CHAPTER II 



THE STRUGGLE TO LIVE 



Every plant and animal is exposed to unfavourable con- 

 ditions. It is obliged to contend with these conditions in 

 order to live. 



No two plants or parts of plants are identically exposed 

 to the conditions in which they live. The large branches 



Fig. 3. — a Battle for Life. 



in Fig. I probably had more room and a better exposure 

 to light than the smaller ones. Probably no two of the 

 leaves in Fig. 2 are equally exposed to light, or enjoy 

 identical advantages in relation to the food that they re- 

 ceive from the tree. 



Examine any tree to determine under what advantages 

 or disadvantages any of the limbs may live. Examine 

 similarly the different plants in a garden row (Fig. 3); or 

 the different bushes in a thicket ; or the different trees in 

 a wood. 



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