CHAPTER IX 

 STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE AMONGST THE BRANCHES 



118. NO TWO BRANCHES ARE ALIKE— Every tu'uj has a 

 history. It has to contend for air and sunlight, and a place 

 in which to grow. Its size and shape, therefore, depend on 

 the conditions under which it lives. Observe the long, 

 straight, big-leaved shoots on the top of the plant, and 

 the short, weak, crooked ones on the inside or under side. 



119. There is struggle for existence for every ttviq and 

 every leaf. Those finding the best conditions live and 



84. The struggle for life.— Mulberry shoot. 



thrive ; those finding the poorest die. The weak are 

 overpowered and finally perish : this prunes the tree, and 

 tends to make the strong the stronger. Observe the 

 competition in the branch photographed in Fig. 84. Pick 

 out the dead twigs, the w^eak ones, the strong ones. 



120. THE BUDS MAY NOT GROW.— There is not room in 

 a tree-top for all the buds to grow into branches. Some buds 

 (52) 



