Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1871-04-20
THE RIG TREES.

the forest giants of California Is gwen
by Rev. DIR. Newman is one of his letters
to the MethOdist We copy it entire: 6
1t is an old saying that the traveller
should not relate all that he has seen,
for the faith of the people will not be
equal to the marvellousness of his story.
Indeed, it is almost worth. a mans repu-
tation for truth and yeracity. to reeite
the facts of the vegetable Kingdom of
the Far West. Yet the flora of the Pa
cific slope presents many striking and
original features. Trees, shrubs, Plants,s
fruits, flowers, moses, and,5 ferns never
fail to attract the travellers attention..
The MOSES which cover the rocks and
adorh the limbs of the oak, as well1as
the flowers by the wayside, are as beau
tiful as they are rare. The rapidegf0Nth
of vegetables is something remarkable.
Within a fortnight the appearance of
given section of country issso. changed
as to surprise the visitor on his return.
The fuchsia, which is here cultivated
with SO much painstaking, there has, a
trunk as large as a mans arm, and
climbs on to the house-top. Geraniurnss
make hedges SO thick as to turn cattle,
from their attempt to cross them. The
passion.hower covers the house all over,
producing thousands of the most char1ns
ing blossoms ever seen by mortal eye.i
"The fruits are the largest and most
luscious in the world. Apples are there
raised fifteen and a half inehes~<in cir
cumferenoe; peaches our>/1nches in
diameter pears three times and Plums
four times larger than t6e largest ever
seen in the East. Tne pear tree grows
to the height ofone of our ordinary
forest trees, besfs fruit for seventy wears,
and-each yeGf yields a hundred bushels
of that de Jseious fruit. ,Asingl gle farmerwill
raise fo-ty thousand bushels ofNRheAt ing
a sA8gon.s . IIBeets are found, hicl1 weigh d 4
a handred pounds each5 aesqusAh Will
groE las large. and weigh, aAg much ses6|
barrel of -four and a cabbag head WI
grow as big as ElJah's juniperrtres and
the traveller can sit beneath its fragrant
shade. szsbi1E,s Leota
But the pride and glory of the fora
of California are the lSsguOia "a Gigaas ]
teds or the famous big trees. = In. 1852 a
trapper was hunting in the val lev of
Oalaveras, and accidentally came ylioon-
these giants of the forest :, Rst6fEilnS
to his companions, he related his dis
covery, but the story was too marvellous
for them to credit. On his returns dunn |
a second visit, he assured them that he |
had wounded the biggest grizzly Bear I
heehHd ever SEEM and asked their helEl
Tho game was suffcientlg ,tsnipfiHa, ,$oef
induce them to. accompany ihin1, ~Saud
upon arriving at the spot, ne pointed to |
one of the largest trees, saying There, |
boys, is the biggest grizzly 1 ever saw
There are seven groves Hof these |
mammoth trees, located in different |
portions of the State, two Of which I |
visit0d-the one at Calaveras, Iand1 the |
other at Tuohumne. Taking the stage
coach at Gall, we travelled for one hun /
dred miles over arough,l dusty lpFairie,
through valleys gloomy wfth the shad- |
ows of oVerhanging cliffs, and over
mountains, the prospect from which |
filed the mind with delights. The hum
dred trees of Calayeras are in q beautiful |
valley, five thousand feet above the |
level of the sea- surroundeda by grand 1
and, lofty mountains. 4 The soil IS soft, |
deep, and fertile, and remains moist, as !
the sunlight rarely penetrates the deep |
surrounding foliage. The Seguoia O. J
0Gsstsa expand greatly at their base, and a |
tree measuring log feet in cireumfer-
ence at its roots, measures but '76 feet I
at point not twelve feet from the |
ground. The seeds are very small, not |
more than half an inch long, the sixth |
of an inch wide, and almost as thin as |
writing-paper. 1t takes fifty thousand |
of them to weigh pound. The wood
rs SOFT elastic, straight grained, - and
ofai cinnamon color. The bark is spongy,
is formed in layers and msasl4res (
eighteen inches thick. The cones are I
not larger than hens egg, and the |
leaves are small and of albright green.
color, The height of these trees is,
enormous some - f1lS ere osnHAe shlindrgd feet
higher than the dome of our national |
Capitol. -s'i''aS 'iASp nj 90 '0g a ''7ai II
= As we entered the grove; we saw on
oaL teit an octagonal building upon the
stump OF tree which was cut DOWN in +
IopS.N In lts prirnenand glory, that tree
must have been not less three hundredsii
feet high and ninety feet in circun4fers
ence. Within that building and on
that stump, sinners danes or, weel<-days
and saints worship on. Sundays. TTe
building is sufficiently large for a newiy5 }
married couple, giving them a conforta-
BILE parlor, dining-room, kitchen, two
bedrooms, a pantry, twoEclothes:presses,
and room to spare. 1t required FIVE men
twenty-five days to fell that tree. 1t was
accomplished by boring it offwith pump
augers; and yet, nIohis the breadth of its,
base, the body of the tree remained up
right after the stem had been severed
froan the trunk To throw it, over, Pssi
a:vggErg. "a