The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-10

and aid it in its encroachment upon the open fields. Their large, sprawling crowns are particularly well adapted for the production of seed, and their exposed position enables them to scat ter the seeds to the best advantage, so that it is chiefly through their agency that the forest pushes onward and oc- cupies new fields.
 This is one phase in the life of the forest, but there is another equally im- portant,. and perhaps even more con spicuous. This is the struggle for exist ence, and here again there is a strik- ing similarity between the life of the forest and our own life. In order for it to live and grow there are certain ne- cessities which every tree must have. It must have plenty of water, plenty of food material, and plenty of light and space.
 In most places the first two of these requirements are easily obtained, but not so with the others. AS the forest develops and the trees interfere more and more with one another, space and light are decidedly at a premium, and the competition to get them becomes keen. Obviously, the continued growth of the trees and their fierce struggle with one another make it physical lmpossibiity for all of them to exist, Some must give way and retire from the race to make room for the others. | And here, as In all nature, the inexor- able law of the survival of the f1ttest holds true.
 This struggle begins early in the life of the forest. When the young seed- lings first make their appearance they are usually quite separate and inde- pendent. Each one lives it's own life unhelped and unhindered by those about it. But soon,as trees reckon time, a great change takes place. As the lit- tie seedlings grow and develop they begin to interfere with one another. Their branches come together and in- terlace, and the old life of independ- ence Is done away with forever.
 The forest cover is now established, each tree Is a part of a community, and must take its chances in the strife that is about to commence. During the early years of the forests life the number of trees that are killed in the continuous struggle for existence and for supremacy is great But as the for est grows older this death-rate falls off rapidly. The trees become fewer in number, and they also become stronger and more evenly matched
 While this struggle has such disas- trous results to the majority of the trees that start in the race, for the survivors it is distinctly beneficial. They have been thoroughly proved to be the Attest of all the trees in the forest, and can henceforth take their place without question as the leaders, 1.-the dominant trees.
 | One of the beneficial effects of this struggle upon the dominant trees is seen in what we know as natural pruning" As the trees grow in height and become crowded from the side by ltheir neighbors their branches get less and less light, until finally there is not enough to keep them alive and they die, and in time fall off. The scars that Ithey leave are gradually healed and covered by new layers of growth un- Itil finally no trace of their presence Is visible. It is in this way that the clean straight trunks of our trees are form led, sometimes free from branches, and even from knots, for hundred feet or more
 So far the forest has been spoken of as if the only danger came from the struggle for existence among It's own members. But there are a great many other perils to which the forest is con- Istantly subjected, which interfere with its natural life, and which often dc Immense damage.
 The boy who cuts branch from a tree for a fishing pole may cripple that tree just enough to put 1t out of the Trace for supremacy and life. Browsing sheep and cattle may destroy many seedlings, and hogs may root them up Wind often does great damage by lbreaking off branches or tearing trees up by the roots. Snow and ice ire. Iduently do much harm, Insects and fungi annually destroy many millions of dollars worth of valuable timber and may spread until immense area; are infected.
 And so the list grows, but fire and destructive numbering are worst of all
 the dangers. These two agencies dc lmore harm than all the others put to. lgether, often cause irreparable injury and unfortunately are the hardest fol the forest to contend with.
 Upon the leaves falls the all-import- ant task of manufacturing the food
 upon which the whole growth of the
 tree depends Every leaf is little lab toratory in which wonderful process Igoes on. Carbon dioxide is constantly absorbed from the air, while water is sent up from the roots, and from these inorganic substances the leaves manu- facture the organic food upon which the tree lives. This marvellous work