30 IN THE GREEN LEAF 



of the tree that it clung to, not knowing that the 

 fine creeper, which we think might be called 

 the oak's glory, derives all its nourishment from 

 its own ground-rooted stem, and not from the 

 tree it clings to, some of those ivy stems that I 

 have measured were eighteen inches in circum- 

 ference just above the ground. Nothing can 

 replace those giant ivy ropes upon the mighty 

 trees that they throw their coils over ; and from 

 those dense ivy masses the dwellers in the weald 

 procured their broods of young horned owlets, 

 for the long- eared owls built their nests in 

 them. 



The law of self-preservation is said to be 

 the first law of Nature, and all wild creatures 

 certainly do their very best to keep out of 

 harm's way, and to teach their offspring to 

 follow their example. 



From the moment that any creature, furred 

 or feathered, begins its life, dangers of some 

 kind beset it ; quite independently of man, 

 they have their own natural enemies that per- 

 secute them in the most relentless fashion. 

 From morning to night some power, or a 

 combination of powers, seeks to kill, and the 

 hunted ones do their best to avoid the killing. 

 It is an imperative law of Nature that one 



