210 EARLY SPRING IN MASSACHUSETTS. 
When we consider how soon some plants 
which spread rapidly by seeds or roots would 
cover an area equal to the surface of the globe, 
how soon some species of trees, as the white 
willow, for instance, would equal in mass the 
earth itself, if all their seeds became full-grown 
trees, how soon some fishes would fill the ocean 
if all their ova became full-grown fishes, we are 
tempted to say that every organism, whether 
animal or vegetable, is contending for the pos¬ 
session of the planet, and if any one were suffi¬ 
ciently favored, supposing it still possible to 
grow as at first, it would at length convert the 
entire mass of the globe into its own substance. 
Nature opposes to this many obstacles, as cli¬ 
mate, myriads of brute and also human foes, 
and of competitors which may preoccupy the 
ground. Each species suggests an immense 
and wonderful greediness and tenacity of life, 
as if bent on taking entire possession of the 
globe wherever the climate and soil will permit, 
and each prevails as much as it does, because of 
the ample preparations it has made for the con¬ 
test. It has received a myriad chances, because 
it never depends on spontaneous generation to 
save it. 
March 23, 1853. 5 a. m. I hear the robin 
sing before I rise. 6 A. M. Up the North 
River. A fresh, cool, spring morning. The 
