Evidence of Climatic Effects in the Annual Rings of Trees1

The first substantial comparison between rings and rain wi.th which th~ author is acquainted was made by the astronomer, J. C. Kapteyn of Holland, in 188o and r881 on oaks in the Rhine region. P rofessor Kapteyn has recently prepared and published a brief pamphlet on the subject.2 A similar comparison between the growth of the great sequoia (Sequoia gigantea), and rainfall is shown in figure I in which the curve for rainfall is from Huntington,3 from data at Fresno, 70 miles away and 5,000 feet lower in elevation. In s.pite of widely different conditions there is evident resem-