MOORLAND IDYLLS. 



nature ; the whole secret lies in the fact that 

 we restrict competition. Cultivation means 

 merely digging out the native herbs, and 

 keeping them out, once ousted, in favour 

 of other plants which we choose to protect 

 against all their rivals. In rich lowland 

 soils the grasses and other soft succulent 

 herbs outgrow such tough shrubs as ling 

 and Scotch heather. But in the poverty- 

 stricken loam of the uplands, the grasses 

 and garden weeds find no food to batten 

 upon ; and there the heather, to the manner 

 born, gets at last a fair field and no favour. 

 It is adapted to the moors, as the camel is 

 to the desert ; both have been driven to 

 accommodate themselves to a wretched and 

 thirsty environment ; but both have made 

 a virtue of necessity, and risen to the occa- 

 sion with commendable ingenuity. 



Everything about the heather shows long- 

 continued adaptation to arid conditions. Its 

 stems are wiry ; its leaves are small, very 

 dry, uninviting as foodstuffs, curled under 

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