NOTES 81>1 



those just described appear to be, still they cannot equal the giant 

 sequoias, of which we are justly proud. 



A sequoia tree cut in 1854, called "The Mother of the Forest," had 

 a diameter of 30 feet and a height of 321 feet and contained 537,000 

 board feet, which is twice that given for these famous Kauri trees of 

 New Zealand. In addition, this tree was 137 feet to the first limb. 

 Another tree, called "The Father of the Forest," measured a number 

 of years ago 36 feet in diameter, 400 feet in height, and 200 feet to the 

 first limb. Bulletin 28 of the Bureau of Forestry mentions 16 trees 

 with diameters of over 22 feet, with an average height of 272 feet, and 

 three trees, named after Eastern States, have diameters of 33, 34, and 

 35 feet and heights of 307, 311, and 300 feet. John Muir, in his 

 "Mountains of California," mentions that he measured a tree in the 

 Kings River Forest which had a diameter of 25 feet at the ground and 

 a diameter of 10 feet 200 feet from the ground, with 100 feet or more 

 of the trunk branchless. It is not often that one comes across such 

 statements as the one by Mr. Hutchins, but when we do we are greatly 

 chagrined that our fame has not yet permeated to the ends of the earth. 



E. N. M. 



In the Coniptes rcndus des Seances de I'Acadhnie dcs Sciences for 

 May, 1918, a process for making paper pulp from leaves is described 

 as simple, rapid, and inexpensive. The leaves are crushed, and thus 

 divided into two parts, veins and powder, the veins forming the raw 

 material for the pulp. They are steeped in lye for a short time, then 

 washed and bleached, and the pulp is made. 



The powder may be used as a fuel. It may be compressed into 

 bricks with or without coal dust, but dry distillation is preferable. By 

 this method is obtained a relatively pure (porous) fuel, rich in calories 

 (6,500 to 7,000) and easily agglomerated. At the same time are ob- 

 tained a tar, acetone, and pyroligneous acid. The powder may be used 

 as a food for cattle also ; for, the fibrous parts of the leaf having been 

 removed, the assimilable, nutritive parts remain. 



The yield of 1,000 pounds of leaves is: 250 pounds of paper pulp; 

 200 pounds of pure fuel (or 500 pounds of food powder) ; 30 pounds 

 of tar, I pound of pyroligneous acid, 0.6 pound of acetone. 



To meet the paper requirements of France, only 4 million tons of 

 the annual supply of from 35 to 40 million tons of dead leaves would 

 be necessary, which would, moreover, yield 2 million tons of useful 

 by-products. The leaves are easily collected and need not be stored, 

 as they may be utilized throughout the year. It would be better to 



