The Tree's Life -In Old Age 



THE shade in the forest has now become great. 

 The floor is covered with leaves and needles, and 

 the tops of the trees are very close together. 

 Beneath, it is almost dark, so dark that a great 

 many of the low-growing branches are beginning 

 to die. 



In each tree, as in the entire forest, there is 

 a constant struggle between the branches and 

 twigs and the numerous tiny buds for food and 

 light. The crown of the tree pushes upward to 

 find these things, and soon cuts off the crowded 

 branches below. The close-growing trees in the 

 forest prune each other and themselves. The 

 lower limbs, cut off from the light above, die 

 as the tree grows taller, and are easily snapped 

 off by the winds or broken as the trees whip 

 against each other. When this occurs early in 

 the tree's life, the small branch stubs that are 

 left do little harm. They are soon grown over, 

 and do not form the large, coarse knots found in 

 trees with many limbs. Thus the forest-grown 



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