STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 117 



from the foregoing remarks; namely, that the structure of 

 every organic being is related, in the most essential yet 

 often hidden manner, to that of all the other organic 

 beings, with which it comes into competition for food or 

 residence, or from which it has to escape, or on which 

 it preys. This is obvious in the structure of the 

 teeth and talons of the tiger; and in that of the legs 

 and claws of the parasite which clings to the hair on the 

 tiger's body. But in the beautifully plumed seed of 

 the dandelion, and in the flattened and fringed legs 

 of the water-beetle, the relation seems at first confined 

 to the elements of air and water. Yet the advantage of 

 plumed seeds no doubt stands in the closest relation to 

 the land being already thickly clothed with other plants; 

 so that the seeds may be widely distributed and fall on 

 unoccupied ground. In the water-beetle, the structure of 

 its legs, so well adapted for diving, allows it to compete 

 with other aquatic insects, to hunt for its own prey, and 

 to escape serving as prey to other animals. 



The store of nutriment laid up within the seeds of 

 many plants seems at first sight to have no sort of rela- 

 tion to other plants. But from the strong growth of 

 young plants produced from such seeds, as peas and 

 beans, when sown in the midst of long grass, it may be 

 suspected that the chief use of the nutriment in the seed 

 is to favor the growth of the seedlings, while struggling 

 with other plants growing vigorously all around. 



Look at a plant in the midst of its range, why does 

 it not double or quadruple its numbers? We know that 

 it can perfectly well withstand a little more heat or cold, 

 dampness or dryness, for elsewhere it ranges into slightly 

 hotter or colder, damper or drier, districts. In this case 



