The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-26
CALIFORNIA; GIANT Trees.

Tho Government Taking Stops to Save tho
Famous nodwoods from Destruction.
1t is gratifying to learn that the land
Office at Washington Is ut last taking
steps to preserve tho giant redwoods of
California, which are famous the world
over as the greatest trees In existence.
These majestic monuments of nature
are In danger of utter destruction, and
it Is high time that something were done
to save them. In the first place, they
ore being killed off by the mountain
fires which are very frequent on the
slopes of tho Sierra Nevadas, and are
due to the carclessness of sheep hcrders
who lead their hocks far up In the
mountains sides. In fact, there are
few of the giant trees of California,
which are now wholly uninjured by
fire. There are also sawmills build
ing In the neighborhood Of some
Of these groves OF giant trees;
and, strange as it may seem, they
have not the slightest conjunction
about destroying them, although many
of tho larger trees are, Of course, diff
fcult for them to handle, md this fact
has helped to keep them from destruo-
ton, says the New York Sun
In tho Visnlia district there ore sew
eral groves of enormous trees, the largest
of which Is one hundred and six feet in
circumference These forests ure very
impressive on account Of the grand
trees they contain, and, although the
laud was withdrawn from public entry
five years ago, colony Of enthusiasts
and theorists, who were bent upon dem
onstrating the practicability of Bell
amy's ideas, have settled In the neigh
borhood, and it is stated that they have
destroyed some of the trees
There is general feeling In Califor-
MIA that all this region of forest trees
on the western slopes of the Sierra Ncva-
das should be withdrawn from settle
ment- The government is already talk
ing steps to protect the redwoods by
withdrawing from entry the sections
which contain groves of these gianttrce
During the past two years the general
land office has made careful investi-
CATION of the Stockton, Visalia, Mari
posa, and other districts where the
giant trees are found, and reports have
been sent to Washington of the exact
situation, number, and size OF these
trees. This was done in order that the
government might have all the infor-
nation needed for carrying out meas
urcs TO protect the forests.
These trees ore always found at an
elevation from six thousand to seven
thousand feet above the sea They are
little south of the Yosemite valley,
and south and east of San Francisco
The most famous Of these groves Is the
Meriposa, which contains about three
hundred and twenty giant trees and is
carefully guarded from forest fires by q
company which makes q business of
carrying excursionists to see the great
trees The redwoods in this grove cover
about four square miles With proper
protection the giant trees of the Sierra
Nevada slopes will, for many years to
come, be among the greatest natural
curiosities of California The general
land Office has entered thoroughly upon
the work Of saving the trees which still
exist, and there is every prospect that
the various causes which have been de-
pleting their number will be removed,
and that the trees will still be for many
decades q source of great interest to
tourists.