PROTECTION 35 
We have to consider the competition for root- 
room and a place in the sun that goes on between plant 
and plant; it is so fierce, especially in the seedling 
stage, that we can no more form an adequate idea of 
it than of what it would be to be overrun by an 
enemy invasion. 
If we look at one of our country’s hedgerows or 
copses in the spring we shall see thousands of seedlings 
and youngsters all so close together that certainly 
only one here and there can possibly grow up, and it 
would be interesting to know exactly what gives the 
victory to the survivors. 
Let us consider a batch that has happened to 
escape the attentions of the hungry ones around, and let 
us suppose that there are twenty newborn seedlings 
upon a piece of ground large enough to maintain only 
one adult. 
For the sake of simplicity we will assume that 
all of them are of the same species, the Groundsel or 
the Petty Spurge, for example, otherwise the problem 
would be much more complex and difficult to solve, 
although in the end its solution would be on precisely 
the same lines. 
Barring accidents, one of two things is bound to 
happen in the ordinary course of nature, either a 
solitary one will attain the normal size, or if there 
be more than one, the survivors will be below the 
normal. 
The student can observe what takes place for him- 
self, if he will sow the seeds of some easily grown plant 
in a pot; of course he must sow them pretty thickly 
in order to obtain a crowded crop of seedlings. Peas, 
Beans, or Nasturtiums will do very well and they can 
be counted with ease. A single one or two should 
