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Big trees / by Walter Fry and John White
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1940
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
May 18, 2026
Originally printed in 1930, this is an oldie but goodie. I savored this book over 5 months. Every time I opened it, I was fascinated with the beauty, size, and abilities of these great trees. They survive fire, ice, drought, and more. Humans seem to be their only enemy. Thank God they are protected now, but they were ravaged years ago by logging companies.
"All old trees have passed through scores or hundreds of fires and other attacks of Nature or, in recent past, of man. It is certain that they live 4,000 years, reasonably certain that they can live 5,000 or 6,000 years, .... and not improbably that they will live over 10,000 years, almost forever, if protected in national parks. Humanly speaking, the Big Tree is everlasting, the nearest thing in the animal or vegetable worlds to life eternal. There is a spiritual aspect to these mighty living objects. They are a link with eternity."
Some trees are so large that you can put a small house inside. "This house-in-a-log tree is now carefully preserved by the National Park Service as one of the antiquities of the Park."
The seeds of the Sequoias are less than a quarter inch in length. "It is as if God wished to show just what He might accomplish... No other conifer blooms as abundantly as the Big Tree."
One interesting side story was when one of the author's hiking companions injured his legs. They sought help from Native Americans, who applied crushed green Jimson leaves and bear fat. In three days his leg was fine!
I loved this gem of a book!
"All old trees have passed through scores or hundreds of fires and other attacks of Nature or, in recent past, of man. It is certain that they live 4,000 years, reasonably certain that they can live 5,000 or 6,000 years, .... and not improbably that they will live over 10,000 years, almost forever, if protected in national parks. Humanly speaking, the Big Tree is everlasting, the nearest thing in the animal or vegetable worlds to life eternal. There is a spiritual aspect to these mighty living objects. They are a link with eternity."
Some trees are so large that you can put a small house inside. "This house-in-a-log tree is now carefully preserved by the National Park Service as one of the antiquities of the Park."
The seeds of the Sequoias are less than a quarter inch in length. "It is as if God wished to show just what He might accomplish... No other conifer blooms as abundantly as the Big Tree."
One interesting side story was when one of the author's hiking companions injured his legs. They sought help from Native Americans, who applied crushed green Jimson leaves and bear fat. In three days his leg was fine!
I loved this gem of a book!
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review