98 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



February 



fourths of the whole forest. Douglas 

 fir is next in importance, and scattered 

 over the entire tract are various hard- 

 woods, the numerous oaks, madrone, 

 alder, maple and mountain laurel, all 

 of which form a kind of dwarf under- 

 growth to the lofty redwood and fir. 

 The largest redwoods are eighteen feet 

 in diameter at the butt, and will ap- 



bering has been so rapid that it looks 

 as though before many years the or- 

 iginal growth, where unprotected, will 

 have wholly disappeared. 



This 295-acre tract will be a pleas- 

 ure ground as well as a place of 

 scientific study for the people of prac- 

 tically the whole of California, for 

 within a radius of 52 miles of the 



Virgin redwood in California — The tree at its best 



proach three hundred feet in height, 

 rising with perfectly straight and clean 

 stems. As none of the big trees have 

 been cut, their age is, of course, some- 

 what problematical, but it is safe to 

 say that the veterans have stood from 

 one thousand to fifteen hundred years. 

 The destruction of redwood bv lum- 



canyon two-thirds of the population of 

 the entire State are centered. There is 

 no other redwood grove in the whole 

 world more accessible to so many peo- 

 ple. The canyon is in absolutely pri- 

 meval condition, not so much as 

 scratched by the hands of man. 



