have put out a loaf of bread, whereupon the contention of the birds became fierce and prolonged, although there was more than all could possibly eat during several days. Some, having gorged them- selves until they could eat no more, would stand upon the loaf and hover round it, pecking fiercely at all newcomers, and endeavoring to prevent them from obtain- ing any of the food. Along with this contention there was noticeable a great fear. With each mouthful of food taken the birds looked about in nervous terror, apprehensive of losing their food.
In this simple incident we have an illustration—crude, perhaps, but true—of the basis and outworking of the competitive laws in Nature and in human affairs. It is not scarcity that produces competition, it is abundance; so that the richer and more luxurious a nation becomes, the keener and fiercer becomes the competition for securing the necessaries and luxuries of life. Let famine overtake a nation, and at once compassion and sympathy take the
