New-York daily tribune., 1858-07-12

,sd the smaller ones it were discovered last
,.,un,r. We are here In latitude 81 - ~, AID
,-.r;,pda 49, 50 W; aud the Calaveras grove u 10
'.,;,ud. 38o l6 s6d longitude l2O' Ia.
h.xs ssid that ne only known trees Of the species
.sn. s,qnoia GigoHiea are IN Eve groves, not more
49,. sny miles spsr. 10 the three adjoining counties
.c.l.yer.s. Tuoluuue sod Mshpo,s; bat Jules
o.rx a Fiench naturalist of the opinion tnat
- ,,sss uhieb he saw on the Sierra Nevada, near
,'..u5e 10 before be saw tbe Mammoth Grove, be-
n the same species and sm confident that some
vbch sew near the latitude Of 4O', On the L.s-
.,,I zbep entering California IN 1879, are $50 oil
..r,s .neoies -. there large number OF very
.oi,s, ,,ses sc.ttered about over many miie.; put
oe ,bsy, vs,e over SIX or eight feet 10 diameter.
NJ irere,tpg IDEAS ere suggested by the consid-
e..,o ~ the age Ct these trees. The rings o. the
t.,.d tree were c, unted and is age varousy estn-'
ted ,oooroieg 70 the different ways ofcouhtng, at from
aG0 20 5000 years. Probably its age was not lees
than 900 yesrs IL sprouted waile Rome was IN Its
olorv. II is older than sny kingdom, language or
creed Of Europe or America. 1t was lsrge tree De-
f,re the foundation Of the Christian Church. and was
s1eer hundred years old before the period OF modern
civilization bssap. Tsenty centuries look down at
ne from the tops Of half dozen trees which now
eer now before me, will still flourish iu thousand
wears from nov, when all present Kingdoms ara
republics shall have disappeared, and our political and
social systfns shall have been swept away as iu OF
evil and replaced by other and better systems, where
il men will be enabled to live in civilized society with
out each being forced to rob bis brother, Dy means
more or less legal snd respectable.
MANY Of the trees in all the groves burned at the
g hen bo hoar hurre red oh IN
a. 70 stand on three legs. One of these in the Gala
y.ras grove called Uncle Toms Cabin" has q space
uder !, more than dozen feet square. The largest
trees ssem to end abruptly at the top having been
broken OF by the snow which often falls 10 great
depth here The trees in some places grow very near
together in others they comparatively fsr apart
and occasionally two or three will be which
,rited nesr the ground, although they may have
,prouted at distance OF ten fifteen feet from each
other.
The .Seg,oia gigontea grows in a deep and fertile
sou and il algsys surrounded by dense growth OF
other evergreens such as various species OF pine,
fir spruoe and Californian cedar The scepery IN
tbeas forests is beautiful The trees grow very close
together and the trunks ususlly from foot to two
feet n diameter rise in perfect perpsndcularty and
without perceptibe dimunitisn of size, more than
buude ed feet without hnb and while all Is perfect
stiffness and rest and shadow On the ground, the ira
ve,er looking up to where the sunbeams break
through the denss foliage here and there, the
flexible tops swinging from side to side in the roaring
mountain breeze. The ground being never visited by
the srn always moist and produces luxuriant and
beautiful little underground CT mosses, flowers and
berries; and have at times compared myself in such
a place to a merman who while at the bottom OF the
sea amid forest o queer sea weeds and surrounded
by beautiful shells and the treasures of thousand
wrecks should look up from his abode of peace, and
sec the surface Of the sea- far above him, raging in
terrific STERN.
The Seguoia Gigantea has been planted in England,
and it is said that the young trees are now three or
four feet high and gro Sng briskly the level
Of the ses. al not that any other cultivated
specimens are growing in any place.
The beat time for visiting the mammoth groves IL
late in the Summer The Spring is cool SO high on the
mountains, and there occasional little showers
which are extremely disagreeabe to the traveller VINO
NAV sometimes ride for ten fifteen miles in this vi
cpity without Sc eng house. and in many places tue
snow is still lying on the mountains.
This grove is two and half days. and the Cssverss
grove one and half from San Francisco, and the two
are rs miles from each other by the ordnary Travelled
routes Both groves have much grand and beautiful
scenery in their vicinity. Here are but twenty
miles from the great Yosemite Valley and the Gala
veras Grove is within few miles of great cave.
From San Francisco the route to both groves is
through Stockton, to which there is daily steamer,
and thence there is stsge to within 10 miles OF The
Caleyerss Grove, and within % miles of this grove.
The remaining l. or 25 miles are usually made on
mules. Tomorrow go 10 the Yosemite. L. S. II.