Reports of explorations and surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean: Vol. 4, Pt. 3

BOTANY.
there are other trees of this order abounding along the valley of Bill Williams' fork, attaining the size of the mezquit; but I have not had an opportunity of determining their names.
One of them is described by Major Emory, in his report, as the " Green-bark Acacia." Au
interesting fact respecting this tree is, that it forms a shelter for the propagation of the (ereus
giganteus of that region. Every young cereus is protected and fostered by this tree until the
cactus attains the size and hardihood that enables it to withstand the war of elements waged
against it, when it ungraciously spurns its protector, ultimately destroying it, as we saw in
numerous instances on our journey.
POPULUS MONILIFERA-in Spanish, Alamno.-Cotton-wood.-Poplar.
This tree is somewhat different from the cotton-wood of the Mississippi, which I believe is P.
angnlata. It is found east as far as the Canadian, and west until we cross the Sierra Nevada.
In the Rio Grande valley it is used by the Mexicans for building. It is also employed for
farming utensils, the most unique of which is their cart, or caretta, the wheels being made of a
section of the tree. They are six or eight inches thick, and manufactured in the rudest manner.
The timber is tough and hard; and although probably not as durable when exposed to the
weather as some other kinds, yet I have no doubt it would answer very well for railroad ties,
until a road could be formed to regions where more desirable timbers abound. It does not grow
here near as tall as on the Mississippi river, but occasionally it is quite large and spreading.
QUERCUS.
Of the valuable genus of Oaks, we find about Fort Smith, and west as far as the Cross Timbers,
all the varieties that are common to the more eastern States, all of which are well known.
Besides the several species mentioned by Dr. Torrey, in Captain Sitgreaves' Report, most of
which are doubtless in my collection, we found, at the Cajon Pass of the Sierra Nevada, a liveoak with a cupule an inch or an inch and a half in diameter. It is a beautiful and valuable
timber tree, and doubtless it is a well-known Californian oak. It grows in various parts of
California; but how widely it is diffused, I am unable to determine. It attains the height of
eighty to one hundred feet, and is from two to four feet in diameter. The timber, from the
character of the tree, must be valuable.
DESCRIPTIONS OF VALUABLE OR REMARKABLE CALIFORNIA FOREST TREES.
PINUS LAMBERtTIANA, OR SUGAR-PINE.
This is one of the most magnificent pines of the Sierra Nevada. We first noticed its appearance at San Bernardino, not far from San Diego; and it probably follows the course of the
Sierra Nevada to Oregon. At Sonora, Mokelumne Hill, Nevada City, Downieville, and every
place where I visited those mountains, at an elevation of 4,000 or 5,000 feet above the level of
the sea, this noble tree is found in perfection. It ordinarily attains the height of two hundred
feet, and is six to ten feet in diameter. It is very symmetrical and beautiful in shape, with a
slender but graceful foliage, in which characters it probably exceeds every other pine tree of
California. It forms a timber equal to that of any other in the world. Its grain is so straight
and even, that thousands of houses in California are weather-boarded with shingles, which are
merely split, without any other expense or work. There are many mills in the vicinity of Downieville, Nevada City, Grass Valley, and Sonora, where lumber is manufactured and planed, by
means of machinery, in quantities sufficient to supply vast regions in that country. Were it
not that transportation is so expensive in California, the rapidly-increasing cities of San Francisco, Sacramento, and all the coast region could be supplied with lumber of a quality far superior to that brought from Oregon, with which their markets are now mainly furnished.
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