Chapter XI: The Big Trees

Each section of country has its own peculiar trees, and those described have been mainly representative of the eastern states; but no list of American trees would be complete without the “big trees,” as they are commonly called, of California. The annual rings of these giants show them to be from two thousand to four thousand years old.

It is hard to realize this great age. It means that for centuries and centuries before the white men came these kings of the forests looked down on generations and generations of Indian tribes. They may even have seen the coming of the first Indians. What wonderful tales they might relate if they could only talk!

On that fateful day over four hundred years ago, when the three little caravels of Columbus sighted the West Indies, these hoary old trees were twenty-five hundred years old. They should be sacred to every American, and not one should ever be cut down for lumber.

There are two distinct kinds of big trees, the redwood and the so-called “big trees,” which are the largest trees in the world. They both belong to the cone-bearing (coniferous) group, and the needles are only three quarters of an inch long and the little cones an inch.

The wood is reddish, as the name implies, not unlike red cedar, but is softer and is used for many purposes on the Pacific coast.

The big trees are now carefully guarded by the government. One grove alone which contains seven hundred of these fine trees, called the Mariposa Grove, has been reserved as a national park, and is watched carefully to keep out forest fires, etc.

Many of the best known of these trees are given names. One is called “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” because of a peculiar opening at the base.

The most famous perhaps is the “Grizzly Giant.” This one is ninety-three feet in circumference at the ground, and its first branch is two hundred feet above the earth and eight feet in diameter. It is considered the largest tree in the world.

We can get some idea of what these figures represent when we know that it takes five men three weeks to cut one down, and that the cost of felling one of these monsters is five hundred dollars.

A stump of one of these trees is so large that dances have been held on it, and on one very large one a ballroom has been built for this special purpose.

As one Californian has said, “The redwood forests are apparently imperishable, except through the ax, as the trees are rarely injured by fire. The redwood is the only lumber that can take the place of the white pine, answer as a satisfactory substitute for mahogany and black walnut, displace oak for railroad ties, cypress and cedar for shingles, and surpass all other woods for durability when in contact with the earth or when exposed to moisture.”

INDEX

Annual rings, 59

Ash, 92

Aspen, 107

Band saw, 58

Basswood, 103

Beech, 99

Bench, care of, 3

Bench hook, 15

Bevel, 10

Big Trees of California, 123

Birches, 96

Bit, auger, 27
auger, details of, 28
center, 27
countersink, 29
gimlet, 29

Black walnut, 89

Brace, common forms of, 26
and bit, 27

Bract of linden, 105

Buckeye, 87

Butternut, 89

Buttonwood, 101

Cap iron, 17

Cedar, 120

Chisel, cutting angle of, 23
firmer, 24
framing, 24
methods of using, 24
sharpening, 25

Clamp iron of plane, 18

Compound leaves, 85

Cottonwood, or Carolina poplar, 108

Cutting tools, 11

Cypress, 118

Dovetail. _See_ Joint

Drawing board, 45, 62

Elm, American, 94

Evergreens, 111

Felling trees, 52

Fir, balsam, 118

Framing square, 8

Gang saw, 55

Glue, use of, 39

Grain of wood, 59

Groups of tools, 4

Gum, sweet, or liquid amber, 101

Hammer, claw, 31
use of, 32

Hand screw, use of, 40

Hemlock, 115

Hickory, 87

Honey locust, 91

Hornbeam, 100

Horse-chestnut, 86

Ironwood, 100

Joint, definition of, 39
dovetail, 47
end lap, 44
middle lap, 38
miter, 41

Joint edge, 37

Jointers, 21

Laying out work, 38

Linden, or basswood, 103

Locust, 91

Log boom, 55

Log jam, 53

Logs, redwood, 126

Lumbering and milling, 51

Mallet, 33

Maple, ash-leaved, 82
Japan, 84
Norway, 78
red, 80
silver, 78
striped, 81
sugar, 76
sycamore, 80

Maple keys, 82

Marking gauge, 8

Mechanical drawing, 43
of end lap joint, 44
of cylinder, 44

Medullary rays, 59

Miscellaneous tools, 31

Mortise, cutting a, 34

Mulberry, 109

Nail set or punch, 32

Nails, cut and wire, 41
method of using cut, 41
withdrawing, 32

Oak, black and black-jack, 69
chestnut, 74
live, 75
mossy-cup, 68
pin, 72
post, 67
red, 70
scarlet, 71
white, 66

Oilstone, use of, 25

Pecan, 89

Perspective drawing and constructive drawing compared, 43

Pine, Georgia, 114
white, 113
yellow, 114

Plan of work, 4

Plane, 17
adjustments on, 18
block, 21
block, method of using, 22
jack, 19
smooth, 20
wooden, 22

Plane iron in action, 17

Poplars, 106

River driving, 53

Rule, use of, 6

Sandpaper, use of, 34

Sassafras, 108

Saw, back, 15
circular, 57
method of holding, 14
turning, 16

Saw tapers, 14

Saw teeth, shape of, 13

Saw tooth action, 11

Saw tooth set, 13

Sawmill, 55

Saws, 11

Scale drawing, 48

Screw-driver, 33

Screws, varieties of, and methods of using, 42

Sections of red oak, 70

Set screw of plane iron, 17

Shake in wood, 60

Shrinkage, 61

Spokeshave, 29

Spruce, 116

Stock, squaring up, 36

Sycamore, 101

T square, use of, 45

Timber and lumber, 58

Trees, broad-leaved, or deciduous, 65

Triangles, use of, 45

Try-square, use of, 6

Tulip, or whitewood, 102

Warping, 61

Weather checks, 60

Willow, 106

Working face, 37