192 THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNLIKE. [vil. 



times. Egypt has had its plagues. Every country has 

 had similar trials. They are the necessary outcojnes of 

 civilization and the clearing of the land. In 1649, there 

 was "a strange multitude of caterpillars in New Eng- 

 land."* While we shall always meet these onslaughts, 

 there is reason to believe that they will eventually be- 

 come less numerous and frequent, for cultivation will 

 become tamer, and we know that after a time every 

 attack loses much of its initial virulence. It is inter- 

 esting to note that weeds are more numerous in the west 

 than in the east, notwithstanding the fact that they are 

 largely introduced upon the Atlantic sea-board. Here 

 in Indiana the roadside and vacant tield are choked with 

 weeds. It is not so bad in New York. The country is 

 newer, the soil is freshly broken, there is little competi- 

 tion from enduring greensward, and there is more waste 

 land for which the weeds compete without difficulty. 



We are taught, as well, that new enemies are to 

 come upon us. But we are learning how to contend 

 with them. If insect injuries are more serious in the 

 United States than elsewhere, we have also devised the 

 most perfect means of combating them, and in spite 

 of our difficulties we are growing more and l)ottcr 

 fruit than any country in the world. Great difficulties 

 inspire great efforts, and the awards of those who 

 succeed are greater than they otherwise could be. The 

 spraying pump has brought a new era into our horti- 

 culture, not only because it is a means of dispatching 

 of enemies, but because it has inspired hope and con ft - 

 , deuce. We can not fear the future when the difficul- 



"^ ;y '■' ties of the present have been met in such heroic manner. 



^.*^' ji Both philosophy and recent experience reassure us. 



V L*'' .■•? Joifejiosselyn, New England's Rarities, 110. 



