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From “Country Life,” London.
The Tree of Life.
Evolution does not move in a straight course, symbolized by the links in a chain; the tree is a symbol of nature’s plan of creation. The trunk represents the main course of life through the ages; the branches are the great groups of plants and animals that have appeared during the growth of the tree; the plants and animals now living are the green twigs at the tips of the branches. In the evolution of forms there are no offshoots leading from one branch to another; the branches start from below and diverge as they grow, each branch maintaining its own course.
Thus life in its evolution manifests itself in a related yet divergent series of forms, constituting the widespreading tree of life.
