THE FOEESTS 181 



miles of the cool glacial fountains of the summit 

 peaks. The extreme upper limit of the belt is 

 reached between the middle and south forks of the 

 Kaweah at an elevation of 8400 feet. But the finest 

 block of Big Tree forest in the entire belt is on the 

 north fork of Tule Eiver. In the northern groves 

 there are comparatively few young trees or saplings. 

 But here for every old, storm-stricken giant there 

 are many in all the glory of prime vigor, and for 

 each of these a crowd of eager, hopeful young trees 

 and saplings growing heartily on moraines, rocky 

 ledges, along watercourses, and in the moist al 

 luvium of meadows, seemingly in hot pursuit of 

 eternal life. 



But though the area occupied by the species in 

 creases so much from north to south there is no 

 marked increase in the size of the trees. A height 

 of 275 feet and a diameter near the ground of about 

 20 feet is perhaps about the average size of full- 

 grown trees favorably situated ; specimens 25 feet 

 in diameter are not very rare, and a few are nearly 

 300 feet high. In the Calaveras Grove there are 

 four trees over 300 feet in height, the tallest of 

 which by careful measurement is 325 feet. The 

 largest I have yet met in the course of my explora 

 tions is a majestic old scarred monument in the 

 King's River forest. It is 35 feet 8 inches in diame 

 ter inside the bark four feet from the ground. Un 

 der the most favorable conditions these giants 

 probably live 5000 years or more, though few of 

 even the larger trees are more than half as old. 

 I never saw a Big Tree that had died a natural 

 death ; barring accidents they seem to be immortal, 



