136 



FAMILIAR TREES 



in a wild state as the Eedwood. It inhabits the 

 western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, between lat. 

 36° and 39'' N., at altitudes between 4,000 and 8,000 

 feet ; and, though to the south of the King's River 

 it forms an almost continuous forest fifty miles long 

 and nearly five miles wide, it occurs more generally 

 in small isolated " groves." These groves contain 

 the largest specimens, the finest survivors of which 

 are now protected by law. The " Three SisPers " in 

 the Calaveras Grove exceed 300 feet in height, and 

 as some of these tallest examples exceed thirt}-- 

 five feet in diameter, their bulk is greater than 

 that of the giant Gum-trees of Australia. 



In the Natural Historj' Museum, South Ken- 

 sington, is a complete cross-section of a specimen, 

 sixty-two feet round, which has 1,335 annual rings. 

 The wood is browner than the Redwood, and inferior 

 to it ; so that it is only as an ornamental tree that the 

 Wellingtonia is likely to be cultivated in the British 

 Isles. There are many fine avenues and groups of 

 these trees in the three kingdoms, notably at the 

 college founded in honour of Wellington in Berkshire. 



SECTION OF NEEDLE LEAF OF WELLINGTONIA, HIGHLY MAGNIFIED. 



