THE BIG TREES 127 



West Indies, these lioary old trees were twenty-five hun- 

 dred years old. They should be sacred to every Ameri- 

 can, and not one should ever be cut down for lumber. 



There are two distinct kinds of big trees, the redwood 

 and the so-called '' big trees," which are the largest trees 

 in the world. They both belong to the cone-bearing 

 (coniferous) group, and the needles are only three quar- 

 ters of an inch long and the little cones an inch. 



The wood is reddish, as the name implies, not unlike 

 red cedar, but is softer and is used for many purposes 

 on the Pacific coast. 



The big trees are now carefully guarded by the 

 government. One grove alone wdiich contains seven 

 hundred of these fine trees, called the Mariposa Grove, 

 has been reserved as a national park, and is watched 

 carefully to keep out forest fires, etc. 



Many of the best known of these trees are given 

 names. One is called '' Uncle Tom's Cabin," because of 

 a peculiar opening at the base. 



The most famous perhaps is the "Grizzly Giant." 

 This one is ninety-three feet in circumference at the 

 ground, and its first branch is t^vo hundred feet above 

 the earth and eight feet in diameter. It is considered 

 the largest tree in the world. 



We can get some idea of what these figures represent 

 when w^e know that it takes five men three weeks to 



