versicolor, and in
two other species from the Cape; in these latter, however, the galls
are oblong or ovoid and sometimes of considerable size.

ZEPHYRANTHES ARENICOLA is common on the mainland opposite
Santa Margarita Island, and grows much larger than the cultivated
specimen from which the description was drawn. A yellow flowered
species also grows with it, and both render the barren sandy soil
they inhabit more attractive.

BEHRIA TENUIFLORA isa liliaceous plant resembling very much in
general appearance the ‘‘fire cracker’’ ( Brevoortia coccinea) of our
northern coast counties. Its scarlet flowers can be found from Todos
Santos and San José to the top of the mountains, and are well worthy
of introduction into our gardens.

PHCENIX DACTYLIFERA, the date palm, is planted in damp alka-
line soil and does well. Whether it grows better in such situations.
or is planted there because the soil will grow no other useful plant, I
do not know, but it certainly thrives and bears quantities of fruit.

WASHINGTONIA SONOR# is a common palm about San José and
other settlements. The large leaves are used for roofing the houses. —
of the poorer classes and then afford a lodging place for snakes,
lizards and mice. On the eastern slopes of the high mountains both
Washingtoniaand Erythea are abundant along the streams, growing ~
to be forty or fifty feet in height. On the western slope, I saw very
ade but at Todos Santos and other places Washingtonia is cultiva-
ted.

The Cape Region, although the number of its ferns is small,
produces more than would be expected. Cheilanthes Pringlet
comes down nearer to the Cape than any of them, and can be found
on shaded banks within two miles of San José del Cabo. The
presence of Gymnogramme trifoliata about the gardens of Todos.

VOL. 11. ] Plants of Baa California. 151

Santos and its absence from those of San José and other places,
creates a suspicion that it may be an introduced species. The
Notholene are of course handsome ferns, but the most graceful of
all is Adiantum concinnum, which grows with its long fronds pendent
from rocks and overhanging the streams of the Sierra de la Laguna.
The inhabitants of the Cape Region are dependent on the vegeta-
tion in many ways and the native plants are put to all possible uses.
Very many of them are credited with medicinal properties and every
disease is treated by some plant which is supposed to at least allevi-
ate the sufferings of the person affected. Bark of the different
“ copal’’ trees tan the hides ; small sticks cut from bushes are tied
together with rawhide into crates for holding ‘‘pinoche’’ and even
complete dwellings are constructed wholly from native bushes. Va-
rious wild fruits, such as Solanum nigrum, Malphigia, Vallesia, etc.,
not as desirable as those of Cactacee and Cyrtocarpa (ciruela) are often
eaten. The intimate association of the vegetation with their existence
has broughta certain knowledge of the plants to the people, greater
than is usually found in more civilized communities. Nearly all the
plants have local names, sometimes of Indian origin, often undoubt-
edly very old and many times evidently applied at a more recent date.
The old women are the best authorities in native nomenclature,
probably on account of their habit of collecting and preparing the
medicines for family use. In common with many people holding
much higher rank they do not like to admit ignorance and when-
ever a plant is shown to them are sure to name it something, and
although nearly all the plants really do possess distinct names, some
of these names include several species and genera. Such a one is
‘yerba del venado’’ (deer brush), which is applied to Porophyllum
and is sometimes used in the same sense that “ grease wood’? is
in Alta California,—that is fora mixture of small bushes of many
sorts. Pega-pega is usually applied to the different members of the
Loasa family but may mean any plant whose leaves and twigs stick
to the clothing in the same way. Plumieria is known as * Caca-
loxochitl,” a corruption of an old Aztec word and the same term is
applied to this showy bush or tree in Central America. Many
~ names of Lower Californian plants are given to species and genera
very different from those having the same name on the mainland of
Mexico.

152 Tiger Beetles of California. [ZOE

All species of the prostrate Euphorbias are known as “ golon-
drina’’ and are all supposed to be specifics for snake bites.

The shape of the leaves suggests undoubtedly the names of many
plants ; for instance some small abutilons with heart-shaped leaves
are called ‘‘ corazon de Jesus’’ and a leguminous plant having sim-
ilar shaped leaves is ‘‘corazon de Maria” (heart of Mary); ‘“ ufia
de gato” (cat’s claw) belongs to several species of different genera
of Leguminose and ‘‘ ufia de gavilan’’ (hawk’s claw) is a name for
Panicum crus-galli. Some have received names in honor of the
saints, as ‘‘palo de San Juan” (St. John’s tree); ‘‘ flor de San
Miguel’’ (St. Michael’s flower); “ palo verde” (green tree) is the
name of a tree with green bark (Parkinsonia); ‘‘ palo amarillo’”’
(yellow tree) is the name of the yellow-wooded Esenbeckia. Some
trees and plants are known by names that seem to be wholly inap-
propriate; why Cassia occidentalis is called ‘‘ palo de zorillo”” (skunk
tree) when it possesses nothing to suggest such a name, I have never
been able to discover and the origin of the name “‘palo de Adam”’
(the tree of Adam), a name for Fouguieria, seems equally vague
unless its habit of clothing itself with leaves after every rainfall may
suggest it.

THE TIGER BEETLES OF CALIFORNIA.
BY GEORGE W. DUNN.

The ocean beach is a favorite place for a collector of coleopterous
insects; the shallow pools sheltered from the high winds, the sloping ©
banks left moist from the receding tide, the numerous sand dunes
piled up by constant winds along the shore, are always rich in
animal life.

Among the many forms found, especially in such localities, there
are none more conspicuous than the species belonging to the genus
Cicindela, popularly called the tiger beetle, perhaps because they
bear, with their large heads, prominent eyes, scissor-like jaws, their
light bodies of elegant form and brilliant color, their quick move-
ments and ferocious habits, the same relation to other insects, that
the tiger does to other mammals. They may be seen on any bright
sunny day, running rapidly along on the damp or sandy ground,
seeking small insects, which they readily capture and devour; in
damp, or cloudy weather, they will be sought in vain. They fly a

VOL. I. ] Tiger Beetles of California. 153

short distance upon the least sign of danger, always alighting with
their heads toward any approaching object. They are rather dif-
ficult of capture, and a net is necessary in collecting them. Ex-
perience has taught me that it is much easier to get them, if the
collector goes down upon his knees. They seem to have less fear
of him in that position.

As soon as they find themselves in the net they seize hold of it
with their sharp mandibles, and cling with such force that these or-
gans are often broken in loosening them. Before I learned better I
several times lost valuable insects by dropping a tiger beetle into
the bottle occupied by them. The fumes of cyanide act more slowly
than their ferocious jaws.

The larva of the tiger beetle is a curious object. It is a white
erub with a grotesque protuberance on its back, a large shining
head with long black jaws, and occupies nearly perpendicular holes
in the ground, of no great depth, and entirely free from waste dirt,
such as is found about the dwelling places of ants and worms.
Within its hole it waits, with head just even with the surface, till
there comes within reach some unsuspecting insect, which it quickly
seizes and drops to the bottom to devour. 7

The following species are found in California, though probably
few are peculiar to the State. The time of appedrance is approx-
imately indicated, but is, of course, affected by early or late seasons:

1. CICINDELA LONGILABRIS var. PERVIRIDIS Schaupp.—North-
ern California. June—September.

2. CICINDELA PURPUREA var. GRAMINEA Schaupp.—Siskiyou
County, in grass. June—September.

3. CICINDELA PURPUREA var. DECEM-NOTATA Say.—Northern
part of California, along dry roads. June—September.

4. CICINDELA LATESIGNATA Lec.—San Diego on the sea-
beach feeding on small crustacea. The whole year.

5. CICINDELA LATESIGNATA var. With, and confluent with

the type.
6. CICINDELA FULGIDA Say.—On banks of rivers amongst the

grass. June—September.
: 7. CICINDELA SENILIS Horn. — About San Diego in damp
places away from the seashore. May—September.

8, CICINDELA VULGARIS Say. — San Luis Rey about fresh

154 Tiger Beetles of California.

water, and almost everywhere in the United States. Nearly all the
year.

9. CICINDELA VULGARIS var. vIBEX Horn.—San Bernardino,
in damp soil and on the plain. May—September.

10. CICINDELA VULGARIS var. OBLIQUATA.— San Luis Rey
with the type. All the year.

11. CICINDELA HIRTICOLLIS Say.—Sand dunes about San
Francisco, and in damp places. Widely distributed. May—Octo-
ber.

12, CICINDELA CINCTIPENNIS Lec.—Interior of the northern
part of the State, June—September.

13. CICINDELA CINCTIPENNIS var. IMPERFECTA Lec.—North-
ern part of the State and particularly abundant at the Dalles,
Oregon. June.

14. CICINDELA SIGMOIDEA Lec. — Sea-beach at San Diego.
May.

15. CICINDELA GABBII Horn.—Wilmington and San Diego, on
the mud of the salt marshes. August—September.

16. CICINDELA H&MORRHAGICA Lec.—San Diego and San
Bernardino along freshwater streams. May. Alameda Salt Marsh.
August.

17. CICINDELA HAMORRHAGICA var. PACIFICA Schaupp.—San
Bernardino with the type.

18. CICINDELA REPANDA var. GUTTIFERA Lec.— San Ber-
nardino and Julian—at the latter place not appearing before October. -

19. CICINDELA REPANDA var. OREGONA Lec.—About Lake
Merced and at Alameda. May—October.

20, CICINDELA REPANDA var. DUODECIM-GUTTATA Dej.—Gen- -
erally distributed. Sand dunes at San Diego, and found at the
Market Street cut, San F rancisco. May—October.

