i?8 COLIN CLOUT'S CALENDAR. 



Indeed, that is the rule with the vast majority of species, 

 animal or vegetable. There are a few which, like man, 

 the Colorado beetle, and the Canadian pond-weed, are 

 rapidly increasing and overrunning the world ; there 

 are a few others which, like the great auk, the beaver, 

 and the edelweiss, are rapidly dying out before their 

 enemies. But by far the greater number seem to con- 

 tinue absolutely invariable from year to year, at least 

 within the range of ordinary human observation. Out 

 of 40,000 seeds of one common English weed, only a 

 single seed on an average produces a full-grown plant 

 every season. 



