840 The Age of Forest Trees. [September, 
' cases they showed the opposite—one large and the other small, 
I examined enough to prove that whatever they might show in 
Kansas or in Egypt, they showed nothing of the kind in Western 
Indiana. 
I have not been, so far, able to account for the spasmodic pro- 
duction of single rings of large or small growth, interspersed 
here and there among those of the average size. But whena 
succession of large, and especially small, rings prevail, say from 
ten to seventy-five or more, I can see a possible cause producing 
them, and have strong circumstantial evidence that such is the 
very probable cause of the large or small rings. Trees are like 
men in some respects. More are born than can live; more live 
than thrive ; more thrive than can be masters. 
“ The young cannot hold sway 
Till the old are dead and out of the way.” 
The tree that falls behind its fellows in the race of life will very 
likely fall behind the more active of the next generation also. 
Many are crowded and smothered out in infancy by their more 
vigorous brother infants. Nature is not generous or charitable. 
She knows but one law of growth: “To him that hath, shall be 
given; to him that hath not, the little he hath shall be taken 
away.” When a tree gets but little the start of its immediate fel- 
lows, all the nourishment of nature seems to be offered to it, in- 
stead of its more needy neighbors. And to the weakest, nature 
gives next to no sympathy at all. I have seen two trees of the 
same species, the same age toa year, standing side by side, the 
one three times the diameter of the other and more than twelve 
times the solid contents counting increased length. Both were 
equally healthy, but the smaller had long ago been beaten for the 
nomination to leadership in convention, and had dropped back 
among and remained one of the mere constituents. The first 
rays of the morning’s sun fell on the larger tree. The smaller 
one had to wait till eleven o’clock for sunshine, and was cut off 
at 2 P. M., while the larger one received it till sundown. If there 
was only a small shower the larger one got it. The smaller one 
got no rain except from heavy showers which leaked through the 
_ top of the larger one. In such a case the larger tree would have 
__ large concentric rings, while the smaller one would have them so 
fine they could be counted only under a magnifying glass. I 
_ have often seen just such cases. 