21. CICINDELA SomMERI* Mann.—San Diego. June.

*On a recent trip to Hermosillo, Mexico, I found at that place in wet sand along
small streams Cicindela flavoguttata and the beautiful Cicindela Sommeri in abun-
dance. At Benson, Arizona, I found Cicindela tenuisignata Lec. C. lemniscata
and C. flavoguttata on damp banks along the San Pedro River, where I had not
before found them. The river had recently overflowed its banks, and seemed to
have washed everything away, and I found no water beetles where I expected
them in abundance, but only Cicindelas, which probably had been brought by ‘the
high water from some distance up the river.

THE FLORA OF YO SEMITE.
BY KATHERINE BRANDEGEE.

Several members of the California Botanical Club have this year
made large and important collections in and about Yo Semite, and
these collections having been submitted to me form, with copious
notes from Mr. J. M. Hutchings, the well-known pioneer of the val-
ley, the basis of the following notes upon some of the more import-
ant plants of the region. The collection made by Mrs. Willie C. Dodd
was much the larger. Those of Miss Ernestine Arnold and Mr.
Hutchings while of less extent contained many interesting plants.*
Neither of them is strictly confined to the valley proper but in-
cludes the surrounding heights, and the region extending from
Wawona on the south to Cloud’s Rest on the north.

TREES AND SHRUBS.

The trees and shrubs of the region are quite diverse as might be
expected from the great differences in altitude, the floor of the val-
ley being only about 4,000 feet, while its precipitous walls are 7,000
to 8,000, and Cloud’s Rest, only a short distance above the valley,
is 11,000 feet.

The California lilacs while not so abundant as in the coast moun-
tains are fairly well represented. Ceanothus integerrimus, with its
feathery, usually white, but sometimes blue plumes, grows at the
_ lower elevations as does the closely related C. parvifolius; C. decum-
_ bens, slender and trailing with small heads of pale blue flowers, and
C. prostratus covering its ‘‘squaw mats’’ with a profusion of pur-
ple flowers, are found at higher altitudes, as is also the ‘‘snow
bush’? (C. cordulatus), which is white-flowered, glaucous, “ low,

- flat-topped, and much spreading.” Of this bush, which on the
high slopes grows two to four feet high often in extensive semi-
_ thorny thickets, not dense enough to walk upon and both too dense
and too low to get through, the exploring botanist is likely to have
~ lively recollections. It forms one of the most exasperating kinds of
_“‘chapparal’’ known to Californians.
© cuneatus, one of the common chapparals of the western part of

"I have not been able for lack of time to examine the collection of Miss: Emily
_ Edmunds.

156 Flora of Yo Semite. [ ZOE

of the State, bearing a profusion of white, overpoweringly fragrant
flowers early in spring, grows along the north side of Indian Valley —
near the trail to Indian Cafion. This is about the limit of altitude to
which the species attains in the central Sierra Nevada.

Rhamnus Californica, which has been reduced for what seems to
be good and sufficient reasons to R. Purshiana, is abundant in the
valley and usually known as “‘ coffee berry’’—much more commonly
so than as “cascara sagrada.’’ The other species found in the re-
gion, &. crocea, has very heavy close-grained wood; the bright red
berries are said in the Botany of California to tinge the veins of the
Indians red—the Indians of the valley are now so few and so much
addicted to a more civilized diet that it is to be feared visitors will
be unable to verify the statement.

Thelarge-leaved maple ( Acer macrophyllum ) which belongs to the
coast as well as to the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada, is
found in the valley and on the talus two thousand feet above its
floor.

The bush maple (Acer glabrum ) grows on the slopes of the Yo
Semite walls in various places, especially near the trail to the Nevada
Fall. Its beauty is much enhanced by a bright red fungus-like
growth (Erineum rubescens Hark.) which often nearly covers the
upper surface of the leaves.

The “‘ poison oak’’ (Rhus diversiloba ) is not found in the valley.
It cannot be expected above four thousand feet and is rare above
three thousand. Mr. Hutchings reports that there was formerly a
single clump peering into the valley from below, but he extermi-
nated it root and branch.

Chamebatia foliolosa grows so abundantly on the way to the val-
ley as to attract attention. Though usually much Jower it some-
times attains a height of two feet, and away from the road is often,
with its strawberry-like blossoms and broad minutely dissected
leaves, a very beautiful plant. Its resinous exudation is, however,

not very agreeable to the smell and is apt to retain all the dust
which comes in contact with it. The nut-like fruit is said to have —
an agreeable flavor, but it is scarcely as large as a pea. Various
not very flattering names have been applied to it by dwellers in the
mountains. It is often called « tarweed,”’ and in Amador county I
have heard it called “ mountain misery.” Along the line of the —
railroad in Placer county it is often called ‘bear clover,’’ perhaps

VOL. II. | Flora of Yo Semite. 157

_ in accordance with our felicitous custom of giving names, because
it bears not the least resemblance to clover, and the bear will have
nothing to do with it.

The mountain ash ( Pyrus sambucifolia) is not very common but
may be found up the Tenieya creek. Its bunches of berries are
larger and brighter in color than those of our “ Christmas berry”
( Heteromeles arbutifolia) so commonly used to brighten the ever-
greens in decorating rooms at the winter holidays.

The wild plum (Prunus subcordata) grows about the valley in
small and scraggy form. It is much infested by a well-known fungus
which blasts the fair promise of its flowers by turning its fruit into
‘plum pockets.”’

The “choke cherry’’ (Prunus demissa) is usually found about
the banks of the streams, its stems and branches distorted and un-
sightly from the ravages of the “ black knot,’’? which in California
seems to be confined to this species as it has not yet been reported
from either of the remaining wild species, nor from cultivated ones.

Prunus emarginata, the bitter cherry of the higher elevations,
seems to be entirely free from pests. Its small red fruit is intensely
bitter.

The “ mountain mahogany ” ( Cercocarpus parvifolius) grows on
all the roads and trails about, but not in the valley. When in fruit
its feathery whitish ‘‘ tails’? make a handsome appearance against
the background of foliage.

The only rose of the valley is our familiar Rosa Californica.

The large-flowered raspberry (Rubus Nutkanus ) is abundant
about wet places in the cafions.

Spirea Douglasii is abundant about the foot of the lower Yo
Semite fall.

The western spice-bush ( Calycanthus occidentalis ) abounds on the
way to the Cascades just below the valley.

Of the wild currants two species belong to the region, Ribes
sanguineum to lower elevations and Ribes viscosissimum to the
higher and particularly abundant between Grizzly Peak and Senti-
nel Dome.

_ Thesilk-tassel tree (Garrva Fremontiz) is found occasionally at low
elevations. The roots left in the ground become marbled with
green and are used in inlaying woodwork.

The flowering dogwood ( Cornus Nuttallii) with involucres of

158 Flora of Yo Semite. [ZOE

shining white five inches in diameter followed by dense heads of
scarlet fruit is a conspicuous object in the lower mountain cafions,
and the less conspicuous C. pudescens abounds along Yo Semite
Creek and below.

The twin-berry ( Lonicera involucrata ) and the dwart twin-berry
(L. conjugialis) are both to be found near the upper spring on the
new trail to Cloud’s Rest—the latter also at Glacier Point on the
way to Sentinel Dome.

The snowberry ( Symphoricarpus racemosus) and the two species

of mountain elder Sambucus &lauca (of which the cooked fruit is
delicious) at lower, and .S. melanocarpa with peculiarly stinking foli-
age, at higher elevations, are frequently seen.

The heath family furnishes a considerable part of the scrubby
contingent of the valley and much of its beauty. Some of them, as
Kalmia glauca about Cloud’s Rest and Cassiope Mertensiana, are
very small shrubs indeed, only a few inches in height, and Vaccinium
occidentale in wet meadows above Indian Cafion bears its abundance
of blue agreeably acid berries at no great height.

The mountain heath ( Bryanthus Breweri) lifts its rosy blooms
about the meadows of Cloud’s Rest. It is well worthy of cultiva-
tion but our species of the heath family are many of them notori-
ously impatient of culture.

The western azalea (Rhododendron occidentale ) is abundant and
as fragrant though not so tall as in the ravines of the coast range.

Ledum glandulosum grows in the higher meadows above the
valley. It is dreaded by the sheep men who say that it poisons —
their flocks. If such is the case it might be well for the Park Com-
missioners to spread it more generally about the meadows as one
means of keeping the lawless and rapacious crew in bounds.

Yerba santa ( Eriodictyon glutinosum ) is found below the valley
and at Indian Cafion and other places within it. It hardly reaches ©
a higher altitude than the floor of the valley.

Nama Lobbii is found at various places on the higher points.

Dutchman’s-pipe (Aristolochia Californica) grows near Tissaack
bridge. The flowers are seldom collected because they appear be-
fore the leaves and are nearly the color of and half hidden by the ©
stems of the bushes around which the vine twines itself. The large —
pendent fruit are, however, sufficiently conspicuous objects and so are ~

the black, marked with red, caterpillars of Papilio Philenor whichin

VOL. I1.] Flora of Yo Semite. 159

California feed only on this plant—though I have somewhere gath-
ered an unverified idea that they have been induced, perhaps starved
into, eating Thalictrum.

The laurel or bay-tree ( Umbellularia Californica ) abounds in the
cafions usually in the form of bushes, though one tree of consider-
able size may be seen near the foot of the lower Yo Semite Fall.
It, however, never reaches in the Sierra Nevada such dimensions as
we find in the Coast Range.

Myrica Hartwegi, a rather rare wax-myrtle, though not found in
the valley grows on the Merced below it.

The green alder ( A/nus viridis) is extremely common as a shrub,
about the borders of wet meadows both in the valley and on the
heights.

The hazel ( Corylus rostrata) and the chinquapin ( Castanopsis
chrysophylla) abound as they do on our Tamalpais.

The oaks of Yo Semite number three or four species. The de-
ciduous one is Quercus Kelloggii—a black oak; the evergreen is
QO. chrysolepis, both abundant in the valley about its margin and on
the lower declivities. The variety vaccintfolia of the latter species
reaches eight or nine thousand feet, gradually losing as it ascends
the golden pubescence of the lower surface of its leaves. At the
higher altitudes it is from two to five feet high and looks very un-
like the type. Two other scrub oaks, QO. Brewer and Q. dumosa,
are reported from the region but specimens are wanting.

Of the poplars, Populus trichocarpa, known locally as ‘‘ Balm of
Gilead,” is common in the valley; a second species P. tremuloides,
‘quaking aspen,’’ grows on the heights. The seeds sometimes
come down with floods and establish themselves in the valley, but
they finally die out.

_ The willows of the region are not very well known. They are
mostly past flowering when botanists reach the valley and require
special care in collecting as the male and female flowers scare
before the leaves) are on different trees.

_ The conifers of the valley are those common to corresponding
elevations nearly everywhere in the central Sierra Nevada.

Sequoia gigantea makes its nearest approach to the valley in the

_ Tuolumne Grove seventeen miles away.

The white cedar Libocedrus decurrens abounds on the floor of the
valley.

160 Flora of Yo Semite. [ ZOE

Of the three firs Adzes concolor grows on the steep walls and at
their summits. 4. moéz/zs, although not frequent occurs in some
places, as near the foot of Yo Semite fall. 4. magnifica is found along
the whole line of the south side of the valley and in great abundance
“near Glacier Point.

The Douglas spruce ( Pseudotsuga Douglasii) is very abundant
and the most valuable timber of the valley for bridging and similar
purposes, being tough and strong.

The graceful Zsuga Pattoniana hardly comes lower than eight
thousand five hundred feet. It is found on benches and mountain
sides at Cathedral Peak.

The yew ( 7axus brevifolia) grows near the water in the cafion of
the Merced.

The ‘‘nutmeg-tree’’ ( Zorreya Californica) grows also in the
cafion of the Merced but farther from the water. Neither this tree
nor the last quite reaches the valley.

Juniperus occidentalis grows more and more stunted and short-
ened from the high summits of the walls nearly to the limit of vege-
tation. There are two trees on the Cap of Liberty which are ten
feet in diameter.

The sugar pine (Pinus Lambertiana) and the yellow pine (P.
ponderosa) are abundant in the valley.

Pinus monticola grows nearly everywhere on the heights—Sen-
tinel Dome, Cloud’s Rest, etc.

Pinus Jeffreyt grows about the summits of the walls, and so also
does the “ tamarack” ( Pinus contorta) which is most usually found
near water-courses or the borders of wet meadows. The common
name of /. contorta is like too many others very misleading, as the
tree is very different from the Eastern one called by the same name.

ANNUALS AND HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS.

Of these there are of course a very much greater number than of
the trees and shrubs, so that anything like a complete list cannot be
given in the limits of the present paper.

Ranunculus hystriculus Gray. This white-flowered Ranunculus
is seldom collected but it has been brought from the crevices of wet
rocks about Mirror Lake and in similar places at Vernal Fall and
Yo Semite Fall.

The “marsh marigold’’ (Caltha biflora) is abundant in the’
marshy meadows on the trail to the summit of Cloud’s Rest.

VOL. I. | Flora of Yo Semtte. 161

The columbine ( Aguzlegia truncata) is nearly as common as in
our coast region, the flowers rather larger. The meadow rue ( 7ha/-
ictrum polycarpum ) is the same as the one found about San Fran-
cisco, but the monk’s hood (Aconitum Columbianum) does not in
our latitude approach the coast.

The yellow water-lily ( Nuphar polysepalum ) is found in Hutchings
Meadow, Eagle Meadow, etc.

Dicentra formosa, DC., which is also found in the immediate
vicinity of San Francisco, makes a much better showing than with
us. D. uniflora Kell. the second species of Yo Semite is peculiar
to mountainous regions.

Among the cruciferee Avabis repanda with its rather broad falcate
pods; Streptanthus tortuosus Kell. with rounded clasping leaves and
purplish flowers; Chetranthus asper Ch. & Sch. with its showy head
of deep yellow or orange, sweet-scented flowers, and the delicate
“‘lace-pod’’ Thysanocarpus curvipes are found in all collections.

The violets are Viola blanda, V. canina var. oxyceras, V. nuttallit,
V. glabella and V. lobata. ;

Of the Caryophyllaceze Szlene antirrhina, S. Californica, 5S.
Bridgesit and S. Douglasti; Stellaria nitens, S. longipes, and SS.
Jamesti; Arenaria congesta, and A. pungens are all that are con-
tained in the collections.

The widely distributed C/ayionia perfoliata is usually found in
smaller forms with the cauline leaves not so completely united as in
the coast form. C. exigua forms low and dense glaucous tufts with
linear leaves, C. Chamissonis and C. parvifolia occur in wet places,
often clinging to the crevices of dripping rocks about the falls. C.
triphylla is found usually at considerable altitudes above the valley.

Spraguea umbellata known as “ pussy paws’’ is abundant on the
floor of the valley towards the lower end. Its flowers, which vary
from nearly white to deep pink, are showy and handsome, and as it~
_ loves the sand, its deep biennial root might be a somewhat useful,
and its flowers most surely a welcome addition to the flora of our
dunes.

Linum micranthum and the rare L. digynum are the species of our
native flaxes found near Yo Semite.

Geranium incisum is found in all collections.

The Lupines of the region are not many but among them is found
the handsomest of all the species, which was named Lupinus Stivert,

162 Flora of Yo Semite. [ ZOE

a misprint for S/verszi, by Dr. Kellogg in honor of Dr. Stivers of this
city. It is an annual with yellow standard and rose-colored wings.

Hosackia crassifolia grows to a very large size about the borders
of meadows—especially so near Mr. Hutchings’ cabin, and H.
Torreyt with its yellow and white flowers is not uncommon.

Astragalus is notably absent from the region, but its space is well
supplied by species of Lathyrus and Vicia.

lvesia santalinoides grows on Sentinel Dome and other high
points about the valley.

Potentilla gracilis is common about the valley meadows.

Potentilla tridenta is found in dry places about the walls and
summits.

Bolandra Californica, a small saxifragaceous plant named in
honor of Henry N. Bolander, abounds in some localities at middle

elevations, notably about the Nevada Fall.
_ Heuchera rubescens is found in similar localities, as also the deli-
cate Mitella Breweri, and several small species of saxifrage.

The “umbrella plant,” Saxifraga Peltata, is found in the borders
of Cascade Creek and other streams flowing into the Merced.

Among the fleshy rock-plants Sedum spathulifolium, S. obtusa-
‘um and the purple S. Rhodiola are the: most prominent. The last
is found about Clouds Rest.

The evening primrose ( Ginothera biennis ) is frequent in the
meadows about the valley.

Godetia purpurea, a near relative, grows all about the valley in
dry places.

Clarkia rhomboidea is often mét with about the valley and the
diffuse and slender Gayophytum ramosissimum is common on the
declivities.

The very showy willow-herb (Epilobium angustifolium), also
known as “fire-weed ’’ on account of its predilection for burns, grows
near the borders of streams.

Zauschneria Californica, sometimes called the ‘‘ California fuch- —

sia,’’ makes spots of brilliant red at the foot of the upper Yo Semite
Fall.

Ltucharidium concinnum, the most beautiful onagraceous plant
in California, displays its deeply lobed, rose-colored flowers on the
way to the Cascades. .

The enchanter’s nightshade ( Circea Pacifica ), with its inconspicu-

Ae

VOL. I. ] Flora of Yo Semite. 163

ous flowers and small bur-like capsules, occurs in deeply shaded
places at the upper end of the valley.

Among the conspicuous umbelliferous plants of the region are
Angelica Breweri, Peucedanum utriculatum and Selinum capitella-
tum, the latter with its ball-like secondary umbels, near the river
borders. The Umbelliferee of the region are seldom collected in a
sufficiently mature state.

Valeriana capitata may be found at various places, notably above
Glacier Point, on the heights above the valley.

The Composite form, as.everywhere with us, a considerable pro-
portion of the flowering plants. The silvery Antennarias, 4. ar-
geniea and A. luzulotides, spread their tufts over rocky and barren
spots on the declivities. Evriophyllum confertiflorum, common on
our coast, has in the valley a variety—s7ifidum—which brightens
many a gravelly slope with a blaze of gold. £. nudbigenum, first
described from plants collected on the slope of Clouds Rest, was
brought this year by Mrs. Dodd from the Little Yo Semite. Ar-
nica mollis, with its rather large, rayless and nodding heads, is
common in niches about the cliffs.

