104 THE HUMAN SIDE OF TREES 



Trees do more than manufacture. Many of 

 them have reached the factory stage of production, 

 and by large scale and mandatory monopolies of 

 raw materials not only force competitors to the wall 

 but deny them space in which to eke out an ex- 

 istence. Few plants or trees are hardy enough to 

 establish themselves in a pine tree city. The auto- 

 cratic conifers have such a trust-like grip on air, 

 soil and water that an intruder can do little more 

 than shrivel up and die. Some trees, like those of 

 the great tropical forests, seem to enjoy having all 

 kinds and sorts of small plants thrive at their feet. 

 But this is not true of the pines; it is only when 

 they have exhausted all the food material of a 

 place and themselves fall before the Sherman Anti- 

 trust Law of time that the small competitors have 

 a chance. 



Not a tree exists that is not engaged in some 

 kind of manufacture. They are by nature manu- 

 facturers, and their very life processes are those 

 of their chosen profession. Man subsists largely 

 on elements which other plants and animals have 

 already arranged in organic form. It is the tree's 

 problem to take carbon dioxide from the air and 

 water and minerals from the earth and from these 

 simple things manufacture living and complex tis- 

 sue. Nothing is more wonderful and mystical than 



