Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1865-10-21

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I,.,s i. q kvvsas e6ssty ,was - -
Siita vhsi khose lpnascAe q - eses
~ kine1s0 we're l6un4. Bl66t jean go
~ Nssiress grove was disesvsrsd b cur
49, n. 0alon Clark, and aiace theo he |
~ iound snolhsf largs grove 10 Freeno
coupty. about eight miles south q those
ve are abo6tfb AdE We Ass1 6661ed b
Prof, Olmsteed that scattssed groves have
bssu discovered growing in higher attitudes
- you 70 south, nearly down TO nexico.-
There u, Therefore, no iomediade danger
Of ~ speips becoming extinct, - vas at
frMs Mars6, tbeugh the fires which often
rage through the mountains have made sad
haxoe Nth ths Magipoea grove. With Ne.
Clark, very intelligent and capital gt6uss
men. for our guide, - viOd Up The ajdssqs
the mountains for 80 oilss ssa0 of -
residence. some $500 feet and $500 feet
shove the sea, where we find ourselves
among the objects Of our Witt. No one
need point them out. Their cinnamon
ossd besk and majestic trunks crowned with
bdsht gen foliage, towering s6r1bovtsse
huos plnss and ocdars BY wkich they are
sorrounded, ct once divert To eye 70 them
q ~ undlsPsasd ssvssslgns Of H. veee-
table kingdom. Their torn 10 30 symmet
rical, and in most cases their dense. cone
like crown Of foliage. commencing hun
drsI feet or more from the rort, Is 30 beau
tiful. and regular, that il takes carsbl study
Tor several hours, and even days, q Appre
riats the magnitude and glory Of these
trees.
Let 10 take sober facts and figures to As
vist ~ in Gbrmine oosrece idooS IN reeor4 70
them. Thers = . tsee, ~ ~ Of Which b
rtill green and beautiful. and the centre Of
which he's been burned out BY successive
nrss. Our entire party Of fifteen on horse
hack ride in and erO eheltseoA beneaeh 4,
and there 10 room for ct least three or four,
while twice - many unmounted zen might
reclinc Under the centre Of the tree. where
Il 10 not burned high enough 70 edmit one
on hes6s6sck. We broo&fk viii % AJn
ban Francisco ball Of druggists Irvine. and
with Il let ~ measure the diameter just
A6use, IT, ropts of THE one, which, psehsps
he's lain PROSTATE for hundred years, for
quite . large tree In growing on the line
wh9re Il lise. IL requises QUITE snast JUMP
20 get on projecting section oft, and then
some effort u Chamber upou the top. The
bark, which on the living tree averages
from eighteen inches to two feet thick, is
oil burned %, and yet the solid trunk 10 81
feet in diameter. Stretch the cord around
another just above me ground. Il meas
ures ninety feet; that il, The tree IL very
nearly thirty feet In disoetef. Dmw it
around the tree - high as you can reash.
and still II measures eighty five feet. There
lies one q msdiun sils not yet burned ",
~ sepses e No fellows have been. Strsteh
the cord from top to root. Il measures two
hundred and twenty seven fee& md We can
therefore, readily believe that trees Of the
largest sine, growing in favorable localities,
reach height Of nearly fous hundred feet.
Mr.. Clark informs % that m analysis Of the
bark and sap Of the tree shows that they
contain larger percentage Of fannie acid
than tMse Of sny other tree, to which be
attributes their great tsnacity Of life and g.
gaptic size.
The cord by which these measurements
are made and carefully marked, we intend to
bring home with %, ~ eonfound all skepti-
lcism in regard to the SIZE Of these trees. But
here We are in the presence Of the grizzly
giant whose 6sus limb, eighty feet above the
ground. approved by careful measurements,
is six feet in diameter. The tree itself must
be, 1t that height, from Is to 20 feet in di
ametsr, tsperng gradually snd beautifully
up from the base. The age of these trees
has been carefully estimated by men Of
science. The lowest result il two and the
highest three thousand years. Standing in
their presence, awe steals over the mind ~
one thinks Of the vast ages that have passed
since they we're the young II the forest
Then David sed his fathes's focks, and Saul
was found a nong the prophets. When the
Savior dwelt among mn and gave his life
for the redemption Of our race, these trees
lowered up in solemn grandeur upon tho
mo intains How many nations Of men have
risen TO wealth and power, and I. en- passed
away forever. since the 50 ds from which
these trees grew we're planted here by the
hand Of the Almighty. But why further
pursue this subject W. pass on, hoping
again to see thes, trees, as we trust hun
dreds Of our readers will very soon after the
Pacific railway 10 con- pleted.
1t may be worth while here to remark,
that no range Of mountains, to our knowl-
edge. is covered with 90 varied and magni
f3cent trees rs are the Sierra Nevada. They
do not begin to show themselves till height
Of several thousand feet is reached, q d
where other mountains bee, me barren and
forbidding, the Slerras are crowned With
the glories Of the vegetable kingdom. The
cause must be sought, in our judgment, in
the peculiar climate of California. The
winds from the vast Pacific ocean, % they
reach the Sierra Nevada Mountains, IRE
doubtless 80 tempered and 90 laden with
that precise amount Of moisture essential to
produce this great wealth and beauty-ar-
boreal lfe-the wonder alike Of al who see
it. }N