FOREST TREES. 



43' 



historical interest, this record, which has been kindly supplied to me 

 by the Duke himself, will serve as a basis from which the rate of 

 growth of this noble tree may in future be determined. 



A forest of Wellingtonias is situated in a small valley near the 

 head waters of San Antonio, in California. It contains ninety-three 

 trees about ten years old. The " Father of the Forest " (fig. 961), 

 perhaps the largest tree in the world, is thrown down, and is supposed 

 to have been 453 feet high and 40 feet in diameter. Its interior is hollow 

 and burnt, but the cavity is sufficiently large for a 

 man on horseback to ride inside. Mr. Townsend, 

 who visited this spot, kindly lent me a photograph 

 of this tree to figure. I have also illustrated part 

 of a tree called " George Washington," which is 

 represented as a first-class tree 384 feet 



Fig. 961. —The " Father of the Forest.' 



Fig. g6r a. — Cone of 

 Welhngtonia gigantea. 



Fig. 962. — "George 

 Washington." 



high (fig. 962). The form of my young trees is exquisitely symme- 

 trical ; the branches for the first few years grow horizontally outwards 

 but after a time they take an upward direction, and are not then 

 quite so beautiful. They propagate freely from cutting.s, but trees 

 so procured are not so desirable as seedlings, which should invariably 

 be employed where a proprietor desires his posterity to see this tree 

 in perfection. The cones are very small (fig. 96i«). 



The stiff, radiating branches of the Puzzle Monkey-tree {Araucaria 

 imbricatd) give it a character so peculiar that it contrasts strongly with 

 every other tree in the garden, and gives a pleasing variety to the 

 scene. It is much more hardy when thoroughly exposed to the light 

 than when apparently protected by shrubs. It bears the snow on its 



