The seeds of the Digger or nut pine (_Pinus Sabiniana_) were the ones most used on the western side of the Sierras, although the seeds of the sugar pine (_P.

Lambertiana_) were also sometimes eaten.

On account of their soft shell, nuts from the pinon pine (_P.

monophylla_), which grows principally on the eastern side of the mountains, were considered superior to either of the other kinds, and were an important article of barter with the tribes of that region.

All of these trees are very prolific, and their crop of nuts in fruitful years has been estimated to be even greater than the enormous wheat crop of California, although of course but a very small portion of it is ever gathered.