The mountains of California . some-what comnnmicative, making sign of a very un-willing acceptance of their fate, holding themselveswell up from the ground on knees and elbows,seemingly ill at ease, and anxious, like stubbornwrestlers, to rise again. HEMLOCK SPRUCE(7sitga ratto)ii(nia) The Hemlock Spruce is the most singularlybeautiful of all ihe California conifcra^ So slenderis its axis at the top, that it bends ovei- and droopslike tlie stalk of a nodding lily. Tlie branchesdroop also, and divide into iiiimmeiable slender,waving s[)rays, which are ai-raiiged in a varied,eloquent harmony tha
The mountains of California . some-what comnnmicative, making sign of a very un-willing acceptance of their fate, holding themselveswell up from the ground on knees and elbows,seemingly ill at ease, and anxious, like stubbornwrestlers, to rise again. HEMLOCK SPRUCE(7sitga ratto)ii(nia) The Hemlock Spruce is the most singularlybeautiful of all ihe California conifcra^ So slenderis its axis at the top, that it bends ovei- and droopslike tlie stalk of a nodding lily. Tlie branchesdroop also, and divide into iiiimmeiable slender,waving s[)rays, which are ai-raiiged in a varied,eloquent harmony that is wholly indesciibable. Itscones are pur[)le, and hang fiee, in the form oflittle tassels two in(;li<is long from all the spraysfrom top to bottom. Though excjuisitely delicateand feminiiK^ in expiession, it grows ])est wlicrcthe snow lies r)()() feet,on frosty iKUt liciii slojtrs; l»nl it is capable of 208 THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA. growing considerablyhigher, say 10,500 tallest specimens,growing in sheltered hol-lows somewhat beneaththe heaviest wind-cm-reiits, are from eighty toa hundred feet high, andfrom two to four feet indiameter. The very lar-gest specimen I everfound was nineteen feetseven inches in circum-ference four feet fromthe ground, growing onthe edge of Lake Hollow, at an elevation of 9250feet above the level of the sea. At the age oftwenty or thirty years it becomes fruitful, andhangs out its beautiful purple cones at the endsof the slender sprays, where they swing free in thebreeze, and contrast delightfully with the cool greenfoliage. They are translucent when young, andtheir beauty is delicious. After they are fully ripe,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectcaliforniadescriptio
