NATURK vSTUDY IJCSvSONS. 
33 
The first tiling to see — and a wonderful thin<2^ it is, too — 
is the ^reat profusion, the susprising iuiin])er of individu¬ 
als and of different kinds that are crowded together. There 
have been ever so iiiaiiy more seeds than could possildy 
find a place to sprout in, and ever so many more sprouts 
started than could possibl}' find room iu which to grow. 
So tlie plants have been compelled to fight among them¬ 
selves to the death for air and light and standing room. 
It is worth while to mark off a small piece of ground, say 
three feet square, in any tangle of wild plants, as by the 
roadside or in a neglected fence corner, and count the 
plants growing there, at the same time taking notice of the 
different kinds. The total number will be a surprise, and 
so, too, in most cases, will be the wide variet3A 
Asa rule, in the wild state, not many plants of the same 
kind are found growing closely together. Two plants of 
the same kind require the same conditions in order to live 
and grow. The}^ must have the same kind of food ; their 
roots are alike and certain to get in each other’s wa}^; the}' 
have the same arrangement of branches and leaves, by 
which they endeavor to .secure the needful amount of sun¬ 
light and air. Under such similarit}^ of conditions, the 
stronger will almost surely overpower the weaker ; while 
two plants that are unlike, having different arrangements 
of roots and leaves, may grow near together without seri¬ 
ously interfering with each other. 
While counting the kinds of plants growing together on 
a small area, it will be observed that they are naturally dis¬ 
tinguished b}^ their differences. While all are plants, and 
as such have .some general characteri.stics in common, as 
roots, stems, leaves, blos.soms and fruits, there is a great 
diversity in the quality, form and arrangement of these 
parts. Some plants have one kind of root .sy.stem and 
some another; some have hard stems and others soft ones ; 
in some the leaves are large and round, in others small 
