12 THE REDWOOD. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REDWOOD 

 HEIGHT AND DIAMETER. 



The Redwood grows to a greater height than an}' other American 

 tree, but in girth and in age it is exceeded b_y the Big Tree of the 

 Sierras. On the slopes 2:^5 feet is about its maximum height and 10 

 feet its greatest diameter, while on the Hats, under better conditionsy 

 it grows to be 350 feet high, with a diameter of 20 feet. 



AGE OF THE REDWOOD. 



Most of the Redwoods cut are from iOO to 800 years old. After the 

 tree has passed the age of 500 years it usually begins to die down from 

 the top and to fall off in growth. The oldest Redwood found during, 

 this investigation began life 1,373 A^ears ago. 



FORM AND DEVELOPMENT. 



The tree, when normal, has a straight, slightly tapered bole, clear 

 for more than a hundred feet, and a crown of horizontal l:)ranches that 

 may occup}' from a third to a half of its total length. (PI. Ill, fig. 1.) 

 Although without a taproot, it is well adapted to securing water in dry 

 gi'ound. The roots strike downward at a sharp angle, and are so large 

 and so numerous as to form a compact mass of wood, in shape like an 

 inverted funnel. The bark of the tree oii'ers such a I'emarkable resist- 

 ance to tire that except under great heat it is not combustible. It is 

 of a reddish-gray color, fibrous in texture, and gives to full-grown 

 Redwoods a fluted appearance. 



The Redwood assumes a wide variety of shapes, and the normal is 

 not its common form. In the old forests the crown may consist of a 

 few long, flat limbs or of a mass of little bushy branches reaching from 

 the ground to the top of the tree. (PI. Ill, tig. 2.) Many Redwoods 

 grow burls on the trunk that are 10 feet long, and some carry curious 

 protuberances called ''hanging necks,"' which droop and are open at 

 the ends. Most of these irregulaiities in the tree are caused b}' the 

 healing of its hurts. A Avindfall may break off the crown; immedi- 

 ately the liroken limbs sprout and replace a part of what was lost. 

 The fireproof sheathing of bark may be scraped away in a place and a 

 little of the sapwood l)urned; the spot .grows over and a burl nia_v 

 result. Fire may burn one of the Ijranches and leave a charred snag 

 behind; sapwood grows over the snag and forms a hanging neck. 

 However badly the tree may be injured, if enough live wood is left it 

 will heal the injury. 



SOIL MOISTURE THE FIRST REQUISITE. 



The Redwood requires little of the soil except that it be moist. The 

 prevailing formation from Port St. George to Mendocino County, 



