CHAPTER XIX 



SOME INVISIBLE DEFENDERS 



In one of our recent magazines there were seven 

 articles pertaining to the world war, and one, 

 beautifully illustrated, giving some account of an- 

 other army, rarely noticed by the average person, 

 whose annual campaign against hordes of noxious 

 insects saves every forest in America. This is 

 no insignificant Council of Defence, working for 

 the general good, unhonored and unsung. 



Igdrasil, according to Norse mythology, is 

 the ash tree of existence, and all life is represented 

 by this fabulous tree. The winds among its 

 branches are both shouting and whispering the 

 messages of Igdrasil. The forests are its 

 children and lovingly, devotedly, the birds watch 

 and protect these children, scattered so widely 

 over the face of the earth. All flesh is grass, 

 and grass, protected by the bird soldier, stands 

 for food and nourishment, but the tree has its 

 direct relationships, vast and tender, with home, 

 and home in very fact is the substance of things 

 hoped for. The singing army going through the 



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