214 



COMPETITION WITH FELLOWS 



orchard can support no 

 more trees, weeds may grow 

 beneath. 



353. We have learned 

 (25, 26) that roots go far and 

 wide for food and moisture. 

 The plant that is first es- 

 tablished appropriates the 

 food to itself and new- 

 comers find difficulty in 

 gaining a foothold. Note 

 the bare area near the elm 

 tree in Fig. 359. Recall 

 how difificult it is to make 

 phmts grow when planted 



under trees. This is partly due to the interceptmg of 



the rain by the tree-top, partly to shade, and partly to 



lack of available food and moisture in the soil. The 



farmer knows that he can- 

 not hope to secure good 



crops near large trees, even 



beyond the point at which 



the trees intercept the rain 



and light. It is difiBcult to 



establish new trees in the 



vacancies in an old orchard. 

 354. In Chapter VIII 



we studied the relation of 



the plant and its parts to 



sunlight. Plants also com- 

 pete with each other for 



light. Plants climb to get 



to the light (Chapter XVI) . 



Fig. 360. Some plants 



have become adapted to 



The forest centpr. Looking from the 

 woods, with the forest rim shown in 

 fig. 3C6 seen io tUe distasce. 



