The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1856-09-20
The Cedars of California.

dars OF California, the greatest trees in III,
world. One of them, which had been fclled
he ascertained, by counting the grains Of tn,
stump, to be twelve hundred and c;obt,
years Old. When Mahomct was At mrs,
this tree was sproutns. Says the reyeren,
gentleman -
1t is forest, vet nothing that we mean b,
forest. There is no under growth. srarcee
anywhere rock : the surfaces are as heau,
fully turned as if shaped by Iand>ca,e oar
dener, and dotted all over bv nyri,Js of
flowers, more delicate, if not more yarious
than any garden ever grew Now, alone
these surfaces, rounding over hill. c,.on
ING through some sI'"ut valley. VIM nyr,
among The native oaks castInr their r.nnd
shadows, and here among tail pines and ce
dars drawing their huge conical sha,cs on
the ground, We seem. IN fact. to lie ridino
through some vast park. lndccd. after WE
had seen the trees and taken Their impress.
ion, we could think OF nothing but to c,u II
the park OF the Lord Almighty. The other
trees We Observed were increasing in size As
We ncarcd the place, till finally. dc>ccn,iin,
Gently along western slope among the flies
of little grants, WE cane to the catc of III,
rea! giants, emerging into the cleared
"round OF the BIZ Tree Hotel between the
two Scnt!nrl>. which are 900 feet hi, and
stand only far enough apart for the ,arro
| roa! to pass between. These were the first
OF the Washington cellars we had seen: u
really seemed Tat we had never seen tree
before And Yet they We're onlv IN dunn
specimens
Close hy the house lay the FIST cut of the
iiG Tree pn 'H''nt'"'. the rrmaininr part
or 'o?. had been split up and removed, Near
this first cut stood the stump. alou; six feet
high. with an ar5or mountrI on the top.
which had been squared down for this par
pose, the posts of the arhor stan,lin, on; IN
the line Of the largest circuit at the oronnd
and the space between them and :hr rirruit
A. ''r top filled N by floor of short boards
The diameter ot the top Is bv measurcmrn,
twenty-five feet one way. and twcn'v-thrr,
and one hal! Tee; the other. The diameter
a, the ground. wis thirty-onc feet. The,
are all Inr'uir'! IN a spac o about fii;v acres
and are only about ninety in number The
ground occupied : rich. wet bottom. and
the foot cf the moist northern slope adircnt
covered also with an undcr-rrowth. And
/ why are they here. inst here, and no whcr,
else? Tins. confess. is 10 me the greatest
>tran"eSt wonder "f all. that nowhere in the
who.e earth Is there another known cxam,.l,
Of these AnaklmS of the forest. ninety seed,
n,y.. l...,, .,a,,,l
!" there. was fhrr" Il" other piece OF ground
bat last th:S. IN the whole world. that could
tltly take the seeds OF such 4 Growth WHY
have they never >pread, why has no one seed
of the myriad> they >pr:nklcd every wear en-
the earth, ever started IN any Other loc,lir, ;
And vhat >tartiHr II is. "! N ,r,l, 4
seed OF liic begins to rrow. Little did that
hnv form "i matter abuu, the SIZE OF a rars-
mp seed, and lCok:n. more like it than anv
other, imagine what II was roinr 10 DO what
feelings 10 eXcItr, when II started the first
>Prouines OF the Big Tree. We measure,
an enormous >'IIar pine Recently trled Six
/! feet .vom thc ground, 1t was >iN ice; in !;
amrtrr' and IT was two hundred and forty
fcct hi%h. We measured one of the pros
trate giants. and tive hundred and fort, feet
from III" ground 1t WAS siX feet in diameter
he top was gone, but ii could not have been
less than three hundred and fifty feet high
Ana yet tins tree was onl, eighteen feet in
diameter where the big Tree was twenty
five. II tn" BIG Tree were holowcd. one
might dr'v" the largest load Of hay through
1t without even q brush Of contact.
Many Of the trees anl all the larrcs. of
,m'm mat remain are Greatly injured by fire.
herr time Is therefore shortened. and a long
time Will be required to bring the smaller
ones to their maximum of growth. \ man
inS''Gatcd 10y the internal love of money.
should have cut down the biggest of them.
and skinned the next, one hundred and
twenty feet upwards from the ground. (viz.
the Mofhcr.) that he might show or sell the
bark OF her body. both sound As ro, k a, the
heart, and good for thousand wears to come
%, II surpa>s"> all contempt, And VT to
see this Giant Mother still rrowino m as be-
tore, braElng her fresh foliage. ri;,cming her
seeds, and refusing to die hiding still her
juices and working her pumps in the deep
masses OF her harklcSs body, which the sun
OF two whole wears has not been able to sea-
son through, dead as it is and wcather.c,ack-
cd wth"ut-it Is 81 .ht SO grand as almost to
compensate for the loss we sulcr bv the base
ness oi tue human scamp"