266 THE PLANT WORLD 



less damage to the young trees in logging virgin Redwood lands, and to 

 hold such lands for a second crop. The study made concerns itself with 

 young second growth, rather than with mature trees ; with timbered 

 areas rather than with the virgin forest. Where attention was given the 

 old forests and methods of lumbering, it was only that a better knowledge 

 might be gained of second growth and how to deal with it. 



The Redwood grows to a greater height than any other American 

 tree, but in girth and in age it is exceeded by the Big Tree of the Sierras. 

 On the slopes 225 feet is about its maximum height and 10 feet its 

 greatest diameter, while on the flats, under better conditions, it grows to 

 be 350 feet high with a diameter of 20 feet. Most of the Redwood cut is 

 from 400 to 800 years old. After the tree has passed the age of 500 

 years it usually begins to die down from the top and to fall off in growth. 

 The oldest Redwood found during the Bureau's investigation had begun 

 life 1,373 years ago. 



The bark of the tree offers such a remarkable resistance to fire that 

 except under great heat it is not combustible. It is of a reddish-gray 

 color, fibrous in texture, and gives to full-grown Redwoods a fluted 

 appearance. Moisture available for the roots is the first need of the 

 Redwood, as any hilly tract of forest will show. Wherever a small gully, 

 or bench, or basin is so placed as to receive an uncommon amount of 

 seepage, or wherever a creek flows by, there the trees are sure to be 

 largest. While moisture of the soil affects the development of the Red- 

 wood, moisture of the atmosphere regulates its distribution. The limits 

 of the sea fogs are just about the limits of the tree. The fogs, unless 

 scattered by winds, flow inland among the mountains. Western expo- 

 sures receive most of the mist they carry, except those higher ridges above 

 their reach, which support, in consequence, only a scattering growth of 

 Redwood . 



The seed of the Redwood will not germinate in shaded places ; the 

 small seedling demands plenty of light. The crown is almost as thin and 

 open as that of a larch, another sign that the tree is not naturally tolerant 

 of shade. In a mixed stand the Redwood's branches die off more rapidly 

 than those of its companions, and the crown bends eagerly to places where 

 the light enters the forest canopy. But in spite of these signs of its sen- 

 sitiveness to light, the Redwood forms one of the densest forests that 

 grow. 



The reason for this is that the stand is maintained chiefly by sucker- 

 ing from old trees. Supported and nourished by full-grown roots and 

 stems, young trees grow under shade that would kill the small seedling. 

 The sprout will endure an astonishing amount of shade. In stands of 

 second growth, so dense that not a ray of sunlight can enter, saplings 

 6 or 8 feet high are to be found growing from stumps bare of branch or 



