THE TWO OLDEST TREES 



was broken off by lightning striking it. 

 The length of the top was 75 feet, mak- 

 ing a total height for the perfect tree of 

 381 feet. So many of these aged speci- 

 mens of vegetation have their crowns 

 broken off by having been struck by light- 

 ning, there seems to be good evidence of 

 the truth of the old saying: "Stand long 

 enough in one place and you will be 

 struck by lightning." "The Giant" is 

 sixty-six feet in circumference with a di- 

 ameter of twenty-two feet. The age of this 

 tree is stated in printed matter as 5000 

 years. I have taken much pains in comput- 

 ing its age and in making comparisons by 

 consulting stumps in the immediate vicin- 

 ity, and my conclusion is that the age of 

 the tree is 3600 years. This is not a Se- 

 quoia Gigantea, but a cousin of that fam- 

 ily. Its cone is much smaller and slightly 

 different in form. It is known as the Se- 

 quoia Semper Virens. 

 '"It was not long ago that I spent a day 

 among the Big Trees grouped near Santa 



50 



