LUTHER BURBANK 



age that preceded the segregation of the modern 

 nations of Europe. The patriarchs of the race 

 were living in the days that saw the building of 

 the Egyptian pyramids. 



A tree with such racial traditions and with such 

 individual representatives is surely entitled to be 

 considered the most interesting tree in the world. 



Whoever has camped in a primeval forest of 

 Sequoias or redwoods will attest that merely to 

 enter into the presence of these colossal antedi- 

 luvians is to experience an almost overwhelming 

 sense of their grandeur. And it is the common 

 experience that this feeling of awe grows day by 

 day and becomes overpowering if you linger like 

 a lost pigmy in the shadow of the giants. 



From our present standpoint the interest in the 

 Sequoias hinges on the possibility of growing seed- 

 lings or transplanting saplings for ornamental pur- 

 poses in the parks and fields. It is rather strange 

 that the attempt to do this has not been carried out 

 more extensively. Curiously enough, the redwoods 

 are grown more in England than they are any- 

 where in America outside the regions where they 

 are indigenous. But doubtless the climatic condi- 

 tions account for this. The trees thrive fairly well 

 in the relatively mild climate of England, but they 

 find the winters of the North Central and the 

 Northeastern United States prohibitive. 



[274] 



