THIRD WEEK] December 331 



be no competitors on the water side and moisture and air 

 will never fail. But look at some ancient beech growing 

 thus, whose smooth, whitened bole encloses a century of 

 growth rings. Offsetting its advantages, the stream, little 

 by little, has undermined the maze of roots and the force 



of annual freshets has trained them all in a down-stream 

 direction. It is an inverted reminder of the wind-moulded 

 spruce. Although the stout beech props itself by great 

 roots thrown landward, yet, sooner or later, the ripples 

 will filter in beyond the centre of gravity and the mighty 



