COLLECTION OF SECTIONS. 51 



hoped that its center would prove of very great age. But the results 

 were disappointing, for it turned out that it had fallen only a few years 

 before the logging began and that its age was only 2,200 years. It had 

 so many compressed rings in its outer parts that the last 800 years 

 were not considered worth measuring. 



On leaving the vicinity of Hume several days were spent at the 

 General Grant National Park. It formed an ideal center for a con- 

 siderable region. Horseback trips were made to the area which 

 Huntington calls the " World's Fair District," "Converse Hoist," and 

 by other names. No. 20 was a fallen tree with a northerly exposure, 

 on the west side of the upper basin, not far from the old hoist at the 

 top of the ridge. It was on the west side of the abandoned railroad. 

 It was found that the tree fell only 6 years before the logging was 

 done. A log had been taken out and the sample was cut from the top 

 of the fallen stump. No. 21 is the most interesting of all, because it 

 gives the oldest record by nearly 200 years. It is on the east side of the 

 railroad and brook in the lower part of the upper basin, and some 30 

 feet above the level of the brook. It is not at all impossible that during 

 its long life the topographic character of the ground about it has 

 altered materially. It is somewhat complacent in its later growth, but 

 this does not persist throughout its record. The top of the stump had 

 carbonized, become extremely brittle and very hard to cut. Though 

 bits of wood broke off and clogged the saw, every piece was marked and 

 preserved. The radial sample has been glued together in the labora- 

 tory and is now 9 feet long. The original center of the stump was 

 badly cracked through contraction in drying, but there were lacking 

 only about 2 inches at the center. The central portion, perhaps a foot 

 in diameter, was not firm enough to be cut out with the saw. It was 

 therefore removed very carefully and is now mounted in a special box 

 in the laboratory. The oldest complete ring in good condition was 

 identified as 1305 B. C. Possibly two more rings may be added. A 

 hundred yards to the south and slightly higher up the hillside is the 

 "World's Fair Stump." This was cut in 1892 at a height of more than 

 20 feet above the ground, and to-day the stump is very difficult to 

 climb, as the scaffold built around it has broken away. 



A trip was made from the General Grant National Park to the 

 upper part of the Comstock millsite, known also as Wigger's. The 

 stage road goes near it and the point is known as "Big Stump." The 

 stump, easily seen from the road, is some 25 feet in diameter with a 

 raised square in the center. The location is in a side basin close to a 

 small brook. An examination of the rings showed that the tree had 

 grown with the greatest rapidity, as the rings were of enormous size. 

 It was estimated to be 1,500 years old. No sample was taken of it. 



A trip was also made from the park to visit the General Grant Tree 

 and if possible estimate its age. There is an extensive burnt area on 



