In the Sierra 



groups with younger trees around them ; 

 and outside of these another circle of yet 

 smaller ones, the whole arranged like taste- 

 fully symmetrical bouquets, every tree fitting 

 nicely the place assigned to it as if made es- 

 pecially for it ; small roses and eriogonums 

 are usually found blooming on the open 

 spaces about the groves, forming charm- 

 ing pleasure grounds. Higher, the firs grad- 

 ually become smaller and less perfect, many 

 showing double summits, indicating storm 

 stress. Still, where good moraine soil is 

 found, even on the rim of the lake-basin, 

 specimens one hundred and fifty feet in 

 height and five feet in diameter occur nearly 

 nine thousand feet above the sea. The sap- 

 lings, I find, are mostly bent with the crush- 

 ing weight of the winter snow, which at this 

 elevation must be at least eight or ten feet 

 deep, judging by marks on the trees ; and 

 this depth of compacted snow is heavy 

 enough to bend and bury young trees twenty 

 or thirty feet in height and hold them 



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