Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-03-02
TO SAVE GROVE
OF HUGE TREES
BILL SIGNED TO CREATE GALA
VERAS FOREST
CALIFORNIA; ARBoREAL WON
pERs TO BE PRESERVED
Owner of Lands in Which Big Timber
Is Situated viii Receive Other
Tracts in Exchange for
Them

WASHINGTON, March by sign
ing the bill for the creation or the
Calaveras national forest, Callfornia'
President Roosevelt has completed the
legislative act which saves Tor all tilne
the most famous grove of trees IN the
world The citizens of California, lar
ticularly the 500 women of the Callfor-
MIA Climb have been working to interest
the government in this wonderful grove
of big trees for more than nine years,
hut not until now has it been possible
TO arrange a plan satisfactory alike 10
the owner of the land and to congress.
The senate bill passed by the mouse
of representatives has just been slSne9
by the president. Everyone interested
in the great natural wonders reJolces
that as a means of saving the big trees
the way has been paved for a practlcal
exchange of the timber in the groves
for stumpage on other forest land
owned by the government.
The first Calaveras bill was intro
duced in the senate four years ago by
Senator Perkins of California. Bllls
for the same purpose were passed in
the upper house of congress a numper
of times. but always failed of favorable
consideration in the house until senate
bill 1874, also introduced by Senator
Perkins, was called UP by Congress
man s. c. Smith of California.
Robert B. Whiteside of Duluth, Mini,
prominent lumberman operating IN
the Lake states and on the Pacific
coast. is the owner Of the Calaveras
big trees. After his agreement TO thS
proposals, which are simply a practlcai
exchange of timber for timber, the en-
tire California delegation gave It's soiid
and enthusiastic support TO the Dill
No appropriation is needed to carry out
the provisions of the act.
80 .an
includes about $50 acres in what is
known as the North Calaveras grove IN
Calayeras county and 3040 acres In the
south grove in Toulumne county. Inc
north grove contains ninety-three big
trees and in the south grove there are
1880 of these giant sequcias. ANY tree
less than eighteen feet in circumfer-
ence, or six feet in diameter, is not con-
sidered In the count of large trees.
other Trees Are Numerous
Besides the giant sequoias. there are
hundreds of sugar pines and yellow
pines of astonishing proportions, rang
ing to the height of 275 feet, ana otten
attaining a diameter of eight to ten
feet. There are also many white mrs
and incense cedars in the two tracts.
A government study of the land was
male by a field party under the dlrec-
ton of Fred G. Plummer, United states
forest service, in 1906.
The Calaveras big trees are known
the world over. The north grove con-
tains ten trees each having diameter
of twenty-five feet or over, and more
than seventy having a diameter OF M
teen to twenty-five feet. Most or the
trees have been named, some for
famous generals of the United states
and others for statesmen and various
states of the Union.
The Father of the Forest, now down,
is estimated by Hittel in his Re
sources of California" to have mad a
height of $50 feet and a diameter at
the ground of more than forty rect
when it was standing.
| Massachusetts contains $4,000 board
| feet of lumber Governor Stoneman con-
tains los, 900 board feet and the Mother
| of the Forest, burned in the terrible
forest fire which licked its way into
part of the grove last summer, con-
| tains los, 900 board feet.
Each of these trees named grows as
much lumber as is grown ordinarily on
fifteen or twenty acres of timberland
The bark runs from six inches to TWO
| feet in thickness. .
Among the other large named trees III
the two groves are Waterloo, Pennsyl-
vania. James King, Old Bachelor, PRIZE
of the Forest, Daniel Webster, Sir Jonn
Franklin, Empire State, Z. 5. Grant,
w. r. Sherman, J. P. Mcpherson, Aora-
ham Lincoln, Connecticut Ohio, Grover
Cleveland, Mrs. Grover Cleveland, DR..
Nelson. General Custer, DR.. j. w. Daw-
son, General Hancock, Knight Of the
Forest, Two Sentinels and Old DoWd.