Chapter XVII 



FOREST MAGIC 



All those whose work or interest has taken them into 

 the Tropical Forest must feel the spell of its magic. Even 

 the most unsensitive matter of fact traveller is conscious 

 of this spell, but those who are destined to dwell in its 

 solitudes for long periods out of touch with any life save 

 that of the forest, learn to read its story. 



Anyone who stands alone under the dense canopy of 

 the Tropical Forest is overcome with a sense of individ- 

 ual hmitations, for in the teeming life of the Forest man 

 seems but a pigmy for the control of that urge of 

 growth which is here continually finding expression in 

 the development of these colossal tree giants. 



Here in the Forest one sees the battle of species which 

 has waged eternal war. There is something inexplicably 

 gruesome in this bloodless conflict where forever the 

 weaker are being suppressed in their constant struggle 

 for light. Here an ancient decaying giant of the Forest 

 has fallen, thus for a time breaking the canopy, which 

 allows fresh growth, and in turn this takes up the piti- 

 less battle. 



In the study of vegetation the outcome of this strug- 

 gle is known to Ecologists as the "Forest Climax." This 



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