Canadian Forestrii Journal, December, 1918 



1971 



Some Excellent 'I'inifler on the Limits of the Adams' River Timber <:o. 

 of British Columbia. 



The History of Familiar Trees 



By E. B. Luke,Montrcal. 



Where do trees and plants come 

 from? What their history and habits 

 of life? How are they produced, 

 multiplied, and improved, for all fme 

 fruits and flowers are artificial pro- 

 ducts, subdued, and ameliorated from 

 the wild state by the hand of man? 



You have doubtless heard of the 

 giant Sequoia (the big tree of Cali- 

 fornia), growing from 300 to 500 feet 

 high and having diameters of from 

 20 to 60 feet, single trees of which 

 are known to have lived for over 

 4000 years, with a possibility of 

 nearly double that age. When one of 

 these large trees in California fell not 

 long ago, 4000 rings were counted. 

 That tree was 40 centuries old. It was a 

 strong, young tree when Abraham 

 went into Eg^^pt. It saw the des- 

 truction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It 

 was nearly a thousand years old when 

 David slew Goliath, and older when 

 Christ was born, than the Christian 

 religion is to-day, or the Junitor 

 Oak in the forest of Fontainebleaut 



supposed to be 700 years old, or the 

 olive trees in the Garden of Geth- 

 semane at .Jerusalem at least 2000 

 years old, and which, according to 

 traditions, were in existence at the 

 time of Christ. All these, though, 

 were mere infants compared to the 

 Dragon trees of the Canary Islands, 

 one of which we are told was 42 feet 

 in diameter when the Spaniards 

 landed in 1102 and when destroyed 

 by a storm in 1851 was supposed to 

 be over 8000 yeai:s old. 



By the Sivimmin Hole. 



Then there is another class of 

 trees historically important, a class 

 closely interwoven with our boyhood 

 life and as dear to our hearts as the 

 old home-stead. I refer to the old 

 Elm or ]ierhaps it was a Hickory of 

 Willow that marked and spread its 

 protecting branches over the favorile 

 swimming hole of the gang. What 

 stories of boyish pranks and good 

 times' it could tell ? Or the big 



