198 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FARM 
Yet some survive. Each wild species holds its own. In 
the nice balance of nature, enough are produced so that, after 
all the losses from casualties and enemies, a few will still be 
living on. A few will have found the chance places of security 
and of opportunity and will be carrying the race forward. 
It is nature’s method—wasteful of individuals but careful of 
the species. It necessitates that she should keep her nursery 
full. 
In nature’s nursery the number of individuals of any tree 
diminishes very rapidly as their size increases. It is only 
Fic. 79. An uprooted branch of cockle-mint; a, the old 
dead flowering stem; 0b, b, two new shoots, ready for 
the coming season; c,¢, buds that will produce shoots 
for the year thereafter, 
little seedlings that ordinarily are abundant; often, as in the 
case of the ninebark, just described, they are nearly all too 
small for landscape use; and those of ‘‘planting size’ are apt 
to be deformed by growth in cramped quarters. But if only 
the severity of the struggle for existence be relieved a bit—as 
by transplanting these little things into good soil where they 
may have plenty of room and light—fine symmetrical bushes 
may be had ina season or two. It requires only a little fore- 
thought; it produces the finest plants, and yields, besides, 
the satisfaction of seeing things develop. 
