324: OUR NATIONAL PARKS 



as we have seen, no tree in the forest is more 

 enduringly established. Nevertheless it is often- 

 times vaguely said that the Sierra climate is 

 drying out, and that this oncoming, constantly 

 increasing drought will of itself surely extinguish 

 King Sequoia, though sections of wood-rings 

 show that there has been no appreciable change 

 of climate during the last forty centuries. Fur- 

 thermore, that Sequoia can grow and is growing 

 on as dry ground as any of its neighbors or rivals, 

 we have seen proved over and over again. " Why, 

 then," it will be asked, " are the Big Tree groves 

 always found on well-watered spots?" Simply 

 because Big Trees give rise to streams. It is a 

 mistake to suppose that the water is the cause of 

 the groves being there. On the contrary, the 

 groves are the cause of the water being there. 

 The roots of this immense tree fill the ground, 

 forming a sponge which hoards the bounty of the 

 clouds and sends it forth in clear perennial 

 streams instead of allowing it to rush headlong 

 in short-lived destructive floods. Evaporation is 

 also checked, and the air kept still in the shady 

 Sequoia depths, while thirsty robber winds are 

 shut out. 



Since, then, it appears that Sequoia can and 

 does grow on as dry ground as its neighbors and 

 that the greater moisture found with it is an 

 effect rather than a cause of its presence, the 

 notions as to the former greater extension of 



