£^orj> of a £0ou$anb/gear (pine 



checked its growth, and as a result the wood for 

 that one year resembled two years' growth, but 

 yet the difference between this double or false 

 ring and a regular one was easily detected. Old 

 Pine's " hard times " experience seems to have 

 been during the years 1804 and 1805. I think it 

 probable that these were years of drought. Dur- 

 ing 1804 the layer of wood was the thinnest in 

 his life, and for 1805 the only wood I could find 

 was a layer which only partly covered the trunk 

 of the tree, and this was exceedingly thin. 



From time to time in the old pine's record, I 

 came across what seemed to be indications of 

 an earthquake shock; but late in 181 1 or early 

 in 181 2, I think there is no doubt that he expe- 

 rienced a violent shock, for he made extensive 

 records of it. This earthquake occurred after the 

 sap had ceased to flow in 181 1, and before it 

 began to flow in the spring of 181 2. In places the 

 wood was checked and shattered. At one point, 

 some distance from the ground, there was a bad 

 horizontal break. Two big roots were broken in 

 two, and that quarter of the tree which faced the 

 cliffs had suffered from a rock bombardment. I 



45 