The purple-flowered Lessingia lepioclada is abundant at the lower
end of the valley. The showy Madza elegans, either with or with-
out a brown eye, brightens the early morning with its showy flow-
ers. MM. Yosemitana, which bears a considerable resemblance to
the much more abundant Hemizonia Durandi, may be found some
distance above the Nevada Fall on the way to Clouds Rest. Che-
nactis Douglasti, with its dissected leaves and brush-like head of
flesh-colored flowers, is particularly abundant towards the lower
end of the valley. //udsea heterochroma, tall and branching, with
large heads of yellow and purple, grows a short distance up the

valley walls at Indian Cafion and several other places.

One of the species of ‘‘sneeze-weed,’’ Helenium Bigelovit,

_ grows in wet places about the valley. Various forms of Senecio
aureus are found about the heights. .S. dwgens grows on the de-
clivities and .S. ¢riangu/aris in wet places, both in the valley and on
the heights. Phalacroseris Bolanderi, described from this region,
grows in wet meadows near Sentinel Dome; 770x7mon Nuttallit and
_ Microceris nutans are found at moderate elevations about the valley,
and Hieracium Breweri, with its long-hairy leaves and yellow flow-

ers, inhabits little clefts in the valley walls.

164 Flora of Yo Semite. [ ZOE:

The asters, erigerons and golden rods scarcely occur in the various
collections, on account of the early dates at which they were made.

Of the non-shrubby Ericacez, the white Pleuricospora fimbrio-
- data is found at Wawona; “ pine-drops’’ (Prerospora andromedea)
and the snow-plant (.Sarcodes sanguinea) at many localities on the
heights. That this latter plant is not parasitic in the manner of the
Aphyllons, which are attached to slender rootlets of the host, or of
Boschniakia, springing directly from tuber-like swellings on roots of
Manzanita, any one may satisfy himself by careful digging. The
plant ends in a coralloid mass, very much as do the Corallorhizas,
and though a recent ingenious attempt has been made to explain
their growth by means of a contributory mycelium, we fear the au-
thor would be puzzled to find the “fungoid odor’’ of which he
speaks on a fresh-dug specimen. The snow-plant is quite as hand-
some an object when its flowers are dead and dried as in June and
July, the season of bloom. In an old and vigorous plant there .
may be found in autumn, well below the surface, surmounting the
coralloid mass of roots, from one to six cones 2-3 inches in dia-
meter and of the same bright color as the plant appears above
ground. These condensed spikes are the shoots of the next year,
and within them fully formed their flowers may seen, on making
section. The plant, which is evidently a perennial of long life, bears.
besides these large buds of the ensuing year any number of smaller
ones decreasing in size until barely visible.

The shooting-star (Dodecatheon Meadia) grows in its most ro-
bust form (var. /afrayi) in Hutchings Meadow. Specimens from
this locality have scapes two feet long and leaves often fully eight-
een inches. The capsule opens not through the base of the style,
but by incomplete circumscission, the style usually remaining at-
tached to one of the teeth.

The Sierra primrose (Primula suffrutescens) grows near Echo —
Lake and in certain localities near the South Dome. Its shining
tufted leaves and heads of beautiful flowers inspire the wish to
transplant it to a less inaccessible home, but as it grows often with

the dwarf but large-flowered Lpilobium obcordatum, in the very =

margins of perpetual snow, its acclimatization is a matter of serious.
doubt. The flowers are usually pink or rose-colored, but Mr. C.
F. Sonne, of Truckee, has collected a form with pure white flowers.

Indian hemp ( Apocynum cannabinum ) is found in the valley, but

VOL; ts |< Flora of Yo Semite. 165

is not nearly so abundant as its dwarf congener A. androsemifolium
of the valley borders and walls.

Of the milkweeds, Asclepias speciosa and Gomphocarpus cordi-
folius are abundant, especially the latter.

The most beautiful of our species of Canchalagua, Lrythrea
_ venusta, has been brought from the lower end of the valley.

Two blue gentians, Gentiana Newberryi and G. calycosa, are
found in high meadows—the latter especially, near the Anderson
trail to the South Dome.

The spreading Polemonium (P. humile) grows about the heights
on shady and moist hillsides, the more showy P. ceruleum is less
frequent.

Phlox Douglasii abounds in tufts of white, lavender and various
Shades of pink, on nearly all the heights, particularly about Sentinel
- Dome.

Gilia abounds in and about the valley, as nearly everywhere in
‘California. The yellow-flowered G. grandiflora grows at the lower
end of the valley. G. tenella, G. ciliata and G. heterophylla, are
‘common. The diffuse and slender G. capil/aris grows near the
upper end of Indian Cafion and G. aggregata and G. pungens, the
latter of as many hues as Phlox Douglasii, are found on the heights.
_ Draperia systyla grows at moderate elevations on the walls of the
lower end of the valley ; yerba santa (Zriodictyon glutinosum) at
lower elevations, and Mama Lodéii on the heights. The low Hes-
‘perochiron Californicus grows above Glacier Point. Phacelia nam-
atoides grows near the summit at the lower end of the valley. P.
hydrophylloides about the heights and Nemophila parviflora is com-
mon in the valley.

Mertensia Sibrica grows on the heights and Echinospermum
diffusum and Plagiobothrys Torreyz, which stains a bright blue, are
frequent.

The paint-brush ( Castlleia linariefolia) grows in red-tipped
clumps about the heights ; Cod/ins¢a Torreyz is found on the higher
slopes at the foot of the valley, and the pale C. ¢zctoria frequents
shady banks.

Mimulus luteus is found about the borders of springs and small
streams; JZ, primuloides sends its slender scape-like stems from the
‘borders of the damp meadows ; JZ. Fremonti and M. Torrey? grow
on rocky slopes near the foot of the valley ; JZ Lewisiz, from the

166 Flora of Yo Semite. [ZOE

grass borders, reflects its pink blossoms in the cold clear rivulets of
the heights, and the yellow-flowered A/. mephiticus on the gravelly
side of Clouds Rest requites the pressure of a rude foot with an
odor as unwelcome as unexpected.

The low “lousewort,’’ Pedicularis semibarbata, is found on the
heights on the north side of the valley. Pentstemon breviflorus,
which is almost woody, grows near the foot of the valley, its. pale
flowers are often overlooked ; P. Bridgesii, with rather long and
scattered scarlet flowers, grows in shaded places near streams at
rather high altitudes ; the purple-flowered form of P. confertus dots.
the low meadows; P. azureus and P. letus, with showy blue or vio-
let flowers, are found on dry knolls and along rocky ridges ; the low
tufted Menziesii var. Newberry?, with red or purplish flowers, the
mouth of the showy corolla almost closed by the woolly anthers, is
found along the trail between the Vernal and Nevada falls.

The labiates are represented along the water-courses by the
“mountain mint” (Pycnanthemum Californicum), and the rosy-
flowered Lophanthus urticifolius, and in drier places about the walls.
by the fragrant ‘‘pennyroyal” (Monardella odoratissima), and by
the ‘‘skullcap” (Scutellaria Californica).

The ‘‘wild ginger” (Asarum Hartweg7), hides its dull purplish.
flowers beneath large mottled leaves in moist and shaded places.

The orchids of the valley are not very abundant, two species of
Corallorhiza are frequently found. Zpipactis gigantea is common
in cold spring marshes, and the showy and fragrant Habenaria
leucostachys \itts its white spike two to four feet in the lower wet
meadows. The mountain lady’s-slipper ( Cypripedium montanum )
is occasionally collected, and Spiranthes Romanzoffiana and the
rattlesnake plantain are not uncommon—neither, by the way, is the
rattlesnake himself.

The Liliacez here, as elsewhere in California, furnish some of the
most attractive flowers. Brodiea multiflora, the yellow-flowered
B. txioides and the “soaproot’’ ( Chlorogalum pomeridianum ),
which opens its white starry flowers late in the afternoon, are fre-
quent about the valley. The purple dog-tooth violet ( Erythronium —
purpurascens) is found on the south side of the valley, from the
upper iron bridge to Tooloolaweack Cafion. The small orange
lily, Lilium parvum, is common about the meadows and streams,
but the fragrant white Z. Washingtonianum must be sought on

VOL. 11. ] Nesting Time of Birds. 167

the roads leading out of the valley or on the heights above. The
small-flowered Fritillaria (7. parviflora) is not uncommon, and
Tofieldia glutinosa is occasionally found in the high wet meadows.
Calochortus has four species, the small white C mudus of the
heights ; C. Maweanus, usually pale lilac and very hairy within, not
often collected ; C. Nuttalliz, the common yellowish species of the
valley proper, and various forms of C. venustus, from yellow to
purple, which approach closely if they do not enter the valley.

The last two species are called ‘‘ Mariposa lilies.”” Mariposa means
butterfly and the abundance of these flowers gave their name to the
county. '

A list of the ferns and fern allies of Yo Semite, prepared by Mr.
and Mrs. Lemmon, is given in Mr. Hutchings’ ‘‘ Heart of the
Sierras.” It is, however, probably rather a list of what might be
expected than a record of plants actually observed. The limits
would have to be somewhat elastic to include all of them.

