24 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



the prevailing winds and storms of their moisture, the normal rainfall 

 is seldom over five inches and often less than two. 



With such a complex of climatic conditions it would he futile to 

 attempt an account of the numerous plant associations or formations. 

 We shall rather try to present some of the general features of the most 

 important floral districts or belts. 



The Coniferous Forests 



California possesses the richest and most unique coniferous forests 

 in the world. Nowhere is there the wealth of species and genera, no- 

 where such giant trees or interesting and rare types. Within the state 

 there are thirteen genera and forty-eight species, twice the number 

 found in the territory covered by Britton and Brown's " Illustrated 

 Flora," an area over six times that of California. But it is not so 

 much the variety of kinds that makes these forests famous as it is the 

 grandeur of the individual trees, and the unique character or scarcity 

 of the species. 



The Giant Sequoias or Big Trees are world-renowned for their im- 

 mense size and great age — the oldest and largest living beings. Here, 

 in their Sierran fastness, these giants stand majestic, vigorous and sound 

 to the heart- — trees that were centuries old when Christ was on earth. 

 In the words of their first warden, the venerable Galen Clark, 



their majestic graceful beauty is unequalled. . . . The bright cinnamon color 

 of their immense fluted trunks, in strong contrast to the green foliage and 

 dark hues of the surrounding forest, make them all the more conspicuous and 

 impressive. In their sublime presence a man is filled with a sense of awe and 

 veneration as if treading on hallowed ground. 



They are distributed along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada at 

 middle elevations for a distance of about two hundred and fifty miles. 

 Toward the southern end of their range extensive forests are formed 

 and reproduce freely; but north of Kings Biver the groves are small 

 and isolated, comprising middle-aged or mature trees with few or no 

 seedlings. These isolated groves are thought to represent the original 

 patches which escaped the destructive onslaught of the ice age. The 

 average height of the large specimens is about two hundred and seventy- 

 five feet, although trees three hundred and twenty-five feet have been 

 measured. The diameter of the trunk averages about twenty feet, but a 

 few trees attain thirty, and the General Grant is said to be forty feet 

 at the much-enlarged base. 



The Mariposa Grove and the smaller Tuolumne and Merced groves 

 are within the Yosemite National Park. In addition to these, two 

 other parks have been established by the Federal government for the 

 preservation of the giant sequoia, the General Grant National Park, 

 situated in the Kings Biver forest and the Sequoia National Park, in 

 the Kaweah Biver forest. 



