THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 



53 



89. The branching is crooked 

 and irregular. 



are suppressed. Branches die. So it comes that branches 

 are not arranged regularly, although the buds may be. In 



the Tartarian or "tree" 

 honeysuckle the buds are 

 opposite; Fig. 89 shows how 

 the branches are. Even 

 though the branch or plant 

 is apparently regular in 

 shape (as in Fig. 90), never- 

 theless many of the buds 

 have been suppressed, else 

 there would be a branch 

 from every axil. 



122. The results of the 

 struggle for existence in the 

 tree-top can be expressed in figures. Consider that every bud 

 is the germ or starting point of a branch. Observe at what 

 distances apart the buds are usually borne on any plant, and 

 estimate the number of buds that the plant has borne: 

 count the number of branches which the tree actually bears. 

 It will be found that the number of buds is far in excess of 

 the number of 

 branches: the differ- 

 ence between the 

 numbers shows how 

 many buds or 

 branches have failed. 

 Or, count the buds 

 on any branch, and 

 figure up the pos- 

 sibilities. A branch 

 12 inches long, for 

 example, has 10 buds. 

 If each bud grows, 



90. Not all the buds have produced 

 at the end Of the next branches. Tea plant. 



