BOT.— Vol. II.] PEIRCE— SEQUOIA SEMPERVIRENS. 85 



The redwood is a tree of fairly rapid growth. I can not 

 base my opinion on measurements, but I believe that the 

 sprouts from the stumps and underground parts of old red- 

 woods which have been felled grow faster than plants 

 from the seed. It appears, from what I shall presently 

 report, that in the living underground remnants of old trees 

 there are great quantities of reserve food which are avail- 

 able for the nutrition of sprouts. These sprouts or suckers 

 are not wholly dependent upon the food they themselves 

 elaborate. So long as their connection with the parent tree 

 continues unbroken, and the remnants of the old tree retain 

 their vitality, the young trees can use the food stored in the 

 parent. For this or for some other reason, the young trees 

 which begin as suckers and sprouts attain a considerable 

 height and diameter within a few years. Young trees of 

 this sort, in the canons and on the mountain sides in various 

 places which I have visited, not far from the Stanford Uni- 

 versity, already have very considerable dimensions. Such 

 trees may be seen above Portola and above Los Gatos. In 

 comparison with the great redwoods of the virgin forest to 

 the north, these young trees are very small. They are still 

 absolutely as well as relatively of no value as timber, but 

 they have been growing only a few years. If they are 

 allowed to continue to grow, if they are reasonably pro- 

 tected against drought by having the watershed above and 

 about them as little disturbed as possible, I can see no reason 

 why valuable redwood timber should not continue to be 

 produced in these canons at least. 



Mr. Gannett's account of the lumbering operations in the 

 northern redwood forest reveals one, and it seems to me an 

 adequate, reason why the redwood forest is succeeded 

 neither by a second growth of seedlings of its own sort nor 

 by a vigorous growth of sprouts from the stumps and under- 

 ground parts. Because the redwood is free from resin and 

 contains much water, the freshly felled trees do not burn 

 readily. For this reason, the lumbermen commonly clear 

 away the rubbish around the trunk of a felled tree simply 

 by setting fire to the brush. In this wa}'- the foliage and 



