The Giant Redwoods The Oldest Form Of Life On Earth?

By Rockwell D. Hunt, in the Los Anseles Times

It may be a bit bold-of this I am quite aware-but the claim is here advanced that the oldest living things not only in California but on the face of the earth, are the arveinspiring Clrlifornia big trees. The Sequoia gigantea of the Sierras must not be confused with the graceful redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) of the Coast Range.

Just how old is the oldest living Sequoia? Nobody knows precisely. There have been innumerable guesses and many careful estimates by experts. In 1898 David Starr Jordan stated: "ft is safe to say that many of them have stood on the earth for at least 8,000 years." He would probably revise his fiClt downward today.

John Muir once spent a day in clearing away the burnt surface of "a majestic old fire-scarred monument," and with the aid of his pocket lense "counted a little over 4,000 rings, showing that this tree was in its prime about 27 feet in diameter at the beginning of the Christian era." Muir wrote: "No description can give anything like an adequate idea of their singular majesty, much less their beauty."

More recently, James Clifford Shirley, ranger-naturalist of Yosemite National Park, has declared: "The Sierra redwoods, (Sequoia gigantea) as a class are no doubt the oldest living things in existence." Prof. Willis Jepson determined (within limits of slight error) the age of one tree to be 3226 years, and Frederic Douglas, after making a boring into the General Sherman tree, considers it to be more than 3,50O years old.

Appointed General Salec Managcr Of Building Materials Divigion

Appointment of W. H. Young as general sales manager of the Building Materials Division of Pabco Products Inc. was announced by President W. L. Keady. Young will succeed Russell R. Galloway, who has been named general sales manager of Pa.bco's Floor. Covering Division.

The General Sherman and the President of Sequoia National Park, and the Grizzly Giant of Yosemite National Park are perhaps the oldest of all trees. Which one is actually the oldest? Who knows?

What about the claims made for the Bennett Juniper, a truly wonderful tree of Tuolumne County? This Juniperus occidentalis has been called "the oldest living thing on the earth," "twice the age of the oldest Sequoias, or 6,C)()0 years old." Such claims, however, have not met with general acceptance.

Waldo S. Glock, a well known authority on tree rings, employed three methods in studying the age of the Bennett Juniper, and concluded that "it may well be that the age is distinctly more than 3,000 years, but until the entire stump is visible the exact age will not be known."

Great age has been claimed for the Jpshua Tree (Yucca breviofolia). But only in the unrestrained imagination of the untrained traveler can the age of this rema.rkable "lily" be placed in the thousands of years.

The giant Cypress of Tule, in Southern Mexico, has also been called "the oldest and largest tree in the world," its age placed by some at about 6,000 years. This is indeed a picturesque, marvelous tree, standing quite alone in its spreading splendor.

But Dr. Jepson combats the expressed opinion as to its age and concludes: "Liberals among scientists think it rray be 2,000 or 2,5ffi years old. Honors for antiquity among trees therefore seem to remain with the Sequoias."

With Superior Lumbcr Salcr Company

Frank DuPont, Sacramento lumberman, has become associated with Superior Lumber Sales Company of Sacramento according to a recent announcement by C. K. Rose, managing partner.

W. Il Youag

Young has had long and wide experience in the merchandising and sale of building materials and for the past seven years has occupied an executive position with a large and successful construction firm in San Fiancisco. He brings to Pabco an unusually

Mr. DuPont has a thorough background in the lumber business having spent a number of years in manufacture and sales at several large California mills, and has been actively engaged in the wholesale business the past six years. He is well known throughout the lumber industry and will handle all West Coast lumber products, specializing in ponderosa pine, sugar pine and white 6r. His address is 9n gth Street, Room 3, Sacramento, Calif.

Westenr Pine cmd Associciled SpeciEs ol Lumber-RouDdiDg Out Delivery Chcnge

Washington, D.C., Dec. l2-Manufacturers of lumber cut from western pine and associated species are required to round out their delivery charges to the nearest quarter dollar per 1,000 board feet or other applicable measure, OPS broad knowledge of the building construction industry. announced today.

Keady announced that there will be no changes in the Previously no provision was made for rounding out assignments of other sales executives presently connected freight charges. The change is made to conform to induswith Pabco's Building Materials Division. He stated that try practices. It will have no effect on the average level under Young's leadership it is planned to further expand of prices. the merchandising service of Pabco Products Inc. to all of The change is provided for in Amendment I to Ceiling the company's building materials customers. Price Regulation 152, and is efrective Decdmber 16, 1952.