of any of the habitats of this tree. What he saw was Sequoia sempervirens, as may be otherwise inferred
from the terms in which he speaks of it.
A writer in a recent number of " Blackwood's Magazine" says that it was first discovered in 1850,
by a Mr Dowd, who, when out hunting, was led by a herd of deer which he was following into the Big-
Tree Valley. He stopped as one enchanted, feeling like Gulliver when lost in the field of barley in
Brobdignag: the deer were forgotten, and he gazed with utter astonishment on monsters of vegetation
such as he had never even dreamed of as existing in the world. He told his companions of his adventure
on his return, but all laughed at his story as a barefaced attempt to impose on their credulity. It was with
the greatest difficulty he succeeded in inducing some of them to accompany him to the spot, and verify his
statements by actual inspection and measurement.
The happy individual to whom common fame more generally ascribes the discovery is a Mr J. M.
Wooster, whose claims have rested on an inscription, " J. M. Wooster, June 1850," cut more Anglico into
the bark of one of the trees—" Hercules," to wit. As this token of discovery has been mentioned in the
very earliest notices of the tree, there is no doubt that the date of the inscription is genuine, and that it is
not an ex post facto operation. It has been jestingly said that this is only a manuscript notice, and not
publication, and therefore that Mr Wooster is not entitled to the honour of the discovery, which must go,
in right of priority, to the first person who published his discovery, Mr Lobb. But Mr Wooster himself
disclaims it. Mr Hutchins, in his " Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California," says,—" Since writing
the above, we have made the acquaintance of Mr Wooster, who disclaims all title to the discover)-,
althouo-h of the same party, and gives it to W. Whitehead, Esq., who, while tying his shoe, looked casually
round him, and saw the trees, June 1850." We confess we feel disposed to give the palm of discovery to
Mr Whitehead : the simplicity and vraisemblance of the discovery made on looking up from tying his shoe
carry conviction to our mind. The incident of tying his shoe is the last that would occur to an inventor.
A romancer would scarcely think of a party passing through the grove, without noticing the enormous size
and height of the trees; and yet what more natural than that people, not botanists, who have been passing
through forests of all sizes, and not thinking about trees, but intent on other objects, might pass hurriedly
through them, and never observe the trees ? It would only be when something made them pause, and
allowed their attention to wander a little to surrounding objects, that the extraordinary magnitude of the
trees might strike them. It is no doubt exceedingly probable, and doubtless true, that Mr Dowd discovered
them in the same year, and possibly within a few days or weeks of Mr Whitehead; but, in the absence
of data for determining which of them was first, we should certainly, for our part, place ourselves on the
side of the man who discovered them while tying his shoe.
The rumour of the discovery soon spread, and the grove was visited by many. Amongst these early
visitors were two of our countrymen, who at least were the first to introduce the tree into Britain—Mr
John D. Matthew, son of Mr Patrick Matthew, of Gourdiehill, near Errol, and Mr Lobb, who was collecting
for Mr Vcitch. The credit of introducing it is generally awarded to Mr Lobb; and, so far as
regards introducing it in commercial quantities, no doubt he was the introducer. But suum cuiqjie tributo.
The first seeds received in this country were sent by Mr Matthew, and the oldest plants are those which
were raised from them. Mr Lobb returned from California in December 1853, bringing his seeds with
him, as appears from an article by Dr Lindley in the " Gardeners' Chronicle" of 24th December in that
year.
"The other day," says he, "we received from Mr Veitch branches and cones of a most remarkableconiferous
tree, also Califomian seeds, and a living specimen of which had just been brought him by his
excellent collector, Mr William Lobb, who, we are happy to say, has returned loaded with fine things."
