THE FOKESTS 187 



assist in making a new crown, each speedily assum 

 ing the special form of true summits. Even in the 

 case of mere stumps, burned half through, some 

 mere ornamental tuft will try to go aloft and do its 

 best as a leader in forming a new head. 



Groups of two or three of these grand trees are 

 often found standing close together, the seeds from 

 which they sprang having probably grown on 

 ground cleared for their reception by the fall of a 

 large tree of a former generation. These patches of 

 fresh, mellow soil beside the upturned roots of the 

 fallen giant may be from forty to sixty feet wide, 

 and they are speedily occupied by seedlings. Out 

 of these seedling-thickets perhaps two or three may 

 become trees, forming those close groups called 

 " three graces," " loving couples," etc. For even sup 

 posing that the trees should stand twenty or thirty 

 feet apart while young, by the time they are full- 

 grown their trunks will touch and crowd against 

 each other and even appear as one in some cases. 



It is generally believed that this grand Sequoia 

 was once far more widely distributed over the 

 Sierra ; but after long and careful study I have come 

 to the conclusion that it never was, at least since 

 the close of the glacial period, because a diligent 

 search along the margins of the groves, and in the 

 gaps between, fails to reveal a single trace of its 

 previous existence beyond its present bounds. Not 

 withstanding, I feel confident that if every Sequoia 

 in the range were to die to-day, numerous monu 

 ments of their existence would remain, of so imper 

 ishable a nature as to be available for the student 

 more than ten thousand years hence. 



