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FIG. 44. This is the end result of breaking natural laws on the landscape. The 

 gully will soon claim the house, then the road beyond. But, what good is a 

 house or a road when the people have been exiled from the farm sentenced by 

 the court of natural justice. And, for how many generations will the children 

 suffer for the incompetence of the father? 



once he was prosperous and well fed. Organisms are flexible only 

 in a relative sense and within the critical limits of the fluctuating 

 ecological factors, of sunlight, temperature, moisture, etc. 



The tedious and unnoticed decline of a community, whether we 

 think of a plant, a lower animal, a human, or a total community in- 

 volving the complexity of an entire earth segment such a decline 

 is an ecological disaster of the first order. (Fig. 44.) 



The encouraging fact is that, while Nature is relentless in her 

 justice for those who break the law, for those who unleash destructive 

 forces, Nature is also invariably just to those who have the wit to 

 operate within the law. 



It is not always easy for the uninformed to tell whether he is 

 working with Nature or against her. It is a common practice in vari- 

 ous parts of this country and others to burn over annually either open 

 field or woodland pastures. The general opinion among herdsmen is 

 that the young, green vegetation which springs up after the burn is 

 much better than the tough, unappetizing plants which were burned. 

 At least it offers improved grazing for a few weeks. The question is 

 whether this is good or bad. What will the verdict of nature be? 



90 



