NUMBER XX 

 THE BIG TREES 



THE " Big Trees " or Sequoias of the western 

 slopes of the Sierra Nevada range and the 

 " Redwoods " of the coast ranges are the magnifi- 

 cent survivors of an ancient stock (dating from the 

 distant Cretaceous Period) that once spread over 

 the Northern Hemisphere, but was brought near to 

 an end by the severe conditions of the Great Ice 

 Age. In size, majesty, vigour, self-healing power, 

 and antiquity these " Big Trees " command our 

 admiration. They have also the distinction of 

 having had a longer life than any other living 

 creatures they make centenarians and the like 

 appear youngsters. 



The late Prof. W. R. Dudley made some careful 

 records on this subject. " Of the various trunks of 

 Sequoia gigantea examined ranging from 900 years 

 upward, the oldest possessed 2,425 rings, or had 

 begun its existence 525 years before the Christian 

 era." A tree near a perennial stream was over 

 80 feet in circumference ten feet from the ground, 

 but was only 1 ,510 years old ; another growing on 

 a hillside, not near a stream, had suffered from fire 

 and from privations (fifty rings of scarce years 



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