WEEDS 



A strange analogy exists between plant life and 

 some aspedts of human life. The same stern neces- 

 sity of the survival of the fittest — physical in 

 one, and in the other mental and spiritual — seems 

 to inhere in both. Among the w^eeds, competition 

 is the dominant note, as it is in our vs^orld. In 

 some higher circles it is sounded faintly, while 

 untold legions of the more delicate plants — like 

 sensitive natures — are driven to the wall, unequal 

 to the struggle. 



There are weeds whose ways suggest the arro- 

 gant monopoly, and others which recall the para- 

 sites of society. The dodder fastens upon its viitim 

 and the bindweed throttles the innocent. To with- 

 stand the severe competition of pigweed and rag- 

 weed, the garden patch requires your energy, plus 

 its own; and the more war is waged upon these, 

 the more does it seem to encourage the purslane, 

 which thrives like a freebooter in this sort of 

 w^arfare. 



69 



