Lamb: Value of the Contest 



425 



among hardwood trees would be con- 

 fined to eastern United States. But 

 the original forest condition no longer 

 prevails here. Clear lands and culti- 

 vated fields have largely supplanted the 

 original forest growth. The giant trees 

 which still remain are not the product 

 of this new condition, however, but are 

 the survivors of the original forest. 

 Through accident, neglect and occa- 

 sionally through early recognition of 

 their value, they now occupy a position 

 which has only been made permanent 

 by the destruction of the surrounding 

 forest. Soil and moisture conditions 

 may now be considerably modified 

 and may even be unfavorable for the 

 growth of that species, but, notwith- 

 standing, these patriarchs, vigorous even 

 in age, may not have begun to exhibit 

 the slightest deterioration. Standing 

 alone these survivors occupy sites not 

 unlike those of the isolated specimens 

 of oak which are found growing naturally 

 in the valleys of California. The age 

 of some of these western oaks may be 

 over 300 years. The isolated eastern 

 trees may not have been in this condition 

 for so long a time. As isolation appears 

 to favor diameter growth the oaks of Cali- 

 fornia are at no disadvantage in the con- 

 test for size among the hardwood trees. 



OLD AGE IN TREES 



The largest individual of any tree 

 species is generally taken by the forester 

 as an index as to the maximum size 

 attained by that species. In some 

 instances fallen trees have been observed 

 which have exceeded living specimens in 

 size. Even in the present contest the 

 largest specimen of elm submitted con- 

 sists of only a dead trunk which, how- 

 ever, is still in an upright position. It is 

 known that the life of this magnificent 

 elm, having a circumference of 33 feet at 

 5 feet from the ground, was terminated 

 by an outside factor, and that had it 

 been protected, and if necessary assisted 

 in the support of its massive branches, 

 undoubtedly it would have grown on, 

 reaching still greater proportions. 



Exponents of the doctrine of indefinite 

 longevity in trees maintain that they 

 never die from old age or from causes 

 analogous to those which determine the 



natural limit of animal life, but that 

 they are destroyed by injury, disease, 

 or other accidental influence. The the- 

 ory is based upon the fact that a tree 

 annually renews its growing parts. 

 Each year the sapwood cylinder is 

 increased on the outer side and on the 

 inner side it is gradually being trans- 

 formed into inactive heartwood. It is 

 indeed evident that each species has an 

 habitual period of death. The oak 

 is notoriously long-lived. Willows and 

 poplars have a brief existence. How- 

 ever, the early termination of the life 

 of a tree may not be due to a natural 

 death by old age, but to the fact that 

 by the rapid growth, soft and fragile 

 wood is produced which renders the 

 species especially susceptible to decay 

 or breakage. Moreover, it is likely that 

 different species are susceptible to 

 certain kinds of accidents. Plant dis- 

 ease, for example, favors some trees, and 

 not others. A careful consideration 

 of the causes of death in trees does not 

 at all indicate that finally they must of 

 necessity succumb to internal causes 

 of destruction. 



VALUE OF LARGE TREES 



However, an appeal for the preserva- 

 tion of large trees is not based upon the 

 scientific value which they may have in 

 proving or disproving the doctrine of 

 indefinite longevity. It would indeed 

 be of greater value to such an investiga- 

 tion to experiment on woody plants of 

 short life in order that results might be 

 obtained within the period of observa- 

 tion of one investigator. The preserva- 

 tion of large trees yields scientific data 

 of greater value in furnishing informa- 

 tion as to the size attained by different 

 species before they succumb to exterior 

 or interior influences as the case may be. 

 Unfortunately the same science which 

 desires preservation of large trees also 

 would dictate the felling of gigantic 

 specimens in order to facilitate the 

 inspection and study of the annual 

 growth rings. Such arboricide would 

 be most unfortunate. In the absence 

 of superstition or peculiar beliefs which 

 encourage the protection of vegetable 

 matter we are apt to classify plants 

 along with other natural objects. A 