THE NESTING TIME OF BIRDS ABOUT SAN FRAN-
CisCO BAY.

BY CHAS. A. KEELER.

The present paper is based principally upon the data derived
from the collection of eggs made by Mr. Walter E. Bryant between
the years 1876 and 1882, mostly in the vicinity of Oakland, Cal.,
together with what material my own collecting during the past few
years in the vicinity of Berkeley has furnished.

Strangely enough the hummingbirds are among the first to —
breed, and often begin nest building before even the hawks and owls.
The rufous hummingbird ( 7rochilus rufus) arrives about Oakland
and Berkeley somewhere near the middle of February, generally
contemporaneous with the blossoming of the wild currant ( Rzbes
sanguineum), which bush it frequents for at least a month, or as
long as the profusion of blossoms lasts, after which the task of
nest building is undertaken. The earliest set of eggs is recorded
by Mr. Bryant, March 16, 1881. The rainfall during that month
was exceptionally light, only .88 inches having fallen, while the
average for the month was 3.409 inches. We find also that the
temperature was higher than the average during the spring of
1881, and these favorable circumstances may have hastened the

168 Nesting Time of Birds. [ZOE

nesting time. The species apparently does not commence to breed
regularly until early in April, from which time on until the latter
part of the month fresh eggs may be looked for. I am uncertain
whether or not the bird lays a second set, as data on this point
is lacking, but fresh eggs of the closely allied Allen’s humming-
bird ( Trochilus allent) are recorded as late as May 25, 1880, from
which it seems not improbable that both species may raise a sec-
ond brood. This record, however, may be an exceptional one,
accounted for by the phenomenally heavy rainfall in the spring
of that year, 8.46 inches having fallen, against an average of 2.478,
while the average temperature was much lower than usual.

Anna’s hummingbird (7yochilus anna), which is a resident
species, is another early breeder, having been recorded nesting
even in January* and Feburary. Our earliest records from this
vicinity, however, are about the middle of March. From this
time on fresh eggs may be found until the early part of June, a
second brood being raised during that or the preceding month.
The latest date on which fresh eggs have been found is June 7,
1888, but Mr. Bryant records a set containing large embryos on
June 10, 1881.

Another tiny breeder of March is the California bush-tit ( Psaltri-
parus minimus californicus), which begins the construction of its
elaborate pendulous nest early in the month. The earliest set ot
eggs recorded was taken March 16, 1881, which month, as pre-
viously noted, was especially favorable for early records. From
the twentieth of the month, however, to early in April, the breed-
ing season of this species is at its height, from which time it rap-
idly declines and by the middle of the month nearly all have young.
In the latter part of May a second brood is sometimes raised, the
latest date being May 28, 1880, but in this case as in the one noted
above, the weather very probably retarded the period of nidifica-
tion.

The plain titmouse ( Parus inornatus ), like the preceding, a resi-
dent species, also commences nidification in March, the earliest
date being March 27, 1879. The data in hand shows no evidence
of a second brood being raised, the latest date on which fresh eggs
were taken being April 19, 1879.

*Mr. A. M. Ingersoll found a nest at Oakland, January 14, with eggs about to
hatch.

VOL. Ir. | Nesting Time of Birds. 169

We come next to the larger birds of prey. Incubation appar-
ently commences with tolerable regularity among them during the
latter half of March. By far the commonest of these birds is the
western red-tailed hawk ( Buteo borealis calurus) which nests either
in rain-washed holes or scoops in the faces of rocky cliffs or in the
tops of live oak, or occasionally in a pine. The earliest record of
fresh. eggs is March 18, 1876, from which time on they may be
found until nearly the middle of the following month. A second
set may sometimes be laid in May. About the same time that the °
red-tail begins to breed the western great-horned owl ( Budo virgin-
tanus subarcticus) commences nidification. Mr. Bryant has found
their eggs among the rocks in the retired cafions back of Berkeley in
years past, and they still breed in this region, though probably in
diminished numbers. Only one brood is raised; the latest date on
which eggs are recorded being April 10, 1880. The breeding range
of the prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) is now very much more re-
stricted than it was in 1877, when Mr. Bryant collected its eggs near
Berkeley. At present it apparently breeds in no locality about
here except in the rocks of Mt. Diablo, where we observed the
birds feeding their young as late as the last of July this year. As
the first eggs are laid as early as March 22, they apparently have
two broods a year. There are but two other raptorial birds which
breed about here in March, the turkey buzzard ( Cathartes aura)
and the American barn owl (Stix pratincola). Both species nest
during the latter part of this month and the beginning of the suc-
ceeding one, while neither, so far as the data at hand shows, raise
but one brood a year.

We have now noted the species breeding in March in the region
in question and traced their periods of nesting through the remain-
der of the season. Let us now take a brief survey of the field at
the opening of April. Besides the species above mentioned, all of
which are by this time well under way with their domestic duties’
two new birds have now begun to breed, the California shrike
(Lanius ludovicianus gambeli) and the California jay (Aphelocoma
californica). With the exception of one set of four eggs taken by
Mr. Bryant on March 26, 1881, we have no record of the breeding
of the latter species before April, while the shrike seldom lays its
first egg much before the beginning of this month. A little later
the smaller raptorial birds commence breeding—first the western

170 ao Nesting Time of Birds. [ ZOE

screech owl ( Megascops asio bendirei) and shortly after the burrow-
ing owl (.Speotyto cunicularia hypogea) and sparrow hawk ( Falco
sparverius ).

The eighth or tenth of the month has now been reached and the
green-backed goldfinch (.Spinus psaltria) and Samuels’s song spar-
row ( Melospiza fasciata samuelis) have begun nest building, or
even, if the season be favorable, laid an egg or two. During the
first half of April no other species are added, so that we have at
this time breeding, all the hawks and owls (the smaller ones just
commencing, the larger, for the most part, well along), the bush-tit
and plain titmouse, the three species of hummingbirds, California
jay, shrike, song sparrow and goldfinch. The two last named, how-
ever, are hardly fully under way as yet.

By the middle of the month, or shortly after this time, our list is
extended by several new species. Brewer’s blackbird, which has
been holding meetings in the top of some convenient cypress tree,
and bowing and bobbing and scraping before the object of his ad-
miration, has settled down to house-keeping. The California
brown towhee (Pipilo fuscus crissalis ) and bicolored blackbird
(Agelaius gubernator). follow soon after. The towhee breeds all
through the month of May, but the sets recorded during the latter |
part of this month and early in June are probably the second brood —
of the season. Parkmann’s wren ( Troglodytes aedon parkmanii)
and the red-shafted flicker ( Colaptes cafer) come next. on the list,
followed closely by Gambel’s sparrow ( Zonotrichia gambeli). Thus
far we have not gone beyond the twentieth of April, but already the
summer migrants have begun nesting. The western lark finch
( Chondestes grammacus strigatus), which arrives from the south
about the fifteenth or twentieth of March, will have laid its full com-
plement of eggs a month later. The house finch ( Carpodacus

_mexicanus frontalis }, too, which has been carrying on an animated
courtship for some time past begins to breed at about the same
time. It’ is strange, too, that a bird which generally passes the
winter with us in greater or less numbers, should not nest earlier,
but they evidently plan to finish the family cares just when the
fruit ripens, so that the young can be initiated into the mysteries of
robbing orchards. note

By the twenty-fifth of the month the warbling vireo ( Vireo gilvus)
which arrived about the last of March, and the western chipping

VOL. II. ] Nesting Time of Birds. 171

sparrow (Spizella socialis arizone), which probably came during
the first week of April, have begun nest building, but it is not until
the next month that we are to look for the climax of their breeding
period. Bullock’s oriole ( /terus dullocki) western flycatcher, ( £m-
pidonasx difficilis), black pewee (Sayornis nigricans), and California
partridge ( Callipepla californica), are the only remaining species
that commence to breed at the close of April.

During the month of May the height of the breeding season is
reached. The month begins with a miscellaneous assortment of
early and late breeders. The list includes, besides those species
just mentioned as commencing to nest during the latter half of
April, such species as the western screech owl, Anna’s hummer,
California jay, California bush-tit, sparrow hawk and burrowing
owl. In early May the western meadow lark (Sturnella magna
neglecta) is breeding, although I suspect that it is the second set,
now first discovered in cutting the grain. The lazuli bunting ( Pas-
Serina amena), which arrives from the first to the middle of April,
has often laid its complement of eggs by the first of May. The
western wood pewee ( Contopus richardsonit) is not very common as
a summer resident, but Mr. Bryant records a set containing large
embryos taken on May 6, 1881, indicating that the bird probably
begins to breed during the latter part of April.

Another uncommon breeder of early May is Lawrence’s gold-
finch (.Spinus lawrencei), the earliest record of its breeding having
been made by Mr. Bryant, who took a set of eggs May 8, 1877.
About this same time the swallows (Petrochelidon lunifrons and
Chelidon erythrogaster) begin to breed; fresh eggs being first found
about the fifth or sixth of the month, and from that time on until
the middle of June. These later records doubtless belong to the
second brood, although I am not certain that either species in-
variably raises two broods a year in this locality. The summer
- warbler (Dendroica estiva), russet-backed thrush ( 7urdus ustu-
latus) and black-headed grosbeak ( Habia melanocephala), three of
the typical summer breeders (in distinction from spring breeders)
of this locality, also lay their earlier sets during the first half of
May. During the same period an occasional set of American gold-
finch’s eggs is recorded, the earliest date being May 11, 1877.

