234 STUDIES, SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIAL 



is as large as the very largest specimens of the Sequoia 

 gigantea, but it may have spread out more at the base and 

 haye been somewhat smaller above, though this is not a 

 special characteristic of the species. Many other stumps 

 were seen which were 20 and 30 feet in diameter, and all 

 were surrounded with young trees of various sizes. The 

 large tree is said to have been cut down forty years ago. 

 It is, therefore, probable that, in the forests to the north- 

 ward, redwood trees may exist equalling, if not surpassing, 

 the " big trees " themselves. 



I have now concluded a very brief and imperfect sketch 

 of the more prominent aspects of North American vegeta- 

 tion, as seen during a single summer's travel across the 

 continent. Many grand and beautiful scenes remain 

 vividly painted on my memory ; but if I were asked what 

 most powerfully impressed me, as at once the grandest 

 and most interesting of the many wonders of the Western 

 world, I should answer, without hesitation, that it was the 

 two majestic trees, some account of which I have just 

 given, together with the magnificent and beautiful forests 

 in the heart of which they are found. Neither the 

 thundering waters of Niagara, nor the sublime precipices 

 and cascades of Yosemite, nor the vast expanse of the 

 prairies, nor the exquisite delight of the alpine flora of the 

 Rocky Mountains — none of these seem to me so unique in 

 their grandeur, so impressive in their display of the organic 

 forces of nature, as the two magnificent " big trees " of 

 California. Unfortunately these alone are within the 

 power of man totally to destroy, as they have been already 

 partially destroyed. Let us hope that the progress of true 

 education will so develop the love and admiration of 

 nature, that the possession of these altogether unequalled 

 trees will be looked upon as a trust for all future genera- 

 tions, and that care will be taken, before it is too late, to 

 preserve not only one or two small patches, but some more 

 extensive tracts of forest, in which they may continue to 

 flourish, in their fullest perfection and beauty, for thou- 

 sands of years to come, as they have flourished in the 

 past, in all probability for millions of years and over a far 

 wider area. 



