A Short Account of the Big Trees of California

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Department of Agriculture, Forestry Division, 1900 - Giant sequoia - 30 pages
 

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Page 16 - ... been pinned on here and there for the sake of beauty only. The young trees have slender simple branches down to the ground, put on with strict regularity, sharply aspiring at the top, horizontal about half-way down, and drooping in handsome curves at the base. By the time the sapling is five or six hundred years old this spiry, feathery, juvenile habit merges into the firm, rounded dome form of middle age, which in turn takes on the eccentric picturesqueness of old age. No other tree in the Sierra...
Page 18 - California are the direct or collateral decendants of the two ancient species which so closely resemble them. The forests of the arctic zone in tertiary times contained at least three other species of Sequoia, as determined by their remains, one of which, from Spitzbergen, also much resembles the common redwood of California. Another, "which appears to have been the commonest coniferous tree on Disco," was common in England and some other parts of Europe.
Page 16 - From the following table it will be seen that there are several trees in this grove larger than any in the Calaveras, and that their average size is greater. The average height of the Mariposa trees, however, is less than that of the Calaveras ; and the highest of the former, 272 feet, is 53 feet less than the tallest one of the latter. There is a burned stump on the north side of the grove, nearly all gone, but indicating a tree of a size perhaps a little greater than any now existing here.
Page 7 - It is on or near the road crossing the Sierra by the Silver Mountain Pass. This being the first grove of the Big Trees discovered, and the most accessible, it has come more into notice and been much more visited than any of the others; indeed, this and the Mariposa Grove are the only ones which have become a resort for travelers. The Calaveras Grove has also the great advantage over the others that a good hotel is kept there, and that it is accessible on wheels, all the others being at a greater...
Page 8 - Grove, as it .:s usually called, is said to contain about half as many (182) trees as the one just described. They are much scattered among other trees, and do not, therefore, present as imposing an appearance as those in the other grove, where quite a large number can often be seen from one point. The largest...
Page 8 - Clark's ranch, and at an elevation of about 1,500 feet above the last-named place, or of 5,500 feet above the sea-level. It lies in a little valley, occupying a depression on the back of a ridge, which runs along in an easterly direction between Big Creek and the South Merced. One of the branches of the creek heads in the grove. The grant made by Congress is two miles square, and embraces, in reality, two distinct, or nearly distinct groves ; that is to say, two collections of Big Trees, bctween...
Page 16 - Calaveras ; and the highest of the former, 272 ft. is 53 ft. less than the tallest one of the latter. There is a burned stump on the north side of the grove, nearly all gone, but indicating a tree of a size perhaps a little greater than any now existing here. The beauty of the Mariposa Grove has been sadly marred by the ravages of fire, which has evidently swept through it again and again, almost ruining many of the finest trees. Still, the general appearance No.
Page 16 - These giants bulge considerably at the base, but not more than is required for beauty and safety; and the only reason that this bulging seems in some cases excessive is that only a comparatively small section of the shaft is seen at once in near views. One that I measured in the Kings...
Page 11 - ... where, any sign of top can be found, 365 feet. But no one can approximately realize the immense proportions of this prostrate forest sire, without climbing to its top, and walking down it for its entire length; by this, moreover, he will ascertain that it was nearly 200 feet to the first branch. At the end of the burnt cavity within, is a never-failing spring of deliciously cool water. 1 JM Hutchings in "In the Heart of the Sierras." The handsome group of stately trees that encompass the "Father...

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