THE WONDERS OF VEGETATION. 191 



from Algeria. But the most touching service they 

 render comes from their fragrant leaves. During the 

 Franco-German war they were largely used in hospi- 

 tals instead of lint, their balsamic nature not only 

 curing wounds, but after a few hours causing all un- 

 pleasant odors to cease. 



THE GIANT TREES OF CALIFORNIA. 



California appears to be the country of the greatest 

 vegetable wealth, as it is also the land where gold 

 most abounds. It is about 15 miles from what was 

 once French Gulch that we meet with the mammoth 

 trees, which there count up to about ninety in number. 

 In other places, and near the Yosemite Valley, hun- 



Eagle Wing. 



dreds have since been discovered. They rise straight 

 as columns to the height of about 320 feet, and 

 measure about a hundred feet in the circumference of 

 their foliage. The first branches strike off at about 



