THE BIG TREES 



of this magnitude, and to endure a sufficient length 

 of time for its complete recovery." The resistance 

 to insect, fungus, and microbe is hardly less remark- 

 able. " There is something in the sap of the Big 

 Tree that is an elixir of life, something deposited 

 in the layers of wood that resists in an unexampled 

 way the dreadful ' tooth of time.' ' 



One does not envy the man who can look at even 

 a section of a great Sequoia without a thrill at the 

 sight. " We have, deep in their annual rings, 

 records which extend far beyond the beginnings of 

 Anglo-Saxon peoples, beyond even the earliest 

 struggles for liberty and democracy among the 

 Greeks," ..." records of forest conflagrations, of 

 the vicissitudes of seasons, of periods of drought 

 and periods of abundant and favouring rains." 

 It is to be hoped that everything practicable will 

 be done to protect these triumphs of life these 

 sublime instances of its power and endurance. 



133 



