196 



THE NATIONAL C.KOf.K A PI I IC M AGAZIXK 



nearly vertical rock faces of mountains 



where there seemed to be no soil and 

 where it appeared impossible for water 

 to remain. 



And vet their morale must have been 

 at high-water mark, for their luxuriance 

 would have done credit to that of trees 

 in the most favored positions far down 

 the mountains. And this was at an ele- 

 vation of 13,000 feet. There were also 

 deciduous trees, resembling mulberries, 

 clinging to similar positions with a vigor 

 and vim that made them the world's most 

 famous alpine warriors. Even the wil- 

 lows continued in ranks up to 1 1,500 feet, 

 and at 14,400 the last struggling bush 

 proclaimed that it was holding the most 

 advanced outpost in the whole line. 



the: trucelkss war goks on in java, 

 the alps, and africa 



One might find thrilling stories of the 

 truceless war on the timber-line in many 

 another isolated area. In the mountains 

 of Java, on the slopes of the Ruwenzori 

 of Africa, in the Alps of Europe, in the 

 mountains of New Zealand, in a hundred 

 areas, the age-long struggle goes on. 

 Every species of tree that we know 

 pushes just as far skyward and poleward 

 as it can live. Each species finds its place 

 in the general scheme, all maintaining a 

 united front and a solid support against 

 whose morale no efforts of the common 

 enemy avails. 



It does appear true, however, that dur- 

 ing generations past the forces of Frost 

 have won some little ground from those 

 of the trees. From many regions there 

 come reports of the dead bodies of trees 

 that held positions in advance of any that 

 are now living. How this ground was 

 taken no one may ever know. 



There are other timber-lines than the 

 one which Frost draws saying to the trees, 

 "They shall not pass !" Just as the Incas 

 drew back into Machu Picchu — into an 

 isolation where no enemy might pursue — 

 so, many species of trees, weary of the 



fierce competition of the open forests, 

 seek refuge in tracts where competitors 

 cannot come. Some of them invade the 

 desert, preferring its burning thirst to 



the strenuous struggle of the thick forest; 

 others iind their place in the grass}' plains, 

 where most trees are unable to gain a 

 foothold. 



MAX PROVKS AN ALLY OF FROST 



Sometimes man proves an ally of the 

 forces that try to limit the boundaries 

 for the trees. The so-called Alpine pas- 

 tures of the Cevennes, in France, are not, 

 indeed, above the timber-line at all. 

 Rather, they are merely grass-covered 

 clearings, where the trees were destroyed 

 so long ago that the memories of the na- 

 tives run not to the contrary. 



In many parts of the world woodland 

 and grassland oppose one another as rig- 

 orously as two hostile nations of equal 

 strength, locked in a stalemate. The trees 

 do their best to expand their kingdom at 

 the expense of the grass, but the grass 

 holds its front-line trenches in a way that 

 is wonderful to behold. Whoever has seen 

 the tree-line on the prairies of North 

 America, the pampas of South America, 

 the steppes of Asia, the veldt of Africa, 

 or the plains of Australia must be im- 

 pressed with the hardihood of the grassy 

 Davids that lay low the tree kingdom's 

 Goliaths. 



No one can follow the armies of the 

 trees around the world without gathering 

 a keen impression of them as soldiers. 

 So well are the different classes of troops 

 trained that there are forces for every 

 front. The way they meet the ♦fighting 

 conditions of the sectors they are sever- 

 ally called upon to hold — whether in cold 

 Siberia or in the tropics, whether on polar 

 plain or mountain summit, whether on 

 the edge of the desert or the rim of the 

 world — shows an adaptability to environ- 

 ment and circumstance that makes no 

 mean contrast with the applauded gifts of 

 man himself to carry war where he will. 



INDEX FOR JANUARY-JUNE, 1922, VOLUME READY 

 Index for Volume XLI (January-June, 1922) will be mailed to members upon request 



