land; even large trunks cut down cover themselves, within two or three years, so completely with sprouts that they are hardly seen. The entire after growth now found on the Oakland hills, is owing solely to the indestructibility of its roots and stumps. The tenacity of life in this species, which is rather of rare occurrence in coniferous trees, shows itself also in the resistance it offers to fire, so frequent in those woods. Trees that have been bereft completely of their branches by fire, covered themselves in a few years entirely with young sprouts, giving the trunks the appearance of a pillar, or remind one of those old trunks covered with _Rhus toxicodendron_ in the East. Fire is destructive to the young trees only; after they have obtained a thickness of two or three feet they are not liable to perish. Another great beneficial feature in this species is the great power it possesses in condensing fogs and mists. A heavy fog is always turned into a rain, wetting the soil and supplying springs with water during the dry season. Springs in and near the redwoods are never in want of a good supply of water, and crops on the Coast Ranges are not liable to fail. The year of 1864 has proved my assertion beyond doubt; this fact is generally known—a great deal of land has been taken up since. It is my firm conviction that if the redwoods are destroyed—and they necessarily will be, if not protected by a wise action of our Government—California will become a desert, in the true sense of the word. In their safety depends the future welfare of the State; they are our safeguard. It remains to be seen whether we shall be benefited or not by the horrible experience such countries as Asia Minor, Greece, Spain, and France have made, by having barbarously destroyed their woods and forests. But with us here it is even of a more serious nature; wise governments would be able to replace them in those countries, but no power on earth can restore the woods of California when once completely destroyed! REGULAR MEETING, NOVEMBER 6TH, 1865. Dr. Kellogg in the chair. Eight members present. Donations to the Cabinet: Specimen of _Pinus ponderosa_, _Abies Douglasii_, _Taxus brevifolia_, _Larix occidentalis_, _Pteris aquilina_, and _Abies Menziesii_; presented by Mr. Dunn. REGULAR MEETING, DECEMBER 4TH, 1865. President in the chair. Seven members present, and Mr. W. H. Dall as a visitor. Major Edward Preiss and Count Oswald Thun were elected Corresponding Members. Mr. Bolander made some remarks on a wild California Grape (_Vitis Californica_) growing near Oakland.