THE EVOLUTION OF NATURE GUIDING 251 



their search for a home. Most seeds are lost or 

 destroyed. A few find an unoccupied place and 

 start to grow. Their place may be a favourable 

 or unfavourable one. 



A little tree peeps up into the big world and un- 

 folds its leaves. It may be eaten by insects or by 

 animals, burned by fire, trampled out, or uprooted. 

 A number may be injured and still live on, and a 

 few grow on uninjured. 



Each year a tree puts on a thin coat of wood on 

 the outside just beneath the bark. This coat 

 grows over every twig and limb and the tree trunk. 

 A tree grows higher by building at the top. A limb 

 on the side that a small boy or girl can just reach will 

 never be any farther from the earth. As the tree 

 grows larger and larger it may be preyed upon by 

 ants, borers, beetles, and wood-lice, by gypsy 

 moth and by caterpillars. But the chickadees, 

 nuthatches, and other birds will eat the wood- 

 lice and the caterpillars, and Dr. Woodpecker will 

 dig in after the borers and beetles. 



Trees live from forty years to a few thousand 

 years of age, and during their long life they stand 

 in one place. They cannot travel, cannot run 

 away from danger. In one place they face storm, 

 wind, and drouth. Every tree has an adventurous 

 life. It is a home for the birds, it shelters plants, 

 and gives shade and beauty to the world. It may 

 bear fruit. It may become a flag pole or a ship 

 mast and sail around the world. 