- Although the earliest record of the nesting of Bryant's sparrow
(Ammodramus sandwichensis bryanti) is May 12, 1878, it is highly

*

‘372 Recent Literature. [ZOE

probable that this is the second brood, as the species is in song in
the latter part of February and early in March.

The list of loiterers who do not begin to breed until during the
latter half of May is small, including the mourning dove ( Zenazdura
macroura), the western kingbird ( 7yrannus verticalis), Oregon
towhee (/ipilo maculatus oregonus), and probably the ash-
throated flycatcher (A4yiarchus cinerascens), although the earliest
set of eggs taken was June 9, 1880. From this time on, we find
no new species introduced, the eggs found in June being, for the
most part, second sets. In July fresh eggs are very rare, although
they are recorded from the following species: western lark finch,
western fly catcher, lazuli bunting, California partridge and mourn-
ing dove.

——-

RECENT LITERATURE.

The Atlatle or Spear- Thrower. Ze LIA NUTTALL, the well-known
archeologist, gives us in vi, No. 3, of the Ethnological papers of
the Peabody Museum, a most interesting account of the atlatle or
spear-thrower. This instrument, the value and character of which
was until now unknown, or misunderstood, consists of a peculiar
shaped ‘‘handle” for throwing spears and arrows. It was used
by the Aztecs at the time of the conquest, and is found pic-
tured in all codices as well as upon the sculptured tablets of Yucatan,
Mexico and Central America. Mrs. Nuttall is the first one to as-
certain the true character and use of this instrument, with which
the Aztecs not only killed their foes and enemies in warfare, but
which in their trained hands became the principal weapon of the
chase. Before going to war, the young men practiced with it on
flying ducks as well as on the fishes of the lakes. Mrs. Nuttall
discerns three: distinct forms of the atlatle. The one used in the
chase and warfare, the one used as an emblem for the gods, heroes
and kings; the third form was higbly ornamented and used as an
emblem in religious ceremonies by the priests. It would have
greatly added to the value of the memoir if detailed drawings of
the three yet remaining atlatles had been given, as the correct use
of the weapon is difficult to understand. G. E.

Description of a New Subspecies of the Eastern Chipmunk, pie
the Upper Mississippi Region, West of the Great Lakes. By Ep-

VOL. II. | Recent Literature. 173

Gar A. MEarns, Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. Bull. Am. Mus.
Nat. Hist., ili, 2, Art. xvi. The new race recognized is named
Tamias striatus griseus.

Description of a New Species of Weazel, and a New Subspecies
of the Gray Fox, from Arizona. By EDGAR A. MEARNs., Assist-
ant Surgeon, U.S.A. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., iii, 2, Art. xvii.
The new forms named are Putorius arizonensis (Arizona Weazel),
inhabiting the ‘‘mountains and high plateau region of Arizona,
down tothe lower limit of the forest zone of Pinus ponderosa.”’
The species is similar in color to P. longicauda, and is one of the
smallest weazel. The new variety of fox is named Urocyon virgin-
ianus scottii (Scott’s Fox), inhabiting Southern California, Arizona
and western New Mexico, and has been found as far north as Ni-
casio, Marin County, Cal. Judging from the lucid description it is
a very distinct variety of the eastern red fox. w. E. B.

Observations on the North American Badgers, with Especial Ref-
erence to the Forms found in Arizona, with Description of a New
Subspecies from Northern California. By EpGar A. MEARNS, As-
sistant Surgeon, U. S. A. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., iii., 2, Art-
"xviii. The comparative external and cranial characters of the hith-
-erto recognized North American badgers, 7axidea americana and

T. americana berlandieri, are given with considerable fullness, and
an intimation of a belief that 7: a. ber/andiert is specifically distinct
from 7. americana. Both of these badgers were found at Fort
Verde, Arizona, but were always satisfactorily referable to one or
the other of the two forms, although the vertebral stripe was not
always continuous in 7. a. berlandieri. The material at the author’s
disposal was greater than has been previously examined by other
writers; the two southern badgers are left as at present known while
a third one is described from northern California (Fort Crook) and
probably its range extends into Oregon. The subspecies charac-
terized is Zaxidea americana neglecta. W. E. B.

Notes on the Otter (Lutra canadensis) and Skunks ( Genera Spi-
logale and Mephitis) of Arizona. By EDGAR A. Mearns, Assist-
ant Surgeon, U. S.A. Bull. Am, Mus. Nat. Hist., iii, 2, Art. xix.
A study of 34 crania of otters from various localities, with three
obtained in Arizona by the author, who refrains from naming any
new subspecies in the absence of additional material, particularly

174 Peecent Literature. [ ZOE

skins. Lutra californica (page 254) was named by Dr. Gray in
1837, although redescribed by Prof. Baird in vol. viii, P. R.R, Rep.,
from a specimen from the Cascade Mountains. The subject ends
with a description and measurements taken from a freshly-killed
specimen from Beaver Creek, Arizona.

A second paper in the same article describes the new subspecies
Spilogale phenax arizone (Arizona Striped Skunk), of which
thirteen specimens were examined from the vicinity of Fort Verde,
Arizona. Dr. Merriam’s type of S. phenax came from Nicasio,
Cal. The article ends with ‘‘A Study of the Arizona Skunks of
the Genus Mephitis.” W. 8,

Notes on New or Little-known North American Mammals, based
on recent additions to the Collection of Mammals in the American
Museum of Natural History. By J. A. ALLEN. Bull. Am. Mus.
Nat. Hist., iii, 2, Art. xx, pp. 263-310. The present paper is
based upon_a critical examination of several thousand skins, mostly
with crania, of mammals received by the American Museum of
Natural History during the last four years. The introductory
briefly notices some changes in mammalogy since the publication in
1857 of Prof. Baird’s great work on North Ammerican Mammals,
when less than 3,000 specimens were available for study, a smaller
amount than has been collected annually during the past few years. —

The MS. name He/eromys alleni Coues is revived for a pouched
rat ranging from southern Mexico northward to the mouth of the

Rio Grande, and distinct from. H. dongicaudatus of Central America.

An excellent study of the genera Dipodomys and Dipodops is
given. Since 1886 the number of species of Dipotomys has in-
creased from two to twelve and been divided into two genera with
six species to each. To these Dr. Allen adds Dipodops ordii pal-
mert subsp. nov. from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and Dipodops
vichardsoni sp. nov. from Indian Territory, and probably extending
“over the Plains from northern Texas to southern Wyoming and
westward to the Rocky Mountains.” Perognathus ( Chetodipus)

femoralzs Allen is a new species from Dulzura, San Diego County,
Cal.

The long lost species Meotoma micropus Baird (Texan Wood Rat) | oe

is revived upon the basis of eleven specimens from Brownsville, _
Texas, which, with those from other localities, made a series of ©

VOL. I. ] Recent Literature. 595

thirty specimens. The restoration of this species after having
escaped the notice of zoologists for thirty-five years is particularly
interesting, in the light of what has been written about it as a valid
species, and has a deep significance.

Neotoma micropus canescens Allen (Pallid Wood Rat) is a new
subspecies from Indian Territory.

The Northwest Coast form of the bushy-tailed wood rat is sepa-
rated from WV. cinerea with the name eofoma cinerea occidentalis
(Baird).

The Texan Cotton Rat is assigned to Sigmodon hispidus texianus
(Aud. & Bach). Oryzomys aquaticus Allen is a new species from
Brownsville, Texas.

The type specimen of Hesperomys indianus Wied. was found on
examination to be simply a common house mouse ( A/us musculus
Linn). :

The white footed mouse is treated of at some length with the
result that the generic name Hesperomys is no longer available and
the specific name /eucopus is found to be antedated by americanus
Kerr. The species now stands as Vesferimus americanus (Kerr).
Three new species are described under this genus, viz: V. difficilis,
(Mexico), V. nasatus (Colorado), and V. mearnsii (Texas).

Observations and critical remarks are given on Vesperimus amer-
icanus sonoriensis (Leconte), V. a. nebracensis (Mearns), V. a.
texanus (Woodhouse), and V. a. rufinus (Merriam), also Scturus
hudsonius californicus Allen, Lepus cinerascens Allen and Spilogale
indianola Merriam.

Felis eyra Desm. is recorded from Texas for the first time.
W. E. B.

