1892] The Big Trees of the Sierra 



recession left certain sections of the lower Sierran 

 slopes (from 4700 to 7000 feet in altitude) par- 

 ticularly favorable for the invasion of this genus 

 from regions farther south. 



Planted in parks in England as well as in America, 

 the young trees thrive perfectly. Yet the vigorous 

 infants only a hundred or so years old at Kew and 

 Warwick hardly reveal their identity with our 

 stately and beautiful giants which have looked down 

 on fifty centuries of unshifting mountain solitude, 

 for the full-grown tree is almost as unique in beauty 

 as in botanical relationship. 1 



Borne high aloft on the huge satiny, cinnamon- Sequoia 

 hued bole, the delicate sprays of brilliant green 

 foliage stand out with an effect indescribably lovely, 

 especially in the sunlight. The largest example of 

 this superb species (Calaveras Grove) is 45 feet in 

 diameter 6 feet above the base, and 325 feet high. 

 Only the sister form, the slender Sempervirens of the 

 Coast Range, in any sense rivals it in majestic 

 beauty. But the biggest redwood is less than 20 

 feet in diameter and barely 275 feet in height ! 



The Big Trees tower Titan-like above the mag- other giant, 

 nificent pine forests which clothe the flanks of the coni f grs 

 Sierra Nevada. Here flourishes the Sugar Pine 

 Pinus lambertiana the largest of its tribe, with 

 enormous cones, dark green foliage, and straight, 

 symmetrical mast, sometimes 10 feet through; "be- 

 yond doubt the noblest of all vegetables," declared 

 its discoverer, David Douglas, the botanist. At 



1 On the Stanford Campus are several promising little Sequoias. The first 

 was planted at Mr. Stanford's request in March, 1891, by ex-President Harri- 

 son. Later that good precedent was followed when other distinguished visitors 

 came, among them John Hay and Theodore Roosevelt. In 1904, in accordance 

 with Mrs. Stanford's wish, I myself planted a sapling near Encina Hall. 



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