55 



h^ 





w:*^'^*^^^^; .; v- 



mm 



Its location on the border of an open pasture in the valley be- 

 tween two steep hillsides, was a very favorable one before the 

 drouth, but at this time the pasture was a desert, and the bed 

 of the little stream which had watered the valley was as dry as 

 a brick. 



While the deep ramifications of its root system may account 

 for the survival of this forest giant, it does not explain its sudden 

 rejuvenation in health and vigor under conditions that were 

 killing healthy trees all around it. Not being an expert in such 

 matters, the only explanation that I can suggest, is that competi- 

 tion for the scanty supply of moisture in the soil had been 

 greatly reduced by the death of other competitors, and possibly, 

 enriched by a greater proportion of chemical nutrients which 

 under normal conditions would have been absorbed by the trees 

 that had died. But this is merely a supposition of the writer, 

 who would like very much to know the opinion of other readers 

 of Torreya who are better qualified to form a correct one. 



Rome. Ga. 



