It has an extremely massive, compara- 
tively short trunk, deeply fluted. 
A careful examination of the tree (in- 
cidentally it might be stated that this was 
made under the supervision of a guard of 
soldiers and a large percentage of the 
population of the village) showed no evi- 
dence of decay or disease of any sort, all 
of the branches appearing healthy and 
vigorous. The best indication of its good 
condition was evidenced by the manner in 
which the famous Humboldt plate had been 
more or less covered during the hundred 
years after its placing. The tree had al- 
most fully healed over the wound made by 
the insertion of the beard. The Spanish 
words are still evident on the board, but 
of Humboldt’s name, the only parts leg- 
ible are “der’’ of the first name, the small 
“v,” and “Hum.” 
Dr. Gray, in his essay, makes the fol- 
lowing remark; “We trust that the next 
intelligent traveler who visits this most 
ancient living monument, or any other 
cypress of remarkable size, will not fail to 
complete the evidence that is needed, as 
the full solution of this curious problem 
may throw light upon some interesting 
questions respecting the physical history 
of the world. One or more lateral inci- 
sions, not at all endangering the existence 
of the tree, would at once reveal its actual 
growth for the last few centuries. And 
if made at proper points, and carried to a 
sufficient depth, they might enable the judi- 
cious operator to disprove or confirm the 
surmise, that' this huge bole may consist of 
the trunks of two or three original trees, 
long since united and blended into one. 
This conjecture is by no means very im- 
probable, although there is nothing in the 
external appearance of the trunk to con- 
firm it.” 
Unfortunately, it proved entirely impos- 
sible to carry out the suggestion made by 
Dr. Gray, because the slightest mention 
of injury to this famous trunk was re- 
garded with horror by the inhabitants. 
The external examination does not confirm 
the description which Humboldt attributes 
to his friend, Mr. Anza, but confirms the 
accounts of Mr. Exter and M. Galeotti, 
that the tree appears to be one solid 
trunk. 
The measurements of the tree were 
made with difficulty, since it has a con- 
siderable swelling, which extends from six 
to eight feet up from the ground, and fur- 
thermore, because of the tremendous but- 
tresses, some of which are three to four 
feet deep. The measurement made by the 
writer showed a circumference of 126 
feet, measured breast high. 
The age of this great trunk has naturally 
been the subject of a great deal of specu- 
lation, but due chiefly to the fact that we 
have so few data as to the rate of growth of 
these large trees during the past century, 
no very accurate statement can be made. 
However, enough is definitely known to 
indicate that a conservative estimate of 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
the age of this trunk would be considerably 
over 4,600 years, and probably nearer to 
0,000 years. It is hard to realize that this 
particular tree started its growth at a 
period antedating any human records. 
The Lancaster Elm at Lancaster, Mass., 
which was partially destroyed July 20, 1907, 
by a hurricane, was regarded as the larg- 
est and most beautiful elm in Massachu- 
setts, according to the official bulletin of 
the Massachusetts Tree Wardens and 
Foresters’ Association, and is probably the 
finest specimen in the United States. This 
elm or “Queen Elm” as it was sometimes 
called, was located in a pasture near the 
Nashua River on the estate of C. L. 
Wilder, Lancaster, Mass., and was esti- 
mated at least two hundred years old. 
The bole of the tree was twenty-seven 
feet and eight inches in its smallest cir- 
cumference. At the ground its circum- 
ference was thirty-six feet eight inches, 
and at eight feet from the ground it was 
thirty feet in circumference. The height 
of the tree was one hundred and ten feet, 
hut its branches spread over and shaded 
such a vast area that it appeared not to 
be an especially tall tree. Its branches 
were said to have covered a spread of 
more than three hundred and fifty feet in 
diameter, which would be equal to some- 
thing like two acres in extent. The tree 
had the appearance of being composed of 
three large trees almost equal in size, 
growing side by side and subsequently 
coalescing and from these many enormous 
branches larger than ordinary trees di- 
verged about twenty feet from the ground. 
