THE REDWOODS 



325 



hundred miles, and in massive, sustained 

 grandeur and closeness of growth sur- 

 passes all the other timber woods of the 

 world. Trees from 10 to 15 feet in 

 diameter and 500 feet high are not un- 

 common, and a few attain a height of 

 350 feet or even 400, with a diameter at 

 the base of 15 to 20 feet or more, while 

 the ground beneath them is a garden of 

 fresh, exuberant ferns, lilies, gaultheria, 

 and rhododendron. This grand tree, 

 Sequoia sempervirens, is surpassed in 

 size only by its near relative, Sequoia 

 gigantea, or Bigtree, of the Sierra Ne- 

 vada, if, indeed, it is surpassed. The 

 sempervirens is certainly the taller of 

 the two. The gigantea attains a greater 



COMPARISON OF A GIANT REDWOOD AND A RAILROAD TRAIN OF EIGHT CARS 



Most of these wonderful trees, which are so large that they have been dignified by individual names, are about 250 feet in height. The Grizzly 

 Giant, with its broken top, is 204 feet, while the Columbia is 294 feet. Many are between 80 and 90 feet in girth at the base and some 

 few over 90; and the diameter at the base is between 20 and 30 feet for the larger ones. 



girth, and is heavier, more noble in port, and more sub- 

 limely beautiful. These two Sequoias are all that are 

 known to exist in the world, though in former geological 

 times the genus was common and had many species. 

 The redwood is restricted to the coast range, and the 

 Bigtree to the Sierra.'* 



The greatest size of the Bigtrees is 300 to 330 feet in- 

 height, and a diameter, 10 feet above the base, of 30 to 

 27 feet. Exceptionally large specimens of the redwood 

 are 325 to 350 feet high and 18 to 20 feet diameter, 10 

 feet above the base. Ordinarily, the Bigtree does not 

 exceed a height of 250 to 280 feet, and a diameter, above 

 the swollen base, of 12 to 17 feet. The usual size attained 

 by the redwood is 8 to 12 feet in diameter and 190 to 280 

 feet in height. For about 10 feet above the ground the 

 trunks of both the redwood and Bigtree are fluted and 

 much enlarged, but above they are well rounded, with 

 an even taper. 



Until several hundred years of age, Bigtrees growing 

 in the open have branches the entire length of the trunk. 

 The slender branches droop gracefully, curving upward 

 at the tip. The young tree forms an attractive pyramid 

 of dense foliage, broad at the base and tapering to a sharp 

 tip. As old age approaches, the trunks are practically 

 branchless for 80 to 125 feet or more. The remaining 



branches are massive, and curiously twisted. The top is 

 open, irregularly rounded and picturesque. In open 

 forest, the largest redwoods are free from branches for 

 50 to 60 feet, and where the trees stand close together, it 

 is 80 to 100 feet to the first limb. Young redwoods may 

 have branches extending to the base, forming a slender 

 spire. Old trees have rounded or flattened tops, heavy- 

 branched, open and irregular, appearing small in con- 

 trast with the great height and size of the trunk. 



The bark of young trees has an attractive purplish 

 shading. Large sequoias have cinnamon brown bark, 

 with deep furrows between wide, rounded ridges. The 

 outer surface is tinged with gray and covered with 

 fibrous scales but small checks, crosswise, disclose the 

 inner bark of brighter red. The bark of the Bigtree 

 has a lighter reddish tinge than the redwood. Both 

 trees have exceedingly thick bark. A mature Bigtree is 

 protected at the base by bark 1 to 2 feet thick; a 

 large redwood may have bark (i to 12 inches or even 

 a foot, in thickness. 



The redwoods are evergreen trees, with bright, deep 

 green foliage. The leaves remain on the trees three or 

 four years after they develop. The redwood has two 

 forms of leaves. On the lower side branches and on 

 young trees the leaves are about one-half inch long, 



