THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 155 



wind in and out for hundreds of feet, always look- 

 ing out for the necessaries of life and for material 

 with which to carry on the struggle. 



Every living thing, whether plant or animal, has 

 to work for its living. The Utopian idea that it 

 might be possible for man to live without work is 

 scouted entirely when we come to study things as 

 they are. Not only is it necessary to labour, but 

 to fight as well. There are always more mouths 

 than bread to fill them. The weakest go to the 

 wall and the strongest survive everywhere. If 

 anything happens to put a species in the back- 

 ground it becomes extinct and the others ride 

 roughshod over it. As with the species so with 

 the individual millions are born only to die 

 before they attain maturity. The forest giant 

 works for many years before he attains a position 

 to produce offspring and how rarely does one of 

 his progeny succeed. He scatters his fruit over the 

 ground by tens of thousands, gives them manifold 

 provisions for preserving the precious germs of 

 life and for securing their distribution, and then 

 leaves them to do the best they can. If they try 

 to germinate under his wing they are ruthlessly 

 smothered. He does not intend that they shall be 

 his rivals they must look for a vacancy, and if 

 there is none go the way of the millions of others 



