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FLORA AND SYLVA. 



THE GREATER TREES OF THE 

 NORTHERN FOREST.— No. 13. 

 THE BIG TREE {Sequoia giganted). 

 At first I intended to omit this tree from 

 among the greater trees of the Northern 

 Forest, because of its failure in our own 

 pleasure grounds. On second thoughts 

 I asked if this was not largely our own 

 fault in placing the tree wrongly. It has, 

 at least, as good a right to be included 

 among the trees for our southern and 

 western country in England and Ire- 

 land as the Monterey Pine (P. insignis). 

 Hitherto we have treated it as a plea- 

 sure-ground tree, usually alone and ex- 

 posed to every stress ofwind and climate, 

 with the grass about it drinking all the 

 moisture that falls in dry seasons. It is 

 so ugly in these conditions as to be a 

 laughing-stock, the planter adding to 

 the misery in supposing that when in 

 health the tree should be dressed down 

 to the ground with branches, but that 

 is only the infant stage of the tree, and 

 it is quite a mistake to encourage it 

 further. 



The best thing to do with the tree 

 would be to give it a fair trial as a forest 

 tree in sheltered valleys 



7/7 En g ia S nds Wo ° d ' or g° r g es > and where 

 there are none of these 



to plant in a close wood and always 



among trees and cover of some kind 



which would help to make a soil and 



keep the sun out and the ground cool. 



I have seen it tried in many ways, but 



never in these. Coining from one of the 



finest climates, with a constant sun and 



gentle Western Pacific breezes, the very 



least we can do with it in our country 



is to take care to place it in the best 



woodland conditions. I have myself cut 

 down many of these trees, vexed by their 

 shape and position, which I should now 

 be very happy to have alive and grouped 

 in a steep woodland dell running south, 

 and with hill and wood protecting per- 

 fectly from the north. There are many 

 country places where like conditions 

 exist, and now given to the commonest 

 trees. If such places were a little away 

 from the house it would matter little — 

 the trees might often be the reason for 

 a woodland walk. We should in such 

 ways give them all the chance of growth 

 our climate affords, and get rid of the 

 toy-tray look of our garden lawns which 

 arises from sticking such trees about in 

 them. The fact that over much of the 

 northern and midland country we may 

 not hope for success with them should 

 be another reason for growing the tree 

 where the conditions are most favour- 

 able. The objection to its ugly shape is 

 entirely our doing. In its native country 

 it is most picturesque in form. 



In a diary of his journey through the 

 mountain country of California, kindly 

 extracted for me by Sir Chas. Wolseley, 

 occur these lines as to the natural form 

 of the mature tree : "The grove being 

 reached after passing through miles of 

 forest of gigantic Pines and Firs, and the 

 Big Trees themselves standing amongst 

 others of over 200 feet in height, they 

 do not at first strike one for their gigantic 

 proportions. What struck me most was 

 the entire absence of that symmetrical 

 prowth one is accustomed to see in the 



o 



tree in England, these wild trees having 

 more the irregularity and rugged growth 

 of the old Scotch Fir." 



