54 



THE OLIVE LEAF. CHAP. 



steaming vapours forbids the strong assertion of indi- 

 vidual life. Each must give way to a certain extent 

 to its neighbour that is seeking a share of the same 

 benefits, and pushing forward to the full blaze of 

 sunlight Hence many plants become of necessity 

 epiphytal or commensal ; and plants that are elsewhere 

 sturdy and independent trees become there dependent 

 and climbing. In such climates, where the struggle 

 of life with life is keenest, nature must be hospitable 

 if she is to accommodate the vast variety of species 

 which she calls into existence. Each individual must 

 help another ; and the higher must lift up the lower 

 to something like its own level of advantage. In 

 temperate climates, where the struggle is more with 

 the elements than with living things, nature must 

 take in from the cold and the storm many lowly and 

 tender forms that would perish outright if left alone 

 and undefended. The trees must do this timely service 

 to the flowers and ferns that grow beneath their shade, 

 and to the still lowlier plants that find a lodgment upon 

 their trunks and branches. On the wild, inhospitable 

 moor the hardy heather affords protection to thousands 

 of humble forms of life, which without its shelter 

 would not have been able to exist. Even in the quiet 

 valleys, many species require the shade of the woods 

 and forests ; and when these are cut down and they 

 are exposed to the full effect of the sunshine and the 

 wind they perish outright. The same species, too, 

 extend hospitality to each other. In temperate clim- 

 ates the most striking characteristic of plants is this 



