Norwich bulletin., 1916-12-14
SAVING OUR BIGGEST TREES.
Excellent Work Has Been Done in
Some of the Nations Big Play
grounds.
Especial to The Bulletin.)

Especial to Tie Rulletln.)
Washington D. e., Dec 12.--F'or the
| first time in the history of the estab-
liShment and preservation of America
national playgI ounds in the form of
forest parks a national organization
has come to tn eaid of the United
States government The story of how
the giant forest, which contains The
largest and oldest trees in the world.
has been saved for the American pep
pie il told the following bulletin:
In the sre1ic heart of the Sequoia
| National park the only section Of the
magnificent 10000 acre playground
situated in California which IS ut the
present time accessible to MOTOR driven
and horse drawn vehicles, stands a
group of trees. the SeqUcia washington
lana, known as the giant forest, and in
this forest are SO acres of ground on
which. grow the Hottest and most ven-
cradle things that nature has pro
duced in the countless ages which
have passed since the waters and the
earth were separated, and the greater
| light was placed il the heavens to
| rule the day.
| Tie Sequoia National park was
| constituted q government preserve to
safeguard these ve-y- trees, some of
| which We're 1000 years old when the
| Christian era daWEed. Put it was
| preservation which did not protect for
! the very acres upon which grew the
| finest specimens of the seQUoia WASH
/ ingtoniana were not purchased by the
| government. but remained in the pos
session Of private parties in California.
| Some months ago, the Department
| of he Interior, realizing that the con-
! Stantiy increasing value of timber had
| become a rapidly growing temptation
| to these owners to convert the trees
| into lumber, secured from Congress an
appropriation for $4,000, to purchase
| the coveted land. When the effort was
| made to buy the holding, however, it
| was discovered that the owners would
| not Fart with their sequOia trees ex-
| cept on condition that adjacent pro-
perty be purchased also, the supple
! mentary lands bringing the price up to
! s7o,nn0. -.ra-
/ After learning from their expert
| appraisers that the actual market
| Waite of the timber standing on these
| holdings amounted TO S15G,000, ard
! that The price of $4,000 was, there
fore, most reasonable, The Depa rtnnent
| secured an option on the Land for six
| months.
| with the expiration of the option
only three weeks off, and with no pros
pect of being able to secure the neces-
sary additional appropriation of $40
600 from Congress durinS>its rfe-holi-
day session, the Department of the In
terrier had practically lost all hope of
saving these most highly priced of all
trees for the American people In This
predicament one OF the officials Of the
! DepaI tment--his name has rot been
made public--recaIled the splendid
work which. has been done for a num-
Der of years by the National Geo
graphic Society in stimulating public
interest in the preservation CT the ma
! tons Fairgrounds and in safeguard
ing our song birds and wild life. Why
not appeal 10 this Society, whose more
than half a million members represent
every state in the Union, and who
| woulG be deeply interested, individ-
ually as well as collectively, in the
preservation CT this forest wonder
land, The suggestion was adopted
and the appea. was submitted to the
Society Beard of Managers.
| CAS- was so earnestly hoped the So
ciety'S governing body Immediately APP
preciated the exceptional opportunity
| which was about to be lost to the
American people for all time, and real
| izines that never within the lifetime of
a nation could Nature reproduce such
trees quickly appropriated the neces-
sary $4,000. And thus was accom-
| pished a unique cooperation of a
great national scientific society with
the national government whereby one
of the country's greatest resources is
to be presented to the American peo-
pie for their perpetual enjoyment
| 1nasmuch as the National Geo
| graphic Society has come to the aid
of the federal government in this
splendid achievement, the Department
of the Interior, writes an official of
ment, will ask permission of the So
ciety to erect in a prominent place in
I the park a suitable and permanent
tablet which will set forta the Socic-
tvs important participation in this
great project"