The Lancaster Elm was unusually sym- 
metrical and beautiful and attracted many 
visitors, serving as a Mecca of the lovers 
of natural beauty and in many instances 
has inspired verse and prose. 
Probably the best tribute of this wonder 
of nature was paid by the late Dr. Oliver 
Wendell Holmes, a great lover of trees 
who described it thus : “As I rode along 
the pleasant way, watching for the object 
of my journey, the rounded top of the 
elms rose from time to time at the road- 
side. Wherever one' looked taller and 
fuller than the rest I asked myself : Is 
this it? But as I drew nearer they grew 
smaller — all it proved, perhaps, that two 
standing in a line looked like one — and so 
deceived me. At last all at once, when I 
was not thinking of it, I declare to you it 
makes my flesh creep when I think of it 
now — all at once I saw a great green cloud 
on the horizon, so rash, so symmetrical, of 
such Olympian majesty and imperial su- 
premacy among the lesser forest growths, 
that my heart stopped short, then jumped 
at my ribs as a hunter springs at a five 
barred gate, and I felt all through me, 
without need of uttering the word: This 
is it!" 
The fertile characteristic textured soil 
of the Massachusetts river valleys consti- 
tute ideal conditions for the best devel- 
opment of the elm and the most perfect 
types are found in such situations. The 
139 
elm is very susceptible to cultivation, fer- 
tilizing and soil texture and one of the 
worst conditions which they have to con- 
tend with is a mowing. The elm needs 
water but not too much, and drainage of 
low, wet places improves them. The ideal 
soil for them is one consisting of consid- 
erable fine sand and silt having a water 
retaining capacity of about 60 per cent. 
The connecting link between the past and 
the present, between the ancient East and 
the modern West, is found in the big 
trees of California, the huge species known 
as Sequoia washingtoniana. 
In a publication entitled “The Secret of 
the Big Trees,” by Ellsworth Huntington, 
on sale by the Superintendent of Docu- 
ments, Washington, D. C., it is shown that 
the growth rings in the big trees of Cali- 
fornia indicate that in general the same 
sequence of climatic changes took place 
in California and Asia Minor. Curves in- 
dicating climatic conditions in California 
and Asia Minor show a remarkable resem- 
blance between the two regions. The 
curves begin with the epoch of the Trojan 
War, about 1200 B. C. There both curves 
dip very low, indicating an epoch of sud- 
den and severe desiccation. That partic- 
ular period, historians tell us, was one of 
the most chaotic in all history. 
The famine in the days of Elijah ap- 
pears in both curves. Apparently at that 
time the climate did not become extremely 
dry, nothing like so bad as it had been a 
few hundred years earlier during the 
twelfth century, but there was rather a 
distinct falling off in the amount of rain- 
fall as compared with the uncommonly 
good conditions of the preceding century. 
About seven hundred years before Christ 
both curves stand high in the day when 
the Greeks were laying the foundation of 
their future greatness and the empires of 
Mesopotamia were at their height. Then 
comes a pronounced falling off, with a 
recovery three or four hundred years be- 
fore Christ, another decline culminating 
about 200 B. C., and a recovery reaching 
a high point about 50 B. C. The time of 
Christ, a great era of universal peace un- 
der the sway of Rome, was apparently an 
epoch of favorable climate, a time of abun- 
dant rain and consequent good crops in 
all the countries around the Mediterranean 
Sea and eastward in Asia, as well as in 
California. Next comes a long period of 
decline culminating six or seven centuries 
after the time of Christ. No period in all 
history, save that which centers about 1200 
B. C., was more chaotic; and that early 
period also appears to have been a time 
of greatly diminished rainfall. 
This publication, which may be pur- 
chased from the Superintendent of Docu- 
ments, Government Printing Office, for 
five cents, gives a detailed account of the 
reasons and the work that led to the con- 
clusions given above. It also contains 13 
illustrations, showing the big trees in the 
Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant 
National parks. 
