e crystallized nodules
on the upper side of fire or ax wounds in the wood. This flow
contains resin, is manna-like, has cathartic properties, and
is as sweet as cane-sugar. The seeds are edible. Although very
small they are more valued by the native tribes than the large
seeds of the Digger Pine on account of their better flavor.
In former days, when it came October, the Indians went to the
high mountains about their valleys to gather the cones. They
camped on the ridges where the sugar pines grow and celebrated
their sylvan journey by tree-climbing contests among the men.
In these latter days, being possessed of the white man's
ax, they find it more convenient to cut the tree down. It is
undoubtedly the most remarkable of all pines, viewed either
from the standpoint of its economic value or sylvan interest.
It is the largest of pine trees, considered whether as to
weight or girth, and more than any other tree gives beauty and
distinction to the Sierran forest.--_Jepson_.

The long cones found in abundance about Tahoe Tavern are those of the
sugar pine.

_Yellow Pine and Jeffrey Pine_. These are practically one and
the same, though the latter is generally regarded as a variety and the
former the type. Mr. Leiberg says:

The two forms differ chiefly in the size of the cones, in the
tint and odor of the foliage, and in the color and thickness
of the bark, differences which are insufficient to constitute
specific characters. The most conspicuous of the above
differences is that in the size of the cones, which may
seemingly hold good if only a few hundred trees are examined.
But when one comes to deal with thousands of individuals
the distinction vanishes. It is common to find trees of the
Jeffrey type as to foliage and bark that bear the big cones,
and the characteristic smaller cones of the typical yellow
pine, both at the same time and on the same individual, while
old cones strewn about on the ground indicate that in some
seasons trees of the Jeffrey type produce only small-sized
cones. The odor and the color of leaves and bark are more or
less dependent on soil conditions and the inherent vitality
of the individual tree, and the same characters are found
in specimens belonging to the yellow and Jeffrey pine. It
is noticeable that the big-cone variety preferably grows at
consi