, 1915-12-09
king OF ALL OAKS
Largest Tree of This Species Is
in California.
II Bears a Ton of Acorns Ever Year,
and Is Nearly Twice the Size Of
Hooker oak-syeamore Big
gest Non-Nutter.

Washington.-The American &C.
netic association has announced the
award of two prizes of 500 each for
the location of the largest %nut-bear-
ing and mountaineering trees in the
country.
The largest nut-bearing tree is a
valley oak on the ranch Of B. F.
Gruver, San Benito county, Cal
ifornia, in the foothills of the Sierra
Nevada mountains. This lordly tree
measures 81 feet 6 inches in circum-
ference. 1t is near the city of Stock
ton, and the natives, who declare that
1t produces a ton of acorns every
year, take great pride in it.
It is expected that the discovery"
Of this tree will be at once a surprise
and a disappointment to the friends
of the famous Hooker oak OF Chico,
Cal, named for the English b~otanist,
Sir Joseph Hooker, who, in 1872, de-
clared that, 80 far as encyclopedia
knowledge went, it was the largest
oak in the world. Several persons
sem in photographs of the Hooker
oak, which, however, is only 81 feet
| Q lllShCb III ollS0, dllllou6h q
rises to a height of los feet.
The largest tree in the non-nut-bear-
ing class of hardwoods disclosed by
the contest is a sycamore near Worth
ington, Ind. This tree is $50 feet high,
after having had it's height consider
ably reduced by lightning and wind.
It has a spread of 100 feet and its
trunk one foot above the ground is 45
feet 3 inches In circumference, while
its east branch measures 81 feet 8
inches around and its west branch %
feet 2 inches.
This Indiana tree is the largest
known tree in all the eastern country.
1t does not compare, of course, with
the giant redwoods of California and
some other big conifers, none of which
were entered in the contest for that
reason. Some of the giants of Cali
fornia measure more in diameter than
the Hoosier sycamore in circumfer-
ence.
The Genetic association received
1877 tree photographs in this contest,
and closed July 1 this year. These
pictures covered trees in all sections
of the country, from a two hundred
n ~ffty-year-old Connecticut elm,
which is the pride of all the country.
side. to a persimmon tree, which rises
to a height of 1870 feet and has a base
seven feet thick, establishing a new
record for its species. The persim-
mon tree is e Luxora, Ark.
Tho oaoopd 1aruaof r,,f haory,n traa
disclosed by the contest is a chestnut
three miles from Crestmont, N. c., on
the main range of the Big Smoky
mountains which divide North Caro-
lima and Tennessee. This tree is rs
feet high and has a circumference of
33 feet 4 inches.
An article giving the details of the
contest, in the journal of Heredity,
official organ of the Genetic associa.
ton, says:
ut is impossible ven to mention all
OF the valuable records sen to the
American Genetic association. Many
persons, entering into the spirit of
the contest, said they knew the trees
OF which they sent in photographs
wer not prize winners, but they
wanted them recorded in the interest
OF science. Others sent large speci-
mems Of species hat ordinarily reach
only a small size, realizing that the
prize would go to some larger spe-
cies, but desiring to aid the associa-
ton in getting a record of all spe-
oies. Thus excellent specimens of
~sassafras, %chinquapin, catalpa and
white birch were submitted, and make
highly valued additions to available
information on large trees in the
United States"
1t is announced that the contest
confirms the fact that the
is the largest hardwood tree in North
America. Yellow poplar ranks next
to sycamore in point OF size among
the mountaineering hardwoods. One
of the photographs submitted in the
contest was of a yellow poplar near
Reems Creek, N. c., which is esti.
mated to be 1913 feet in height and 81
feet 6 inches in circumference.
The purpose of the contest was to
n out in what regions the native
trees attain their largest growth and
under what conditions they thrive
best. The Genetic association hopes
that 1t may be possible to secure
seeds, cuttings or grating wood from
the remarkably thrifty trees in order
TO see whether finer specimens can
be propagated in other parts Of the
country. In this way It is hoped that
some particularly choice strains of
native trees may be established in re-
gions where good specimens are not
now found.