The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1885-10-01
FOREST TREES.
The Rings of Growth Showing Their Ae

The Rings of Growth Showing Their Ages.
Eleven years ago 1 examined the
stumps of two white oaks and the
grave of third, which told this sineu-
lar story by circumstantial evidence SO
strong that it could not be doubted. In
the year 1902 an acorn fell about one
and half miles from where | am now
writing (Rockville, Ind. }, and by IA
vorable chance sprouted and grew in
to an oak. In 1894 another acorn
sprouted about twenty feet distance
from it. 1t may have grown on the
tree before mentioned, as it was then
92 years old. In 1871 tornado from
the northwest blew down a still older
oak which, in its fall, struck against
and greatly damaged the top of the
one born in 1902. There is to-day the
well-marked grave OF the fallen giant,
the dirt piled upon the southeast side
of the hole, and long depression in
the ground where the trunk fell and
rotted till not vestige of its wood can
be seen to-day (though some traces of
the bark of the roots CAM. This de-
preston points to the stump of the
damaged oak. The two younger had
been freshly cut down when l examn-
ed them. The stumps were about four
feet across, and there was not over an
inch difference between their dame
ters. though ninely-two years differ
ence in their ages. The younger had
large. healthy top. no broken or dead
limbs, and it had put on rings of
growth from the beginning of more
than average size. The older one had
been injured in its branches by the fall
of the still older one before mentioned
Gn 173D and for fifty-seven years had
put ON very small rings of growth
(about twenty-five to thirty years to
the inch instead of twelve to fifteen as
IL should), when a new set of branches
developed to take the place of the
damaged ones, and the rings began to
increase In size and gradually attained
to the average. l examined their
tops, which coincided with what has
gone before. There were the peculiar
knots in the top of the older one where
dead limbs had rotted off and were
healed over. (Any expert timberman
will readily recognize them.) During
this delay the younger oak caught up
with the older one in size. The size
of n tree is very uncertain indication
of its age.
In all the cases of the hundreds |
have examined of the oaks (the oldest
trees of the forest / think), 1 never
saw but one that was here when Col
umbus discovered America. That one
was by far the largest | ever saw, and
was over 600 years old, about twice
the age of the other largest ones. /
could not get its exact age as it was
SO decayed near the heart / could not
distinguish the rings. 1t was between
six and seven feet in diameter, and
forked about sixty feet up, and each
fork was as large as the other largest
trees. 1t was not sound enough to
make good lumber, being what in this
region is called doughty" state be-
tween souEdness and rottcnness. 1t
had been down year before l examin-
ed it (being out of the country when it
was cut), so that it was very difficult
to examine it. Ihave mislaid my men,
orandum of it, but it would be about
as follows: At the age of about 200
years it had some misfortune which
caused it to form about 100 small rings.
1t then regained its health and formed
normal rings for about 40 years.
Then another mishap caused small
rings till within the last fifty years,
when it was putting on fair growths
again. This tree was about one and 4
half miles southeast of Rockville, Ind,
and was noted among hunters and
wOodmen. 1t was a disagreeable,
showery day when l examined it, and
for that reason 1 did not examine its
top to see if dead, and lost, and healed
over limbs coincided with the small
rings, but L have often done so in 9TH
CT cases. and found them to coincide 4.
Last May Q88D L examined syca-
amore and water elm in the Wabash
River bottom, the former six feet in
diameter and the latter five, each $50
years old. They stood about $50 feet
apart. They were standing on the up
per end Of newly-made bottom q
mean new as compared with the high
er and older bottoms little more in
land from the river, say 200 years old).
This was the largest sycamore L ever
saw that was sound to the heart. l
have seen hollow ones nearly eight
feet in diameter. This tree seems never
to have met with any mishap till the
logman came along, as the rings of
growth were all unusually large.
These trees very probably sprouted
twelve to fifteen feet below the present
surface of the bottom. They general
ly begin life on the lower end of river
sandbars, and as sedimentation builds
up the surface they put out new sur
face roots at every two or three feet of
elevation. Such trees, with their sew
eral sets of surface roots, are often
seen in drift piles. and also still stand
ing on tho verge of a steep river bank
where ono side is exposed by the eros
ion of the river. Their roots are often
hollow like their trunks, the hollow
(and root. too) decreasing in diameter
downward till it terminates in point,
like cone standing on its point. In
the southwest corner of this county is
hollow cottonwood stump on what is
now high bottom of the Wabash in
which the hollow extends downward
twelve feet Mr. Joseph j. Daniels,
an intelligent, observing man, on
whose land it stands, told me so. Such
sitting up over the surface roots would
kill most of the upland trees, or those
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