THE CAPE GROUND SQUIRREL 



but surely helped to silt up the lakes and rivers 

 which in former ages abounded in South Africa. 

 Thus were the great Karoo and grass-velds of this 

 country formed. 



When Nature's giant forces were thus at work, 

 the country was covered with forests of trees. In 

 these virgin forests, armies of Squirrels lived in 

 comparative security in their nests in the hollows 

 of the branches and trunks of the veteran forest 

 giants. Food there was in abundance. The trees, 

 fed by abundant rains, throve apace and produced 

 their annual harvests of fruits and berries in pro- 

 fusion ; and on these the Squirrels feasted and laid 

 by ample stores for the winter season. But it was 

 so ordained that this condition of things was not 

 to persist for ever. This Squirrel paradise was 

 doomed. The end came not suddenly. Slowly 

 but steadily from generation to generation the 

 rainfall lessened. Then came the struggle for 

 existence in the vegetable kingdom. The less 

 hardy trees and plants died of thirst. As the 

 rainfall lessened still more, hosts of species of plants 

 perished, until, one by one, the great forest trees 

 waned in vitality and died. 



This struggle for the survival of the fittest was 

 not going on in the vegetable kingdom only. The 

 insects, reptiles, birds and mammals inhabiting those 

 forest and bush-covered lands were also struggling 

 for existence ; and in the fight new forms or species 

 evolved. In many parts the rainfall eventually 

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