150 THE GREAT NETWORK OF ROOTS. 



tion of trees itself, all successively feeding upon, and 

 destroying, the remains of the fallen; till at length 

 they are entirely incorporated with the soil from which 

 they formerly drew their life. Thus does dust return 

 to dust, from whence it first arose, both in the vegetable 

 and in the animal creation. 



Lastly, as regards the soil itself, the surface as we 

 know is often covered with a verdant carpet of 

 herbaceous vegetation ; and beneath it are various forms 

 of fungoid growths; a curious one, dear to the palate 

 of the gourmand, for instance, is the truffle, which 

 inhabits the soil of many ancient woods especially 

 under beech or chestnut trees. 



Then, of course, still further down, and mostly out 

 of sight, is the infinite network of roots whereby the 

 the trees and plants draw their nourishment from the 

 soil, varying in size from the thickness of a man's body 

 to the fineness of a human hair. Not less numerous, 

 or hardly less remarkable than the vegetation is the 

 infinite variety of insect life which inhabits the surface 

 and whole thickness of the upper crust of the soil, or 

 humus. Let anyone consider the vast legions and 

 countless varieties of insect life which are to be seen 

 both upon and above the surface of the ground. What 

 pen could describe them ? Or who could form even an 

 approximate idea of their numbers? 



The multitudes of ants for example to take only 

 one kind of insect which fill some sections of the pine 

 forests, in places where the winter is often most 

 rigorous, and where the snow must cover them over 

 many feet deep for several months in winter are 

 marvellous to behold. These industrious little creatures 

 collect nests of pine needles, of which they construct 



