there was a display at our county fair a decade ago that the local lumber
yard put up.  it had two slices of coast redwood (sequoia sempervirens) of
the same diameter, about 18".  one was a yard tree that had been watered,
one was cut from an old growth stand.

the age of the yard tree was less than 40 years.  wide rings, soft wood
(scott's thumbnail would be of use here).  fairly smooth bark.

the age of the old-growth tree was more than 350 years.  impossibly small
rings, wood hard as a rock, very thick, wrinkly bark.

what i was told is the old-growth trees really can be told by the depth of,
and number of, crevasses, in their bark.  the smoother the bark, the
younger the tree; even in places where the diameters might be similar you
can visibly tell the difference.

we have four 130-year old redwoods in our backyard that are just
teenagers.  their acne has cleared up, but they don't have their "faces",
yet.  they have never gotten watered, and are already 4-6' in diameter
(piker, i know, scott, but they're "ours").

bill
felton, ca


On Tue, May 29, 2018 at 6:15 PM, scott grandstaff 
wrote: