QUERCUS ALBA 



well shaded, and had ceased to 

 grow, and its leaves were turning 

 pale. Its end was likewise close 

 at hand. Beneath the ground, also, 

 the result was the same: there was 

 no rivalry now, and the roots of 

 Quercus, dominant, spread in every 

 direction. The nourishment that 

 before had fed the three now went 

 to him alone, and he grew more 

 and more rapidly, with the exult- 

 ant lustiness of a conqueror. 

 Thus the first battle was won; 



33 



