BIG TREES OF CALIFORNIA,THE Part 2
Description
The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: Tourist playing in snow by tunnel cut through huge tree. “The Sequoia is the masterpiece of all forest trees. It is a living witness of human progress.” Tourists playing at base of tree, group walks out of large tunnel in base of tree - inside of tree looking out. “The End.” “So priceless are these wonderful trees that the United States government appropriated a large sum to save them from destruction.” Group at foot of several trees. “The largest of these giant trees is General Sherman, which is 279 feet high and 102 feet in circumference.” Group holding hands, circling tree, wave to the camera. “Near the General Sherman tree is a lodge for the keeper and visitors. The General Grant tree stands nearby. These two giant trees are the oldest of living things on earth.” Cars stop in front of lodge - tourists enter. “The Sequoia has a powerful stately trunk with cinnamon brown bark. It rises without a branch within 100 feet of the ground. The foliage is dense and feathery. The wood is almost indestructible by decay. The trees are twins.” Two trees side-by-side. “The Confederate Group of Big Trees is clustered about General Jackson as a leader.” Tourists around foot of tree. “The Grizzly Giant was so called because of its rugged trunk. It is more than 85 feet in circumference.” Fence around foot of tree - tourists looking at base. “Some of the trees are large enough to accommodate a stagecoach and in one place a tunnel for the road has been cut through a tree.” Tree with tunnel. “Ford Educational Library.” “The oldest and largest living things in the world are the Sequoia washingtoniana, the big trees of California. The giants are preserved in several national parks.” Map of California showing location of National Parks. “John Muir, Father of the big trees, says there are more than a million of these wonderful trees in our parks. A diameter of 20 feet and a height of 275 feet is common for the mature trees.” “The Sequoia has few branches and those are near the top. Some of the branches are six feet in diameter.” View of tree and large branches. “The big trees are over 4,000 years old. The rings of annual growth are easily counted to prove their age. The stump is large enough for a ballroom floor. Trees that have fallen have been used for a dwelling.” Group walking through fallen tree. [1923]
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