THE SEQUOIA 



with the soil. It is bright clear red, turning darker on exposure, 

 with thin, nearly white sap wood, and contains thin, dark colored 

 conspicuous bands of small summer-cells and numerous thin 

 medullary rays. The specific gravity of the absolutely dry wood 

 is 0.2882, a cubic foot weighing 17.96 pounds. Manufactured 

 into lumber, it is used locally for fencing and in construction, 

 and is made into shingles." 



The reproduction of the Big Tree is so slow and uncertain, 

 and the methods of the lumbermen in cutting the timber so de- 

 structive, that it is probable that in a short time these veritable 

 giants of the forest will become extinct, unless protected by law. 

 Fortunately both the State and national governments control 

 some of the groves, although not the grandest. 



For the purpose of procuring a specimen of this remarkable 

 tree for the American Museum of Natural History, S. D. Dill was 

 sent to California in the summer of 1891. Through the courtesy 

 and liberality of A. D. Moore, owner of one of the largest groves 

 of Big Trees, and his son (manager of the King's River Lumber 

 Company), Mr. Dill was permitted to select the tree he might 

 desire. After diligent search, he found a fine specimen growing 

 at an altitude of 7000 or 8000 feet and bearing the name " Mark 

 Twain." Nearly all the large trees have been christened by 

 hunters or tourists, and several are marked with marble tablets. 

 Such names as " Bay State," " Sir Joseph Hooker," " Pride of the 

 Forest" and "Grizzly Giant" are familiar. 



" Mark Twain" was a tree of magnificent proportions, one of 

 the most perfect trees in the grove, symmetrical, fully 300 feet 

 tall, and entirely free of limbs for nearly 200 feet. Eight feet 

 from the ground the trunk was 62 feet in circumference, while at 

 the ground it measured 90 feet. Mr. Moore kindly took the con- 

 tract of felling the tree and shipping to the Museum a section 

 suitable for exhibition. The accompanying instantaneous photo- 

 graph gives a vivid picture of the fall of this noble giant. 



The section on exhibition was cut from the trunk about 12 

 feet from the base, and is 4 feet in thickness. Its estimated 

 weight was 30 tons, and for easier transportation it was split into 

 ten pieces. The face of the specimen as it now stands is 16 feet 



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