ngled woodlands
of the gulf, and other typical forests which perchance may have escaped
the desolation of civilization, should be added to the splendid forest
reserves of the national parks of the West, first-grown as Nature made
them, forever to remain untouched by the axe.

Thus will the national parks system become the real national museum for
to-day and forever.

There follows a brief catalogue of the slender and altogether fortuitous
beginnings of such an exhibit.

MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT

One of the last remaining stands of original redwood forest easily
accessible to the visitor is the Muir Woods in California. It occupies a
picturesque canyon on the slope of Mount Tamalpais, north of the Golden
Gate and opposite San Francisco, from which it is comfortably reached by
ferry and railroad. It was rescued from the axe by William Kent of
California, who, jointly with Mrs. Kent, gave it to the nation as an
exhibit of the splendid forest which once crowded the shores of San
Francisco Bay. It is named after John Muir, to whom this grove was a
favorite retreat for many years.

It exhibits many noble specimens of the California redwood, Sequoia
sempervirens, cousin of the giant sequoia. Some of them attain a height
of three hundred feet, with a diameter exceeding eighteen feet. They
stand usually in clusters, or family groups, their stems erect as
pillars, their crowns joined in a lofty roof, rustling in the Pacific
winds, musical with the songs of birds. Not even in the giant sequoia
groves of the Sierra have I found any spot more cathedral-like than
this. Its floor is brown and sweet-smelling, its aisles outlined by the
tread of generations of worshippers. Its naves, transepts, alcoves, and
sanctuaries are still and dim, yet filled mysteriously with light.

The Muir Woods is a grove of noble redwoods, but it is much more. Apart
from its main passages, in alcove, gateway, and outlying precinct it is
an exhibit of the rich Californian coast forest. The Douglas fir here
reaches stately proportions. Many of the western oaks display their
manifold picturesqueness. A hundred lesser trees and shrubs add their
grace and variety. The forest is typical and complete. Though small in
scope it is not a remnant but naturally blends into its surroundings.
The shaded north hill slopes carry the great trees to the ridge line;
the southern slope exhibits the struggle for precedence with the
mountain shrubs. At the lower end