THE BIG TREES
[Illustration: FIG. 131. Big Trees scarred by Fire at the Base. Redwood
Meadow, California]
Each section of country has its own peculiar trees, and those described
have been mainly representative of the eastern states; but no list of
American trees would be complete without the “big trees,” as they are
commonly called, of California. The annual rings of these giants show
them to be from two thousand to four thousand years old.
[Illustration: FIG. 132. Big Trees, “General Grant” and “General
Sherman,” Calaveras County, California]
[Illustration: FIG. 133. “General Grant,” a Big Tree, Mariposa Grove,
California]
It is hard to realize this great age. It means that for centuries and
centuries before the white men came these kings of the forests looked
down on generations and generations of Indian tribes. They may even have
seen the coming of the first Indians. What wonderful tales they might
relate if they could only talk!
[Illustration: FIG. 134. Redwood Logs in Humboldt County, California]
On that fateful day over four hundred years ago, when the three little
caravels of Columbus sighted the West Indies, these hoary old trees were
twenty-five hundred years old. They should be sacred to every American,
and not one should ever be cut down for lumber.
There are two distinct kinds of big trees, the redwood and the so-called
“big trees,” which are the largest trees in the world. They both belong
to the cone-bearing (coniferous) group, and the needles are only three
quarters of an inch long and the little cones an inch.
The wood is reddish, as the name implies, not unlike red cedar, but is
softer and is used for many purposes on the Pacific coast.
The big trees are now carefully guarded by the government. One grove
alone which contains seven hundred of these fine trees, called the
Mariposa Grove, has been reserved as a national park, and is watched
carefully to keep out forest fires, etc.
Many of the best known of these trees are given names. One is called
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” because of a peculiar opening at the base.
The most famous perhaps is the “Grizzly Giant.” This one is ninety-three
feet in circumference at the ground, and its first branch is two hundred
feet above the earth and eight feet in diameter. It is considered the
largest tree in the world.
[Illustration: FIG. 135. Redwood Logs blasted apart for Easier Handling
(a very wasteful method)]
We can get some idea of what these figures represent when we know that it
takes five men three weeks to cut one down, and that the cost of felling
one of these monsters is five hundred dollars.
A stump of one of these trees is so large that dances have been held on
it, and on one very large one a ballroom has been built for this special
purpose.
As one Californian has said, “The redwood forests are apparently
imperishable, except through the ax, as the trees are rarely injured by
fire. The redwood is the only lumber that can take the place of the white
pine, answer as a satisfactory substitute for mahogany and black walnut,
displace oak for railroad ties, cypress and cedar for shingles, and
surpass all other woods for durability when in contact with the earth or
when exposed to moisture.”
[Illustration: FIG. 136. Immense Flock of Sheep being herded illegally
in a United States Government Forest Reservation. (They kill the young
seedling trees)]
INDEX
Annual rings, 59
Ash, 92
Aspen, 107
Band saw, 58
Basswood, 103
Beech, 99
Bench, care of, 3
Bench hook, 15
Bevel, 10
Big Trees of California, 123
Birches, 96
Bit, auger, 27
auger, details of, 28
center, 27
countersink, 29
gimlet, 29
Black walnut, 89
Brace, common forms of, 26
and bit, 27
Bract of linden, 105
Buckeye, 87
Butternut, 89
Buttonwood, 101
Cap iron, 17
Cedar, 120
Chisel, cutting angle of, 23
firmer, 24
framing, 24
methods of using, 24
sharpening, 25
Clamp iron of plane, 18
Compound leaves, 85
Cottonwood, or Carolina poplar, 108
Cutting tools, 11
Cypress, 118
Dovetail. _See_ Joint
Drawing board, 45, 62
Elm, American, 94
Evergreens, 111
Felling trees, 52
Fir, balsam, 118
Framing square, 8
Gang saw, 55
Glue, use of, 39
Grain of wood, 59
Groups of tools, 4
Gum, sweet, or liquid amber, 101
Hammer, claw, 31
use of, 32
Hand screw, use of, 40
Hemlock, 115
Hickory, 87
Honey locust, 91
Hornbeam, 100
Horse-chestnut, 86
Ironwood, 100
Joint, definition of, 39
dovetail, 47
end lap, 44
middle lap, 38
miter, 41
Joint edge, 37
Jointers, 21
Laying out work, 38
Linden, or basswood, 103
Locust, 91
Log boom, 55
Log jam, 53
Logs, redwood, 126
Lumbering and milling, 51
Mallet, 33
Maple, ash-leaved, 82
Japan, 84
Norway, 78
red, 80
silver, 78
striped, 81
sugar, 76
sycamore, 80
Maple keys, 82
Marking gauge, 8
Mechanical drawing, 43
of end lap joint, 44
of cylinder, 44
Medullary rays, 59
Miscellaneous tools, 31
Mortise, cutting a, 34
Mulberry, 109
Nail set or punch, 32
Nails, cut and wire, 41
method of using cut, 41
withdrawing, 32
Oak, black and black-jack, 69
chestnut, 74
live, 75
mossy-cup, 68
pin, 72
post, 67
red, 70
scarlet, 71
white, 66
Oilstone, use of, 25
Pecan, 89
Perspective drawing and constructive drawing compared, 43
Pine, Georgia, 114
white, 113
yellow, 114
Plan of work, 4
Plane, 17
adjustments on, 18
block, 21
block, method of using, 22
jack, 19
smooth, 20
wooden, 22
Plane iron in action, 17
Poplars, 106
River driving, 53
Rule, use of, 6
Sandpaper, use of, 34
Sassafras, 108
Saw, back, 15
circular, 57
method of holding, 14
turning, 16
Saw tapers, 14
Saw teeth, shape of, 13
Saw tooth action, 11
Saw tooth set, 13
Sawmill, 55
Saws, 11
Scale drawing, 48
Screw-driver, 33
Screws, varieties of, and methods of using, 42
Sections of red oak, 70
Set screw of plane iron, 17
Shake in wood, 60
Shrinkage, 61
Spokeshave, 29
Spruce, 116
Stock, squaring up, 36
Sycamore, 101
T square, use of, 45
Timber and lumber, 58
Trees, broad-leaved, or deciduous, 65
Triangles, use of, 45
Try-square, use of, 6
Tulip, or whitewood, 102
Warping, 61
Weather checks, 60
Willow, 106
Working face, 37