Nouvelle Correspondance Botanique.—Liste des Botanistes de tous
les Pays, et des Etablissements, Sociétés et Journeaux de Botanique:
W. ENGELMAN, Leipzig; Librarie Internationale, Paris, 1891.—
The American editor, if there was one, of this publication, has
- reason to think it a remarkable production. The list of botanists
of the eastern United States includes many names which have the
charm of novelty to most of us, and by way of compensation
leaves out a host of others, with which we are more or less familiar.
The errors and misstatements in regard to botanical names ad-
mitted are also numerous and occasionally amusing. We are glad
glad to hear that Dr. A. W. Chapman is “ Florist of the Southern

176 Recent Literature. [ZOE

- U. St.,”? and that the late Dr. Parry is at St. Louis as “ Keeper of
the Engelmann Herbarium, Shaw Botanic Garden;’’ but we fear the
well-known botanical artist of Jamaica Plain will hardly recognize
himself as “C. E. Jaxon;’’ and as an ostensible English address
‘« Towa City, Ja., will have a tendency to make the average postal
clerk tear his hair and turn with relief to “Snider, Dayton, Ohio,”’
or even attempt to hunt up ‘‘ Dr. J. G. Cooper, Haywood, N. C.,
(North Carolina ).’’ :

The list of Pacific Coast botanists is a mine of new facts, and
many of those whose names are inserted will probably see them-
selves so-styled for the first time. Dr. J. (?) Le Conte is set down
as a ‘‘ Florist;’’ Prof. Kleeberger is stationed at Marysville; Mr.
and Mrs. Brandegee are relegated to Cafion City, Colorado; the
State Mining Bureau, a singular botanist by the way, to Sacra-
mento; while Dr. H. H. Behr, Mrs. J. G. Lemmon, Carl Purdy,
C. F. Sonne, W. F. Lyon, H. N. Bolander, L. F. Henderson,
Elmer R. Drew, B. F. Leedes and numerous others with far better
claims than many in the list are omitted altogether. A good botan-
ical ‘‘ Address-book ” is evidently still to be written.

Notes froma Garden Herbarium—V\. L. H. BAILey, Amer-
ican Garden, August, 1891. In this paper the author writing of
the wild crab-apples of America names two new species, /Pirus
Soulardi and P. Joensis. The first of these was introduced into
cultivation as a hybrid, and if hybrids can be produced by accident,
they can be also by intention; a means of settling such matters
which would naturally commend itself to the possessor of a “ Garden
Herbarium.’’ The author seems to be distinctly doubtful of the
validity of his own species, and mere garden names would prob-
ably have been better suited to them until a more careful examina-
tion of their claims to a specific rank could have been made.

Contributions to the Life-Histories of Plants, No. VI. By
THomAs MEEHAN, Proc. Phila. Acad., 1891, 269-283. Of these
notes entitled: On the Causes Affecting Variations in Lzzaria vul-
garis; On the Self-fertilizing Character of Composite; On the
Structure of the Flowers in Dipteracanthus macranthus; Aerial
Roots in vis vulpina; Additional Note on the Order of Flower-
ing in the Catkins of Willows; Self-Fertilizing Flowers; the second
and the last are of especial interest. The author claims, and we

VOL. I1.] Recent Literature. 177

fully agree with him, that the self-fertilization of flowers has been
too much neglected in hunting for possible fertilization by means of
insects. Among the species in which he considers that fertilization
without the aid of insects is the rule, he mentions Lepachys pinnata,
Bidens frondosa, Portulaca pilosa, Cuphea Zimpani and Lopezia
coronata,

A comparative Study of the Styles of Composite, with four plates.
By J. S. CHAMBERLAIN. Bull. Torr. Club, xviii, No. 7. The
styles of fifty-five species, representing nearly as many genera and
the principal tribes of our Composite, are here studied and figured
with the hope of inducing teachers to use more generally the char-
acters they furnish, in separating tribes. The work seems to be
carefully done, but only one species, as a rule, being studied in each
genus, the author fails to notice the often great variation in this re-
spect among the species of many genera.

Contributions from the U. S. National Herbarium, vol. i, No. 1.
Manual of the Phanerogams and Pteridophytes of Western Texas.
Part 1, Polypetale. By Joun M. Courter. This is the first
part of a manual intended to include all Texan plants west of the
ninety-seventh meridian. It is based mainly on the collections and
investigations of Mr. G. C. Nealley of Houston, Texas. The com-
pleted work will be a great convenience to anyone wishing to know
something of the distribution of plants in that region.

Contributions from U. S. National Museum, vol.i, No. iv. List
of Plants collected by Dr. Edward Palmer in 1890 in Western

Mexico and Arizona—1, Alamos, 2, Arizona. By J. N. Rose. The
collection to which this paper relates includes Nos. 276-751, with
ten plates, greatly enhancing the value of the work, which con-
tains many new species, as well as the usual field notes made by
the indefatigable collector.

Botanical Gazette, May, 1891. On Raised Peatbogs in New
- Brunswick: W. F. Ganong. Notes on the Flora of the St. Croix
Region (concluded): E. J. Hill. A visit to the West Indies: A. S.
Hitchcock. Notes on the Apical Growth of Liverworts (with plate
xiii): David M. Mottier. New Grasses, (Orcuttia Greenii, Era-
grostis spicata, Muhlenbergia Alamosa, Calamagrostis densus, Cal-

amagrostis kelerioides ): George Vasey.
June, 1891. Abnormal Phyllotactic Conditions as shown by the

3 fa Eo Recent Literature. [ZOE

Leaves or Flowers of Certain Plants (with plate xiv): Aug. E.
Foerste. A Study of some Anatomical Characters of North Amer-
ican Graminez (with plate xv): Theo. Holm. On the Organization
of the Fossil Plants of the Coal Measures: David White. On the
Relation between Insects and the Forms and Characters of Flowers:
Thomas Meehan. Coursetia axillaris, n.sp.: John M. Coulter.

July, 1891. Undescribed Plants from Guatemala, IX (with plates
xvi-xviii): John Donnell Smith. On certain new or peculiar North
American Hyphomycetes, II (with plates xix-xx): Roland Thax-
ter. Notes on North American Mosses: Charles Reid Barnes.

Bull. Torrey Club, May, 1881. Common and Conspicuous Algz
of Montana: F. W. Anderson and F. D. Kelsey. ALyriophyllum
Farwellii n. sp.: Thomas Morong. A new Liatris from North
Carolina: T. C. Porter. Central Michigan Cyperacee: C. F.
Wheeler. Two letters on Pinus Banksiana. Botanical Notes.

June, 1891. Notes on the Flora of High Altitude in Custer
County, Colorado: T. D. A. Cockerell. A Comparative Study of
the Styles of Composite: J. S. Chamberlain (plates cxvii and cxviii).
Notes on the Flora of North Carolina: A. A. Heller.

Flora of the Cape Region of Baja California. By T. S. BRANDE-
GEE, Proc. Cal. Acad., ser. 2, iii, 108-182. This is a list of plants
known to grow in that part of the Lower Californian peninsula
south from La Paz and Todos Santos, and is based upon two col-
lecting trips made into that part of the peninsula during the year
1890. The region was botanically unknown excepting what knowl-
edge had been gained from the collections of Xantus, Mr. Hinds
of H. M. S. Sulphur, and Dr. Palmer, made near the coast at Cape
St. Lucas and La Paz. No collection had previously been made of
plants from the mountains and the interior. Nearly seven hundred
species are enumerated, including some collected by Dr. Palmer at
La Paz, and by Xantus at Cape St. Lucas, that were not found by
Mr. Brandegee. The grasses were determined by Dr. George Vasey,
the ferns by D. C. Eaton and the mosses by Prof. L. M. Under-
wood. Many new species are described and others are accompanied
by field or structural notes. FS HEY,

A Provisional Host-Index of the Fungi of the United States,
Part III. By W. G. Fartow and A. B. Szymour, Cambridge,
June, 1891. This part, pp. 135-219, embracing Endogenous,

VOL. I. | Proceedings of Societies. 179

Gymnospermous and Cryptogamic host-plants; animal hosts, and
addenda, etc., with Generic index, concludes this work, the value of
which to systematic mycologists is in no danger of being overes-
timated. H. W. H.

Sournal of Mycology, vol. vi, No. 4, Washington, 1891. This
number completes the volume. It contains Treatment of Pear
Leaf-blight and Scab in the Orchard by B. T. Galloway and D. G.
Fairchild; The Peach Rosette, with plates vili—xili, by Erwin F.
Smith; Tuberculosis of the Olive, with plates xiv, xv, by Newton
B. Pierce; Recent Investigations of Smut Fungi and Smut Diseases _
by Dr. Oskar Brefeld, translated by Erwin F. Smith; Ripe Rot of
Grapes and Apples (with plate xvi), by Effie A. Southworth;
Anthracnose of Cotton (with plates xvii, xviii), by George F. At-
kinson; Mycological Notes, II, by George Massee; Index to North
American Mycological Literature, by David G. Fairchild.

PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.

CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. May 4, r8g9r. President
Harkness in the chair.

Donations to the museum were reported from Frank H. Vaslit,
B. C. Winston, Walter E. Bryant, J. A. Barr, G. P. Rixford, H.
H. Behr, Robert Moses, H. S. Nichols, William A. Robbins and
L. Belding.

The Librarian reported 373 additions to the library.

Mr. G. P. Rixford read a paper on Indian carvings at Swansea,
Inyo County, and presented a series of photographs of the carvings.

Mr. E. J. Molera announced the recent death of General Carlos
Ibafiez, Count of Mulhacen, President of the International Geodet-
ical and Statistical Societies, and President of the International
Board of Weights and Measures, and read a notice of his life and
works.

Professor Carl Lumholtz read a paper on his recent explorations
— in Mexico, giving his experience and discoveries in the hitherto un-

explored Sierra Madre country.
| A vote of thanks was tendered to Mr. Lumholtz for his interest-

ing paper.
The President made a few remarks concerning the death of Pro-

180 Proceedings of Societies. [ ZOE

essor John LeConte, and Mr. T. H. Hittell and Gen. J. F. Hough-
ton were appointed a committee to draft resolutions of respect and
condolence.

