

THE GUIDE in N VTURE 



1'IG. I— STRUCK DOWN, PUT VICTORIOUS, ALTHOUGH SADLY CRIPPLED. 



bill if such a work exists I have missed 

 it, and would he grateful for a refer- 

 ence to it. In the meantime I offer the 

 readers of The Guide to Nature a few 



FIG. M THE STRUGGLE FOR ROOT-NOURISH- 

 MENT AND SUPPORT. 



pictures which perhaps present some 

 new features and illustrations. 



The photograph of "The United 

 Oaks near the Cabin" is one of the best 

 examples of the ingenuity of the tree- 

 mind I have ever seen, but I wish the 

 reporter or photographer had described 

 it in detail, and that he had answered 

 some suggested questions, as, for in- 

 stance : 



i. How high above the ground is the 

 Siamese-twin bond of union? 



2. Is there any evidence, indication, 

 or history, that it was made by man 

 during the childhood of the two trees? 



3. Is there any indication that it is 

 the result of a coalescence of the two 

 limbs — one from each tree, or, 



4. Did the limb from one tree be- 

 come embedded into the other trunk? 



5. Is there any indication, or possible 

 proof that the sap flows only in one 

 direction, or in both? 



I have seen the large roots of a tree 

 a foot, at least, in diameter, pass from 

 the top of a large boulder about six 

 feet high, down about four or five sides 

 of the boulder before plunging into the 

 ground. The boulder was thus made 

 to act as a ballast whereby the tree 



