Part of one of the "Big Trees" (.Sequoia gigantea) of the Mariposa grove in tlie Sierra 

 Nevada Mountains. The Sequoias rank among the most remarkable trees known to man. 

 They grow to incredible heights, straight, tall and columnar, with short and densely spread- 

 ing branches. The bark near the ground is from one to two feet thick. A specimen meas- 

 ured in August. 1902, by Professor Muir, was found to be 108 feet in circumference one 

 foot above the ground. The massive, fluted trunk, straight, strong and adamant as a pillar, 

 was free of branches to a height of 175 feet, where its diameter was eleven feet. 



