THE BATTLE OF LIFE 63 



The struggle for existence among the plants and 

 trees is keen beyond imagination. And the struggle 

 among the insects, birds and beasts, and man for 

 the plants and products of the trees is no less severe. 

 So now our impression is that of an abundant, 

 varied and intense life in which the individuals are 

 perpetually struggling with one another for bare 

 existence. 



Under these stringent and stressful conditions 

 does each living being come into the world. He 

 has to battle his way through — or succumb. Plants 

 as well as men, and men as well as plants. So, as 

 we look into the structure of animals and plants, 

 we are not surprised to find that in order to cope 

 with their surroundings they have developed organs 

 which are specially adapted to enable them to secure 

 the needful food, to hold their own against the com- 

 petition of their neighbours, to meet the exigencies 

 of their surroundings, and to pursue their own life 

 to the full extent of its possibilities. Even plants 

 are like sentient beings in this respect. The 

 sensitive tips of their roots are organs admirably 

 adapted for feeling their way through the soil and 

 selecting from its constituents what will best 

 nourish the plant. The leaves opening out to 

 the air and sunshine are other organs adapted 

 for gathering in nourishment. And thorns and 

 poisonous juices are means adapted to fend off 

 destructive neighbours. The eyes and ears in 

 animals are other instances of organs which 

 enable them to see what will serve them as food, 

 or to hear what may be possible enemies, and to 