June 1, 7891. President Harkness in the chair.

Donations to the museum were reported from William Ryan,
Walter E. Bryant, Mrs. J. Lawley, Adolph T. W. Erzgraber, Dr.
J. G. Cooper, J. R. Chalker, Miss Alice Eastwood, Dr. E. S. Clark
and Mrs. R. A. A. Wright.

The Librarian reported 443 additions to the library, calling par-
ticular attention to the donation by Dr. Gustav Eisen, of 279 books
and pamphlets on geology, zoology, anatomy and botany.

A vote of thanks was tendered to Dr. Eisen for his valuable
donation.

Lieutenant John P. Finley read a paper on the Hot Winds of
California, illustrated with numerous maps and charts.

Specimens of opals in the matrix from Mexico, Australia and
Hungary, presented by Melville Atwood, were exhibited and a
short paper on opals by Mr. Atwood was read.

Mr. T. H. Hittell read the following memorial of the late Professor
John Le Conte:

A great man and an honored member of this Academy has passed
away from amongst us—a man loved by all who knew him for the
kindness and geniality of his disposition, revered for the elevation
and purity of his character and eminent for the breadth and depth
of his scientific and scholarly attainments. Professor John Le
Conte, of the University of California, closed his long and honor-
able career at Berkeley on April 29, 1891. He was born in Liberty
County, Georgia, on December 4, 1818, and was consequently
seventy-two years and a few months old at the time of his death.
He received a preparatory training under the tuition of the celebrated
Alexander H. Stephens, and in 1835 entered Franklyn College,
afterwards known as the University of Georgia, where he graduated
with high honors in 1838.

From an early age he manifested a remarkable taste for scientific
subjects, and in college exhibited a decided preference for those
branches of study which were connected with nature and physics.
Almost immediately after graduation he proceeded northward, en-
tered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the University of
New York, and received from that institution the degree of M. D. in

VOL. II. ] Proceedings of Socteties. 181

March, 1841. He then returned to his native State and married a
lady of beauty and refinement who survives him as his widow. He
commenced the practice of medicine at Savannah, where he re-
mained until August, 1846, when he was elected to the chair of
natural philosophy and chemistry in Franklyn College, his alma
mater. From that time he abandoned the practice of medicine and
devoted himself to the study of the physical sciences. In 1855 he
became lecturer on chemistry, in the College of Physicians and
Surgeons in the University of New York—thus reaching a chair in
his second a/ma mater, as he had previously reached a chair in his
first.

In 1856 he accepted a call to fill the professorship of natural and
mechanical philosophy in the University of South Carolina and
remained there until the spring of 1869, when he was called to the
chair of physics in our own University of California. He was al-
most immediately upon his arrival in this State appointed acting
president of the University, and as such initiated the first exercises
of that institution. In 1870, after the election of Dr. Durant as
president, and for several years thereafter, Dr. Le Conte gave him-
self up exclusively to the duties connected with his professorship;
but in 1875, after the resignation of Dr. Gilman, he was again ap-
pointed to act as president, and in 1876 was elected to the office of
president. He continued to fill the office of president for a year
and a half, since which time, and to the time of his death, he oc-
cupied the chair of physics.

Professor Le Conte became a member of this Academy on August
3, 1870, and a life member on January 3, 1888. He was alsoa
member of the National Academy of Sciences and of many other
scientific societies in this country and Europe. He wrote many
valuable and important papers on scientific subjects, and particularly
on subjects connected with the phenomena of the vibrations of
sound, on the astronomy of Mars and its satellites, on the famous
nobular hypothesis, on the evolutions of worlds, and on various
other matters whereby glimpses are gained into that world of truth
called nature, the knowledge of which is destined to emancipate
humanity from the shackles of ignorance and superstition, and all
the innumerable ills connected with and involved in those immeasur-

able evils.
About the end of the last century, the great German philosopher

182 Proceedings of Societies. [ ZOE

Fichte wrote a treatise on the subject of The Scholar, in which he
represented the avocation of the genuine student of truth as the
grandest and sublimest occupation of the human mind. In perus-
ing his book, the reader by degrees becomes almost as enthusiastic
as the writer was, and feels in every part of his sensitive system the
verity of what the philosopher set forth. The glories of conquest
and empire, the pride of kings, presidents and politicians, the
glamor of family and wealth, all pass away. They are vanities.
They are nothing. But what the scholar accomplishes endures and
advances the race in the path of civilization and culture. In these
days, quite as certainly as a hundred years ago, there is no greater
man than the scholar, and among the scholars of California no one,
perhaps, made a nearer approach to the character contemplated by
the philosopher than our late honored member, Professor John Le
Conte. THEODORE H. HIrtrTe.t.
James F. HouGuHTon.

July 6, 18917. President Harkness in the chair.

Donations to the museum were reported from the following: L.
_ Belding, W. S. Bliss, W. E. Bryant, Miss Alice Eastwood, W. 4.

Golcher, R. C. McGregor. :

The Librarian reported 129 additions to the library.

The President announced the death of the following members:
Henry Edwards, Charles Stephens, E. J. de Santa Marina.

Dr. David Wooster read a paper on Stone Heaps in Arizona.

Dr. H. H. Behr read a paper ona New Remedy for Snake Bites.

CALIFORNIA BoTANIcAL Cius. May 2r, 189r. The President
in the chair. :

Dr. Behr read a paper on the benefits to be derived from a
botanic garden. He called attention to the fact that countries of
much more recent settlement than ours were far in advance of us
in such respects, citing particularly the Australian colonies. The
great value of such gardens in the study of botany and the intro-
duction and acclimatization of beautiful and valuable plants. was
pointed out. :

The speaker enlarged upon the use of such a garden, where
nearly related plants might be cultivated under similar conditions,

and the degree of their relationship determined, and related some _

amusing anecdotes of certain botanists of the last generation who

VOL; II. ] Votes. 183

were much given to species-making till convinced of error by cul-
tivation of their plants. :

Mr. H. T. Bickel read a short paper on the “ Pronunciation of
Scientific Names” and gave instances of peculiar pronunciation.

Mr. T. S. Brandegee read an account of his recent botanizing
trip in the Tehachapi Mountains.

Dr. H. W. Harkness exhibited specimens of galls and described
their formation and the extraordinary deformities sometimes caused
by them. :

July 16, 189r. Vice President Mrs. Mary W. Kincaid in the
chair.

The following were elected to membership: Dr. C. L. Anderson,
J. J. B. Argenti, Lyman Belding, Walter D. Bliss, J. W. Congdon,
W. C. Cusick, Miss Clara G. Dolliver, Mrs. Emma Douglas, Miss
Emily Edmunds, Mrs. W. B. Ewer, Miss Mary Grant, Miss Isabel
L. Grant, Dr. V. Havard, Prof. T. L. Heaton, Miss Catherine H.
Hittell, Thomas Howell, J. M. Hutchings, F. O. Johnson, Hon. W.
W. Morrow, Mrs. W. W. Morrow, Miss Maud Morrow, Rev. J. C.
Nevin, Dr. Edward Palmer, Mrs. Mary O. Stanton, Charles H.
Townsend, Mrs. J. Renshaw Wilson.

Mr. T. S. Brandegee read a paper on “ The Cactus Family,”
their peculiar forms, distribution and mode of dissemination and
the uses to which they are put by the inhabitants of the treeless re-
gions of Lower California. The fruit of Cereus Thurberi known
as “pitahaya dulce’ was highly praised. Attention was directed to
their leaves and a Lower Californian species on which they are
very conspicuous was described. The spreading of certain Opun-
tias by means of sterile fruits, brittle joints, barbed spines, etc., was
explained.

NOTES.

Charles V. Piper in Garden and Forest, iv, 181, writes concern-
ing the Conifers of Mount Rainer—now usually called Mt. Tacoma
—and in an appended note the editor remarks: “ Our correspond-
ent’s discovery of Adies nobilis on Mount Ranier extends the north-
an. range of the species, not known before north of the Columbia

River, very considerably.” This is an oversight, as Adzes nobilis

was collected by the botanists of the Northern Transcontinental

i Nates: on ithe Codie of Washington Territory ” ” in Bul
Club, April, 1883. .

- PoPULUS MONTICOLA, a new species of Poplar froin’ the mount-
ains of Lower California, forms fig. 56 (vol. iv, 329) of Garden te
Forest.

Fig. 59 of Garden and Forest is a portrait of Pznmus cembr 16
in the form in which it occurs on the mountains of the Cape Regic n
of Lower California.

The careful study of mammals and other vertebrates when kept
in captivity has always been interesting and instructive, as well as
productive of important facts, when the investigations were intelli-
gently conducted. The Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, has al-
ready the nucleus of a fine zodlogical garden, and a ‘“‘buffalo’”’ farm
has been established near Monterey; both of these places, howeve
are mainly devoted to the larger ungulates, which few, as indivi
uals, can undertake to care for. Probably Judge Caton has pro’
more from the study of captive deer than any one else; at least
work upon the American deer is without a rival.
Weare pleased to note the establishment of a zodlogical exper
Ss iment station by Messrs. Chas. A. Keeler and Walter E. Bryant
__ be located at Berkeley, for the purpose of ascertaining new
_ the life histories of animals, especially mammals, and for the
of the phylogenetic. relationship of certain varieties. The

: perce with which to Ngee on this work are e much desired.