Mr Matthew's son, however, had, six months previously, written to his father, informing him of the
discovery of the giant trees, and forwarding a sketch of some of them, a small branch, and some of
its seeds. His letter was dated 10th July 1853, and vvas received, along with the seeds, on the 28th of
August following. The letter was published in extenso in the " Gardeners' Chronicle " in the following
year,
year, 23d June 1854 (p. 373). It contains little but an account of one or two of the larger trees, the
details of which we have already given, but specially mentions the accompanying parcel of seeds. On
receipt of the seeds, Mr Matthew, in order to multiply the chances of their success, divided them into
three portions, one of which he retained, one was given to Dr John Lyall of Newburgh, and the other to
Mr Duncan, then gardener at Megginch Castle. All succeeded well; and a considerable number of
plants were distributed among nurserymen and others, of which we have been able to trace eleven, and are
indebted to their present growers for their dimensions, the particulars of which will be found under the
head of " Culture'.'
Mr Lobb's supply of seeds, however, was that which truly established the tree in this country. Its
renown soon spread far and near; and by the time Mr Veitch had his young plants ready for distribution,
every one was eager to possess it, and willing to pay a good price for it. Mr Veitch thus deservedly made
a little fortune out of the Wellingtonia.
Next year, 1854, o u r neighbours across the Channel had their wants supplied by M. Boursier de la
Riviere, who then transmitted a quantity of seeds to France. We may here mention that, in the
year following, Mr Lawson of Borthwick Hall sent a water-colour drawing of the tree, from an original
sketch, together with a branch and cone, to the Paris Universal Exposition, where it was exhibited
with the Board of Trade collection, prepared by him, and attracted considerable attention. This drawing
he subsequently presented to the Crystal Palace, where it remained, attached to the section of the big
tree in the tropical department, until it shared the fate of its original in the fire already alluded to.
Subsequent consignments have been made from time to time, one of which, viz., that made by Mr
Black, was the produce of the Expedition in which four trees in the Mariposa Grove were cut down to get
at the cones, as previously described. At that time shooting them down by a rifle bullet, or cutting down
the trees, seem to have been the only means of obtaining them, or at any rate the only means of doing so
which had occurred to the earlier explorers; but now it is found that squirrels manage the business better.
They cut off cones, and drop them in great numbers for food, and by visiting the trees often a plentiful
supply may be picked up from the ground. It is not improbable that this did not occur in former times ;
for we know that, in the depth of the untrodden forest, animal life is rare. It is probably only since man
has let in the cheerful light upon the surroundings of these groves that the squirrels have congregated
about them, and made themselves so useful.
By this means, at any rate, a moderate supply of seeds has of late years been obtained and sent to this
country pretty regularly, and the plant is no longer rare or high-priced. The trees have, moreover, as
above mentioned, begun to bear fruit in Britain : at Thetford, Redleaf, Drinkstone Park, Bicton, and a
multitude of other places in England ; at Castle Martyr in Ireland ; and at Tillichewan Castle and North
Berwick House in Scotland. We shall, therefore, soon be independent of seed from California.
Properties and Uses.—We have already explained that these are yet to seek. That the bark of the
Wellingtonia will prove a valuable substitute for oak bark for tanning we fully expect. It will be more
difficult to find a use for the soft, light, and fragile timber, although even it too may be found sufficiently
charged with tannin to be useful for the same purpose; but if it should not, we need not despair.
The ease with which it can be cut may perhaps adapt it for making models to be afterwards stereotyped ;
or, after being carved, it may be possible to infiltrate and harden it so as to combine the advantages of easy
workmanship with manufactured durability. In the meantime, its chiefest attraction in this country is its
interest and beauty, and its most advantageous property, its rapidity of growth.
The wood is remarkable for its slow decay. This is the report of Mr Lapham and others who have
seen it in California, and is fully confirmed by the accounts we have of the state of the fallen trees there.
Mr Marsh, in his work intitled " Man and Nature," suggests that birds do not seem to like the
Thujas, or strong-smelling Cypresses, as he had never observed any to settle on Thuja occidentalis, &c.
This is certainly not the case with Wellingtonia, whatever it may be with the Thujas. Mr Powell, of
r ") 1 Drinkstone