OTHER RESOURCES 45 



be said that we have here the most remarkable de- 

 velopment of coniferous forests to be found anywhere. 

 While this statement is not true as to any one char- 

 acteristic it is believed to be true as to the sum total 

 of their characteristics, their richness in species, the 

 features of their geographical distribution, their bio- 

 logical history, and their commercial value both as to 

 relative quantity and actual quality." 



The relations of the forests to the development of 

 California rural life, both in its spirit and its indus- 

 tries, are notable. As an inspiration to nobler 

 thoughts and loftier sentiments, the great temples 

 and communities of trees have been and always will 

 be a great uplifting influence in life. It is conceiv- 

 able that the first great service of the forests to the 

 agriculture of California was their testimony to the 

 capability of its interior districts for the excellent 

 growth of plants. Prospectors searching for gold 

 almost always returned with incredible stories of 

 strange trees, not merely hugging the edges of streams 

 but growing in continuous profusion across their 

 valleys up their inclosing slopes and upward and 

 beyond over ridges and up mountain sides until they 

 reached scant vegetation again near the lines of per- 

 petual snow. There were abundant tales of looking 

 from the floors of glacial gorges thousands of feet 

 deep and seeing great trees perched upon the bare 

 granite; wonderful trees rooted in crevices of out- 

 jutting rocks where no soil could be discerned and re- 

 sisting by their own individual strength the forces 

 of tempests against which trees in forests defend 



