Trees and How to Know Them [ 371 



March. From the seed-producing flowers there develop yellowish- 

 brown, egg-shaped cones between two and three inches long. 

 These mature in two years and the seeds are blown away, but the 

 empty cones often remain on the tree. Sequoias are better able to 

 resist fire than other trees because their spongy red-brown bark 

 is at least twelve inches thick sometimes as much as twenty-four 

 on mature trees. 



The Towering Redwood: The giant sequoia has a cousin, the 

 towering redwood, which grows to an even greater height though 

 its girth is less than that of the sequoia. The redwood gets its 

 name from the straight-grained red wood which varies in tone 

 from light cherry to dark mahogany. It is a popular wood for 

 building. As in the case of the sequoia, the thick, fibrous bark 

 is exceptionally fire-resistant. It is reddish gray with fissures 

 running up and down the trunk, giving it a fluted appearance. 



The Redwood Grows Readily: Sometimes one finds old stumps or 

 roots of redwood from which vigorous sprouts are growing into 

 sizable new trees. In this respect they differ from the giant 

 sequoias, which grow only from seeds. The redwood cones also 

 produce many seeds that may germinate and become young trees. 

 The tree's readiness to sprout is emphasized by redwood burls, the 

 large knots that grow on the trunks. If you place a burl in water, 

 it quickly produces sprouts to form an attractive "redwood plant." 



How to Mount Evergreen Specimens 



Youngsters can make attractive exhibits of evergreens with 

 little or no aid. You start by finding a shallow cardboard box 

 and cutting a square out of the lid, leaving a half-inch margin 

 around the edge. Fill the box with cotton, right up to the top. 

 Place the evergreen spray on this, removing just enough of the 

 cotton under the stem so that the spray will lie flat. 



Now place a piece of glass over the square opening in the 

 lid and fasten it neatly with a tape binding. Put the lid on the 

 box and fasten it by inserting pins on all four sides. You can of 



