142 Native Habits of Sequoia Gigantea. [ZOE 
its rapid growth coupled with its longevity. The largest trees 
in the Sierra must have reached an age of between 4000 to 
5000 years. When the Cheops pyramid in Egypt was being 
constructed our largest Sequoias now standing were already 
youngsters of respectable size, and when Czesar conquered Gaul 
the very trees we now gaze on were already older than almost 
any other tree now extant. 
If we add to its other good qualities those of its ability to stand 
a very low temperature as well as a very high one, it may be 
seen that its advantages are indeed many, and that a better tree 
for memorial planting can hardly be had. But the nature of the 
Sequoia gigantea is little understood, and to this want of knowl- 
edge of its nature and the conditions under which it thrives must 
be laid the many reported failures in growing this tree, failures 
which are both frequent, alarming, and discouraging. Not one 
gardener in a million has ever seen the Seguota giganica in its 
native home in the Sierra Nevada, and few of those who have 
seen it have realized the peculiar conditions under which the 
tree thrives. That our Sequoia is a declinitig species can now 
be little doubted, notwithstanding the efforts and statements 
of several enthusiasts to the contrary. The Sequoia is a relic 
of the past, at least as far as California is concerned—a relic of a 
time when the climate was different from now, when it was 
moister and cooler than the one we now enjoy. 
As is well known the Seguota gigantea is found only in 
groves in the Sierra at altitudes varying from 4000 to 7000 feet, 
roughly speaking. The northern grove is the lowest, the south- 
ern grove the highest in elevation. ‘This shows that a certain 
altitude is required, or rather that certain conditions attending 
altitudes are needed, for the welfare of the tree. ‘These condi- 
_tions of altitude can be only two—heat and moisture. 
The further north the lower must be the altitude in order 
to supply the necessary heat; the further south again the higher 
must be the altitude in order to give the necessary moisture. 
That the tree in order to propagate itself successfully is greatly 
dependent on these two factors, may be inferred by a study of — | 
the various localities where it is found. It is not necessary to 
_ €numerate these here—they have been already commented upon in 
