The Bill of Fare 65 



the method of operation of such a natural unit can be un- 

 derstood. Most important is that each community like a 

 marsh, prairie, woodland, and desert is a tight association of 

 many related factors which tend to make the area a self- 

 supporting natural unit. The residents are interdependent 

 and lead a life made possible only by the continued exist- 

 ence of other members of the community. 



As applied to the marsh, this means that fish, fowl, plants, 

 and other forms of life are associated because each of them 

 makes some contribution and receives some benefit which 

 enables them to survive as a group. Except for the radiant 

 energy of the sun, which is the basis of existence for all living 

 things, the group is almost self-sufficient. 



I thought of this in terms of the catfish flotilla which navi- 

 gated within a couple of yards of my canoe. It is a part of the 

 marsh community and it is safe to assert that thousands of 

 other such assemblages have traveled these same canals and 

 that a certain proportion of the individuals have matured 

 and then produced other schools. Such defenseless and ten- 

 der forms of life certainly cannot forage here and there for 

 food. There must be a regular and certain supply always 

 ready for them. In fact, there must be some assurance that 

 every form of life in this community can find food sufficient 

 for its needs. All items in the complex bill of fare must be 

 constantly forthcoming if the residents are to endure. Each 

 has its own food requirements; each will die if deprived of 

 these requirements; each must depend upon the continued 

 and successful satisfaction of the group needs. Because there 

 is scanty discussion of this phase of community life many 

 people know surprisingly little about it. 



Once I took a high school lad, a friend's son, through the 

 marsh. The day was hot but he insisted on doing his share of 

 the paddling on the rather long route which we took. In 

 some places the bay was free, in others the aquatic plants 

 were thick enough to make paddling extremely tiresome. He 



