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.
Fig. 135. Redwood Logs blasted apart for Easier Handling (a very wasteful method)
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.”