196 THE WONDERS OF VEGETATION. 



and kept there till a few years ago a disastrous fire 

 destroyed the wing in which they had been placed. 

 Our illustration represents the largest of this class of 

 trees, which have been called the " Fathers of the 

 Forest." " This tree, also known under the name of 

 the mammoth tree, was found," says the botanist 

 Muller, " by Lobb, upon the Sierra Nevada, at a 

 height of 5,000 feet above the sea level, near the 

 sources of the Stanislaus and St. Anthony rivers. It 

 belongs to the family of the coniferse, and reaches an 

 average height of from 250 to 300 feet. Recent ob- 

 servations, however, inform us that it may attain a 

 height of 400 feet and upwards. The diameter of 

 its trunk at its base is from 12 to 31 feet. The bark, 

 which is 18 inches thick, is of the color of cinnamon, 

 and has on the inside a fibrous texture, while the 

 wood of the stem is reddish in color, but is soft and 

 bright." This reminds us that the wood of the bao- 

 bab also is by no means very hard, although it is one 

 of the most ancient trees in the world. 'About ninety 

 of these immense pines are to be seen within a circuit 

 of one mile. Usually they are grouped in twos and 

 threes upon a black soil well watered. Even the anx- 

 ious gold seekers have not been able to look upon 

 them with indifference, and have called one of them 

 the " Miner's Cabin." The stem of this tree is 300 

 feet high, and in it an excavation has been made 17 

 feet wide. The " Three Sisters " are a separate 

 growth from one and the same root. The " Family " 

 consists of two old and twenty-four young trees. 

 The " Riding School " is a great tree hollowed out 



