CALIFORNIA'S GREAT TREES.
Not only is California the land of gold, the garden of fruit, and the
home of the vine, but its rich soil is the footing for the greatest
trees in the world. The redwoods of California are known all over the
earth, and their fame is deserved, for they are the loftiest, the
grandest trees that ever raised their crests to heaven, swayed in the
breeze, and defied the storm. Though usually spoken of as the redwoods,
these big trees are of two varieties. The redwood proper is the _Sequoia
sempervirens_ of the botanist, and the sister tree is the great
Washington _Sequoia_, Wellington _Sequoia_, or _Sequoia gigantea_, being
known by all three names, the last being the most correct. Another
forest giant of a different nature to either, and yet commanding
attention, on account of its giant size and age, is the _Pinus
lambertiana_, the great sugar-pine of California. These three are the
greatest trees on earth.
To single out the largest individual tree, it is probable that the
_Sequoia sempervirens_ would have to be awarded the palm; while to the
greatest number of very large trees, the palm would have to be awarded
to the _Sequoia gigantea_. Redwood trees (_Sequoia sempervirens_) are
found only on the Coast Range, and _Sequoia giganteas_ only in the
Sierra Nevada Mountains. There are no redwoods south of Monterey County
or north of Trinity County. The trees are different in foliage, and in
their cones the _Sequoia gigantea_ has a larger, more compact, firm cone
than the _Sequoia sempervirens_, the cone of which is small and split
open, though the similarity in form of the cones is noticeable. It is
not generally known that "_sequoia_" is the name of the _genus_, just
like oak, cypress, maple, and hence that the _gigantea_ and
_sempervirens_ are species of the same _genus_. The name _sequoia_ comes
from _Sequoyah_, a Cherokee Indian chief of mixed blood, whose wisdom
raised him as much above his fellows as the redwoods tower above other
trees.
As to the age of the trees, it is conceded by botanists that the
concentric rings interpret their annual growth. Objection has been taken
to this on the ground that the distance between the rings varies very
much in different trees of the same species. This fact has, however, no
weight. The closer the rings the thriftier the tree, and their distance
apart has no more to do with their age than a man's height or weight
have to do with his age. Differences in soil and location account for
the closeness of the rings, but, unquestionably, every added ring
represents an added year of growth. In some cases there are but six or
eight rings to the inch, in others thirty to forty. The ages of the big
trees in the Calaveras and Mariposa groves range from 1,000 to 4,320
years of age. One can scarcely conceive what this means; and the
historic incidents of the days when these trees were already old may
help to convey an idea of their age. When Carthage was founded some of
these trees were centuries old; before Solomon built his temple, or
David founded Judea, some of these forest giants fell crashing to earth,
and have lain prone there ever since. All through the ages of
Christianity the changing winds have shaken their tapering tops, and
have swayed their crests in the gentle zephyrs, or rocked them to and
fro in the gale, and now man, the pigmy, with his piece of jagged steel,
his span of life three score years and ten, comes along, cuts through
the forest giant, and the growth of thousands of years, that has defied
storm and tempest, falls a victim to the pigmy.
The largest stump extant is in Mill Valley, Marin County, half an hour's
ride north of San Francisco. This remnant of a great tree belongs to the
redwood family; is, in fact, a genuine _Sequoia sempervirens_. How high
it may have been it is impossible to say. Its circumference now is 135
feet, and measures across, on an average, 43 feet 6 inches. The saplings
which stand round the ruin measure from 3 to 10 feet in diameter. The
largest standing tree is the "Mother of the Forest," in the Calaveras
grove. It now measures, without the bark, at the base 84 feet, and the
full circumference, with the bark, which was stripped off in 1854 for
exhibition purposes, was 90 feet. Its height is 321 feet, and the tree
is estimated to contain 537,000 feet of inch lumber, allowing for saw
cuts. Close to it, prone upon mother earth, lies the "Father of the
Forest." When standing, it is accredited with having been 400 feet high,
with a circumference at the base of 110 feet, and he unquestionably was
once king of the grove. "The living and representative trees of the
Calaveras groves," says J. M. Hutchings, in "The Heart of the Sierras,"
"consist of ten that are each 30 feet in diameter, and over seventy that
measure from 15 to 30 feet at the ground." About six miles to the
southeast of the Calaveras grove (in Calaveras County, Cal.) is the
South grove. It contains 1,380 _Sequoias_, ranging from 1 foot to 34
feet in diameter.
In the Mariposa grove, in Mariposa County, Cal., there are many large
trees, among them the "Grizzly Giant," measuring 91 feet at the ground,
and 74 feet 6 inches three feet six inches above the ground, and is 275
feet high. Many very large trees and many interesting facts might be
mentioned relative to them.
The _Sequoia gigantea_ in the Sierras, in addition to the differences in
cone and flower from the _Sequoia sempervirens_, has this one that,
while the former grows only from seeds, the latter grows from both seeds
and suckers, though mainly from the latter. The _Sequoias_ of the
Sierras rise to a height of 275 or even 350 feet, and are from 20 to 30,
or even in rare cases 40 feet in diameter.